Art Created By Chimpanzees In Contest To Benefit Sanctuaries

Judging has commenced for a unique contest featuring artwork created by chimpanzees in sanctuaries. Hosted by The Humane Society of the United States, the friendly competition is designed to draw attention to the abilities of these great apes and the essential role sanctuaries play in ensuring that chimpanzees receive the specialized care they need after difficult lives spent in research, entertainment and the pet trade. The artwork will be judged by famed primatologist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall and voted on by the public online.

Kathleen Conlee, vice president of animal research issues at The HSUS said: “As we continue to move toward a time when exploitation of chimpanzees in the United States is no longer tolerated, more and more of these animals will be in need of permanent sanctuary. The public’s support of high quality sanctuaries is critical now more than ever.”

For the contest, six members of the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance have submitted an original piece of enrichment artwork created by one of their resident chimpanzees. Creating artwork is one of many enrichment activities sanctuaries can offer captive chimpanzees.

The public will have an opportunity to vote online August 13th-22nd and all contest results will be announced August 29th. The resident sanctuaries will be awarded grant prizes from The HSUS to help care for retired chimpanzees. After the contest, the artwork will be auctioned off and the proceeds will benefit the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance.

Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, added: “Sadly, these chimpanzees will never be able to return to the wild, so it’s desperately important that we do everything possible to support really good sanctuaries where they can live out their lives in peace. They have suffered enough.”

The contest entries include enrichment artwork by:

Jenny from Primate Rescue Center in Nicholasville, Ky.
Brent from Chimp Haven in Keithville, La.
Cheetah from Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce, Fla.
Jamie from Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Cle Elum, Wash.
Patti from Chimps, Inc. in Bend, Ore.
Ripley from Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Fla.
 
The grant prize amounts will be as follows:

Online voting: humanesociety.org/chimpart

1st place public voting: $10,000
2nd place public voting: $5,000
3rd place public voting: $2,500
Judged prize (Dr. Goodall’s selection): $5,000

Each sanctuary will receive a $500 grant for entering the contest