Ben Raymen
Source: American Chronicle [1]
August 19, 2010

Opening Saturday, October 16 and on view through April 24, 2011, in the Sant Ocean Hall focus gallery in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., coral reef conversation is both the topic of talk and view with an exhibition entitled: "Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef". This unique project, developed by Margaret and Christine Wertheim of the Institute For Figuring in Los Angeles, becomes a Smithsonian first of its kind of art and science that artistically engages local communities to help raise awareness about the plight of the world's coral reefs.

"CORAL is pleased to help support this exhibition of the Crochet Reef, as it shares the same principles as our own organizational mission of uniting communities to save coral reefs," said Rick MacPherson of CORAL. "Sadly these ancient, beautiful, yet fragile ecosystems are dying from rising sea surface temperatures, coastal development, water contamination, overfishing, and other threats. It is absolutely critical that we take action now to increase the number of effectively managed marine protected areas worldwide so that both coral reefs and the communities that depend on them are able to thrive." Coral reefs are the world´s oldest ecosystem, known for harboring the most concentrated biodiversity on the planet, supporting over 25 percent of all marine species and providing food, coastal protection, and income to one billion people around the world, this show´s objective is to not only educate, but also give rise to the urgency to protect the coral reefs.

To read the full text of the article, click here [2].