Audubon Mural Project in Albuquerque

Among the range of far-flung species found in the ABQ BioPark Zoo, a colorful corner now puts the spotlight on local birds. Two new murals at the zoo celebrate the diversity and resilience of avian life in New Mexico, depicting a range of species found in the region that face threats from a changing climate—including the iconic Pinyon Jay, the brilliant Broad-tailed Hummingbird, and the striking Ferruginous Hawk. 

The Bird Alliance of Central New Mexico spearheaded the creation of these new works as a satellite of the Audubon Mural Project, a public art initiative featuring climate-threatened species. Bird Alliance leaders partnered with the zoo and Albuquerque’s public arts department to fund and manage the project, and selected local artists Donny Kelley-Currens and Jade Cruz to create the paintings. 

The vibrant murals, located near the real-life avians of the zoo’s Raptor Roost exhibit, are meant not only to beautify the space, but to inspire action on behalf of birds, says Bird Alliance board member Dana Loy. A great number of people will share in the experience of seeing this painted flock, she points out: The ABQ BioPark Zoo is the state’s top tourist destination and hosts around 1.5 million visitors per year. The goal is to inspire those visitors to pay more attention to the birds around them—and the threats they face. “When they recognize that they may lose these birds, then it becomes an extension of that shared experience, and a shared potential of loss,” she says. That feeling, in turn, can hopefully motivate people to take action in their own lives, like by advocating for laws that will fight climate change. “That has to be the ultimate goal of this: to do something about the issue,” Loy says.

About the Birds: In this mural, artist Donny Kelley-Currens uses three walls to represent three different habitats in and around the Albuquerque area—and the vibrant range of birdlife that can be spotted there. “We really do have such great wildlife in New Mexico that not a lot of people are aware of,” Kelley-Currens says. “So I wanted to transport people into the places they may have hiked before, but show them birds they may not have paid attention to.”

One wall features the bosque—the cottonwood forest ecosystem that runs along the Rio Grande—populated by a Spotted Towhee, Northern Flicker, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Black-headed Grosbeak, and a male and female Western Bluebird. In the conifer forest habitat, which sits atop the Sandia Mountains that overlook Albuquerque, the artist depicts the Northern Goshawk, Western Tanager, Western Wood-Pewee, and Mountain Chickadee. The last panel spotlights the Great Plains habitat to the east of the city, complete with a Ferruginous Hawk, Sage Thrasher, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Horned Lark.

Throughout these scenes, Kelley-Currens incorporates small lessons about these species’ behaviors: The flame-headed Western Tanager, which often preys on stinging insects, here goes after a wasp, while the Northern Flicker stretches out its super-long tongue to slurp up ants and the pair of Western Bluebirds guard their nest in the hollow of a tree (in this case represented by a nook above a water fountain). In addition to teaching people more about their avian neighbors, the artist hoped to inspire them to protect the places these species need to survive—like the grassland ecosystems that are rapidly being lost to agricultural development. “So many people drive past it and just assume it's a desolate, grassy field with nothing going on,” Kelley-Currens says. “I really wanted to highlight some of the birds that call that place home.” On top of such challenges, the species depicted also face threats from a changing climate—like the Mountain Chickadee and Sage Thrasher, which are both predicted to lose around two-thirds of their summer range if warming continues at its current page, according to Audubon’s Survival By Degrees report.

About the Artist: Donny Kelley-Currens is an Albuquerque-based artist whose work focuses on highlighting New Mexico’s wildlife in an effort to bring more awareness to the state’s biodiversity and get people excited about exploring nature. He has written and illustrated multiple educational wildlife children’s books and creates wildlife films that are embedded through QR codes into each page. His artwork is mainly digital and utilizes vibrant colors to get audiences to see an animal they may have overlooked in a new and exciting way. 

This piece at the ABQ BioPark Zoo was his first time working on a mural. Though painting on this large scale was a challenge, Kelley-Currens says the experience was rewarding, especially because he was a regular visitor growing up: “Some of my very first memories take place at the zoo,” he says. He’s hopeful that the work can help people recognize the species around them and get inspired to go see them in the wild—which is where he spends most of his time. “All my free time, pretty much, is spent with a camera, walking out into the desert or a forest,” Kelley-Currens says. “I use my camera like a pair of binoculars.” 

About the Birds: For their mural, artist Jade Cruz wanted to encourage viewers to rethink their relationships with the natural world—highlighting how connected people are with the birds and nature around us. The piece features five species that are endangered or vulnerable in the state of New Mexico: the Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Pinyon Jay, Northern Flicker, Western Tanager, and American Robin. 

Among the larger-than-life birds, native plants, and vibrant background colors, Cruz also wrote out a series of core values to inspire deeper reflection. The word Reciprocity, for example, is paired with the painting of the Broad-tailed Hummingbird and the native paintbrush plant. “These elements emphasize the mutual relationship between the hummingbird as a pollinator and the flowers, illustrating how the natural world can guide us toward healthy exchange and mutualism,” says Cruz. Meanwhile, the word Remembrance hangs over the painted Pinyon Jay, which plays a crucial role in dispersing seeds in its juniper forest habitat but whose populations have suffered from threats like wildfires, clearcutting, and insect infestations. 

Cruz hopes that considering these ideas can inspire people to address climate change and protect birdlife from its damage. The Broad-tailed Hummingbird, for example, could lose nearly 70 percent of its current summer range if warming continues at its current pace, according to Audubon’s Survival By Degrees report. Even commonly spotted species like the Northern Flicker and American Robin are expected to be pushed out of broad swaths of their current habitat, the report found. However, taking action to limit warming can help make sure all these birds can thrive across a wider range of habitats in the future.

About the Artist: Jade Cruz is a queer, gender expansive Chicanx visual artist, muralist, teaching artist, and youth and cultural worker, based on Tiwa Pueblo land in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Their practice encompasses painting, digital illustration and muralism, emerging and activated as a response to injustice, grief, and love. Their work reflects and uplifts the beauty, power, and complexities of their communities, culture, and the natural world. Incorporating symbolism drawn from flora and fauna specific to their environment and cultural lineage, Jade's artwork features bold, vibrant colors and elements of portraiture. The themes woven into their work explore spirituality, gender identity, honoring life and death, and addressing social justice issues. Jade has worked with various organizations, grassroots projects, schools, museums and cultural art centers, primarily working with youth and people of color. Committed to using art as a tool for education, justice, and healing, Jade continues to explore new ways to empower through creative expression.

Cruz says working on the zoo mural kept things interesting—from dealing with the unpredictable summer weather to bonding with the real-life birds in the nearby raptor exhibit, including an Andean Condor named Hector. They hope the piece can spark both inspiration and a sense of responsibility for the people who come across it. “I hope this mural will be a bold, colorful, and urgent reminder of the sacredness of life,” Cruz says. “To call on us to have reverence, to build relationships rooted in gratitude and reciprocity, and to remember that restoring balance requires us to actively honor and protect our Earth and one another.”