What is Missing? What If? exhibition Opening Program with Maya Lin

Exhibition Opening and Artist Talk: Join Princeton University's High Meadows Environmental Institute for a talk by artist Maya Lin and the opening of What Is Missing? What If? – a science-based art exhibition that examines how resilient the natural world can be – if we choose to protect it. The artist will speak about her work in the Briger Hall auditorium at 4:30pm, and be joined on stage by David Wilcove, Henry W. Putnam Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Public Affairs and the High Meadows Institute. Their conversation will be moderated by Rachael DeLue, Professor of American Art and Director of the Princeton Humanities Initiative. At the conclusion of the program, the exhibition will open in the Environmental Gallery and Briger Hall atrium. Free and open to all. About the Exhibition: The exhibition in HMEI’s new Environmental Gallery brings Maya Lin’s multi-sited What Is Missing? project to Princeton. Lin uses immersive, science-based artworks to examine biodiversity, extinction, conservation, recovery and abundance. Her work features a multi-media video display and audio recordings of threatened and endangered species; posters that pose bold, thought-provoking questions; and an interactive gallery experience and learning lab that traces natural history, captures community memories of former abundance, and explores nature-based solutions. The exhibition invites faculty, researchers, students and community members to engage as learners and contributors to a more sustainable and prosperous future for the planet. About the Artist: Maya Lin interprets the natural world through science, history and culture, to create works that have a profound impact on how we view our history and how we relate to the natural world. From her very first work, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, she has gone on to a remarkable and highly acclaimed career in both art and architecture, while remaining committed to ‘memory works’ that focus on some of the critical historical issues of our time. Lin calls What is Missing? the fifth and final of her memorials, one that examines biodiversity loss and climate change, but also hope and action. “Nature is incredibly resilient,” says Lin, “and it will come back if we give it a chance.” Please note registration does not guarantee a seat in the main event room. Doors will open to the public at 4pm and seating will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Should the auditorium fill to capacity, guests will be able to view the program in an overflow room which will simulcast Lin’s talk.