Audubon Mural Project Rockford is hosting a free Zoom event on Tuesday night with the goal of bringing more bird murals to Rockford.
If you've been in downtown Rockford the last three years, chances are you’ve seen at least one of the four colorful bird murals. Jennifer Kuroda is the president of the Sinnissippi Audubon Society and she spearheads this public art project. She says the murals feature birds named in a study of birds and climate change by the National Audubon Society.
"It's the Survival by Degrees project," Kuroda said. "It identifies 389 species of birds that will be impacted by climate change by 2080 if we don't start intervening and preserving habitat and doing things better to help combat climate change."
The project aims to inspire people to take better care of the environment so the birds will survive.
"You reach these people that love public art and you are able to kind of do this outreach," she said. "There's a message behind the murals which is to bring awareness to the community that maybe in the future we might not see Baltimore Orioles in our backyard."
Kuroda said there will be a new murals going up this spring or summer.
"I am planning to get at least two more done this year," she said. "I have a location confirmed, an idea for the mural and an artist confirmed."
Kuroda said they will reveal details of the new murals at the Tuesday night Zoom. She said she also hopes to get the public’s input about potential mural spaces.
"If anyone has any ideas of buildings that would be interested in participating, please reach out to Sinnissippi Audubon," she said. "I would love to be able to talk with you about one of these bird murals on your space."
Kuroda said since the murals went up in 2018, they haven't had any trouble with vandalism or graffiti.
"Public art tends to be respected on the streets," she said.
The Zoom meeting is Tuesday, March 9 at 7:00 and Kuroda will speak along with the national Audubon Mural Project curator Avi Gitler, and mural artists George Boorujy and Brett Whitacre. She said it will last about an hour, but if people ask questions, they will stay as long as it takes to answer them.
Click here to register for the event. After you register, you will receive a confimation email with information about joining the meeting.