Conservation-Themed Festival Launches Art Expo at Fairmont Waterfront

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 24, 2015) - Artists for Conservation today announced it will kick-off its fifth annual festival and art exhibit at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver. Starting with its fundraising gala and art expo on September 10, and a musical concert evening on September 11, the opening leg will run daily through September 12 before migrating to Grouse Mountain for an additional two weeks.

"Our goal in designing an art exhibit was and still is to support wildlife and habitat conservation and environmental education through art that celebrates nature," said Jeff Whiting, founder and president of Artists for Conservation. "Partnering with Fairmont Waterfront -- one of Canada's premiere hotels located in the epicentre of Vancouver's tourist and business district -- offers free and easy access to this world-class event with a greatly expanded art exhibit and roster of live musical performances."

Founded in 1997, the non-profit organization, Artists for Conservation, has created a community of gifted nature artists from 27 countries, across five continents. Alongside the exhibit, the three-week art and environmental festival will feature live music, guest lectures, youth workshops, live painting demonstrations and wildlife encounters. For the first time, this year's opening weekend will offer an art expo featuring 12 leading artists, which will more than double the artwork in the exhibit.

"The multiple venue model -- downtown and at Grouse Mountain -- will allow us to improve accessibility to the event and broaden our audience," said Whiting. "Our youth art and environmental education programming will again be a key focus at Grouse. This program allows us to host hundreds of school kids -- including many at-risk and underserved free of charge -- to the event for a uniquely inspiring day of art and nature immersion."

Free to the community, guests attending the opening weekend will have the opportunity to enjoy and purchase from a world-class international collection of original paintings and sculptures. As in previous years, all artwork is for sale with 25-40 per cent of proceeds supporting conservation and youth environmental education programs worldwide.

For more information on tickets to the Artists for Conservation Festival presented by RE/MAX please visit: http://festival.artistsforconservation.org/.

About Artists for Conservation
Artists for Conservation (AFC) is the world's leading group of artists supporting the environment. Founded in 1997, the non-profit organization comprises a membership of 500 of the world's most gifted nature artists from 27 countries, across five continents. Dedicated to nurture, promote and leverage its world-class community of artists in support of our natural world, AFC drives its mission through three key programs: Art & Environmental Education; Field Work & Research; and Artist Development. The Artists for Conservation Festival is AFC's annual flagship initiative to showcase, support and further these programs. For more information, visit www.artistsforconservation.org.