Bay of Life Exhibit Opens at the Museum of Art & History

Bay of Life: From Wind to Whales, an exhibition that brings land and sea together for a unified view of Monterey Bay and its natural abundance is on view at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History through April 30, 2023. 

The project features works from locally-based renowned National Geographic photographer-writer team Frans Lanting and Chris Eckstrom about Monterey Bay. Lanting has created some of the world’s most iconic images of wildlife and nature, while Eckstrom is also a videographer and producer.  

With extraordinary images alongside maps, archival photos, and interpretive text, Bay of Life is designed to showcase the wonders of the Monterey Bay landscape by highlighting the area’s unique mix of physical features and microclimates. The exhibition features iconic wildlife, from mountain lions and peregrine falcons to salmon, whales, and elephant seals, all surviving in a region where endangered endemic species mix with cosmopolitan migrants. 
 
Bay of Life celebrates a remarkable recovery which shows that damaged ecosystems can be restored when people care and take action together. That may offer a model for other places at a time when we need such stories of hope as we face new challenges of resource stewardship, habitat connectivity, and impacts from climate change. The project is supported in part by The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz.