Following a major renovation and expansion project, the Art & Nature Center at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, MA, reopens to the public on Saturday, October 19th. The Art & Nature Center welcomes nearly 100k visitors per year and is unique for its focus on the connections between human creativity and the natural world. It's a favorite among family audiences for its heavy roster of educational programs, hands-on activity stations, multimedia elements and annual exhibitions — the first of which is Beyond Human: Artist-Animal Collaborations.

Beyond Human features nearly 40 paintings, installations, photographs and audio and video recordings by artists who co-create or investigate art with live animals. While artists have depicted animals for thousands of years, Beyond Human celebrates a relatively recent phenomenon: artists who work directly with animals – either through collaboration or by tapping into an animal's innate behavior – to create unique works of art.

“Artists are remarkable for their ability to continually offer fresh perspectives and share creative new ways of interacting with the world,” says Jane Winchell, PEM’s Sarah Fraser Robbins Director of the Art & Nature Center. “While artists have depicted animals for thousands of years, Beyond Human celebrates a relatively recent phenomenon: artists who work directly with animals – either through collaboration or by tapping into an animal’s innate behavior – to create unique works of art.”

For more info call 866‐745‐1876 or visit  www.pem.org