THE ANDY WARHOL PRESERVE VISUAL ARTS PROGRAM
In 1992, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts donated a spectacular 15.1-acre ocean-front preserve - part of a 2,400-acre protected area in Montauk - to The Nature Conservancy. The purpose of the donation is to preserve a section of the ecologically significant Montauk Moorlands and to promote the visual arts.
Under an agreement between The Nature Conservancy and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Conservancy invites artists to explore the area and conduct visual arts workshops at the preserve each year.
The Warhol Preserve’s strategic location in the Atlantic flyway makes it an important feeding ground and stop-over site for neo-tropical, migrating birds. The preserve is home to several rare animals, including the eastern newt, spotted turtle, blue spotted salamander, eastern hognose snake, and the bog copper (butterfly). Ecologically diverse woodland species found there include shadbush, big tooth aspen, American holly, bayberry, red maple, black cherry, beech, yarrow, and blue-eyed grass.
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts was established in 1987. In accordance with Andy Warhol's will, its mission is the advancement of the visual arts. The Foundation's objective is to foster innovative artistic expression and the creative process by encouraging and supporting cultural organizations that in turn, directly or indirectly, support artists and their work.
The Nature Conservancy mission’s is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. Incorporated in 1951, The Nature Conservancy works with communities, businesses and individuals to protect nearly 117 million acres around the world. It operates the largest system of nature sanctuaries in the world - more than 1,340 preserves in the United States alone. Here on Long Island, The Nature Conservancy protects thousands of acres, most of which are open to the public for hiking and other forms of passive recreation.
Adapted form from ‘The Andy Warhol Preserve Visual Arts Program - An Invitation to Artists’