National Museum of Animals and Society Launches Online Chicken Exhibit

By Published On: 10 May 2013Last Updated: 17 January 2017

The National Museum of Animals & Society is launching "Un-Cooped: Deconstructing the Domesticated Chicken” on May 11, 2013. The first of its kind, the online exhibition will challenge the way we view and treat the invaluable and oft ignored chicken.

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Uncooped

This exhibit sounds impressive, and we wanted to spread the word!

Los Angeles, CA – The National Museum of Animals & Society (NMAS) is launching an online exhibit entitled “Un-Cooped: Deconstructing the Domesticated Chicken” on May 11, 2013. The first of its kind, the exhibition featuring a variety of media from sixteen artists, will challenge the way we view and treat the invaluable and oft ignored, chicken.

For a sneak peek at the exhibition please visit: www.uncooped.org.

Layer by Angie Carriero

Layer by Angie Carriero

The exhibit features a strong female artistic presence including English revolutionary artist, Sue Coe and award winning photojournalist, Jo-Anne McArthur. Also included are powerful, provocative works from Nava Atlas, Angie Carriero, Mary Britton Clouse, Kathryn Eddy, Elana Goren, Sharon Lee Hart, Nicolas Lampert, Isa Leshko, Shelby Prindaville, Beth Lily Redwood, Sunaura Taylor, Michelle Waters, Yvette Watt, Victoria Hanks, Jackson Thilenius, Lesley Ann Cooper, Sorcia Forgan, and Edward Chavez and L.A. Watson. The artists who work in a variety of mediums all share a deep concern over the way we view and treat non-human animals.

Pioneering feminist author, Carol Adams, who wrote the groundbreaking book, The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory will feature in the exhibit in a video interview.

Alongside the featured artists the exhibit will have significant contributions from international experts in the cognition and animal behavior fields: Drs. Lesley J. Rogers, (University of New England in Australia), Giorgio Vallortigara (University of Trento, Italy), K-Lynn Smith (Macquarie University, Australia), Jonathan Balcombe and Dr. Annie Potts who authored “Chicken”

Museum Founder and Executive Director, Carolyn Merino Mullin stated, “Chickens are among the most abused and under-appreciated species in the world. We think it is important to show people the ways we as a culture view and treat chickens and to introduce them to chickens as individuals with their own wants, needs, and interests.”

“Un-Cooped” will also include dozens of museum artifacts from the museum’s collection, including postcards, advertisements, industry implements, and materials from chicken protection campaigns. The “chicken portrait gallery” section will invite visitors to “meet” 150 chickens as individuals through the words and lenses of their caretakers.

Presenting a positive alternative to the consumption of industrially raised chickens, ten top vegan chefs contributed recipes to the exhibit. (Kevin Archer, Ella Nemcova of The Regal Vegan, Jo Stepaniak, Allison Rivers Samson of Allison’s Gourmet, Nava Atlas, Robin Robertson, Cindy Gawel, Amy McNutt of Spiral Diner, Jason Sellers of plant, and Erin Wysocarski of the blog Olives for Dinner.)

The exhibit is sponsored by United Poultry Concerns, A Well Fed World, The Vegg, and VegFund.

Rosie & Cinco de Mayo, photo by Jo-Anne McArthur

Rosie & Cinco de Mayo, photo by Jo-Anne McArthur

Established in January 2010, The National Museum of Animals & Society is the first museum exclusively dedicated to enriching the lives of all animals – human and nonhuman – through exploration of our shared experience. NMAS address animal protection, animal’s studies and humane education in its exhibitions, collections, programming, and humane education efforts. Based in Los Angeles, NMAS not only stages unique online exhibitions but also travels the country with pop-up and temporary exhibits, guest presentations, participates in festivals and has an annual Fall Lecture Series. Its humane education program reaches over 1,300 students a year in the Greater Los Angeles area and its collection of historically significant material boasts over 3,000 items. NMAS is currently pursing a permanent museum site in the Los Angeles area

Images courtesy of Julia Orr

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HELLO! I'm KD Angle-Traegner.

Writer, activist, and founder of Four Urban Paws Sanctuary. I’m on a mission to help people live a vegan life. Read more about KD…

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