The American Museum & Gardens in Bath is the first museum in the UK to host Unforgettable Behaviour, a specially curated exhibition celebrating exciting animal behaviour photography from the Natural History Museum’s popular and world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
This global show was previously hosted by The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, USA, and opens in Bath on 28 September 2024.
The Unforgettable Behaviour exhibition showcases 39 powerful photographs from previous Wildlife Photographer of the Year collections, displaying some of the most incredible animal behaviour moments ever captured on camera. The photos show an extraordinary range of surprising, and often deeply moving, acts by animals. They have been chosen to allow visitors to connect with animals they might never otherwise see and to inspire everyone to care about the world around us.
The collection includes the works of several American photographers, with a total of 17 countries represented and 35 award-winning photographers. US photographer, Karine Aigner’s winning photograph for Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022 – the remarkable shot of a buzzing ball of cactus bees spinning over the hot sand in Texas – will be on display.
At the American Museum & Gardens, the Unforgettable Behaviour exhibition will feature a range of creative family activities and invitations to play, as well as a Young Person’s Wildlife Photography competition open to all. Finalists will be put on display in the exhibition gallery for the public to vote for the winner.
In partnership with Bath Natural History Society, the American Museum & Gardens will be inviting families to a special Day of Nature on 22 September, one week before the exhibition opens, with activities all about the wildlife on our estate.
Unforgettable Behaviour at the American Museum & Gardens will also share information about one of the museum’s founders, Dr Dallas Pratt, an animal welfare advocate who received the prestigious Animal Welfare Institute’s Albert Schweitzer Award in 1981.
The Unforgettable Behaviour exhibition is opening the same year as a new woodland walk. This 30-minute trail features panels highlighting different things to see in our woodland, comparisons with American forests, as well as quotes from American nature poetry. Climate justice & environmental responsibility initiatives are part of the key objectives at the museum, which cares for historic buildings, museum collections and 125 acres of gardens, parkland and woodland.
Jan English, Collections & Public Engagement Director at the American Museum & Gardens, said, “Wildlife Photographer of the Year is a global platform with which museums can inspire their audiences to become advocates for the natural world and grow a passion for photography as an art form. We are looking forward to sharing these wonderful images with visitors and experiencing the wonder, beauty and joy of the amazing collection together.
“This is a timely show for the museum to host this year, when we have been focusing on our natural environment and resources with the installation of a new water borehole, woodland walk, wildlife-friendly restoration of a heritage wall and much more.”
Main photo (c) Marsel van Oosten – Unforgettable Behavior