Orangutans looking for a home in Brighton

A Brighton artist has appealed to the community to find a home for her latest mural.
Amy's turtle mural outside Clarkes Art Shop, Bond Street (courtesy of Amy.kellymiller_art)Amy's turtle mural outside Clarkes Art Shop, Bond Street (courtesy of Amy.kellymiller_art)
Amy's turtle mural outside Clarkes Art Shop, Bond Street (courtesy of Amy.kellymiller_art)

Amy Kelly-Miller was contacted by the conservation charity International Animal Rescue (IAR), who asked her to paint an orangutan mural.

The charity had noticed her well-loved turtle mural, which she painted outside Clarkes Art Shop in Bond Street.

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Amy said: “I was delighted when International Animal Rescue contacted me, after seeing my turtle mural at Clarkes art shop. You may not have heard of IAR, but they run the only orangutan rescue and rehabilitation centre in West Borneo.

“They are currently caring for more than 100 orangutans and are working to not only rescue, rehabilitate, and release orangutans, but also to protect and restore precious rainforest.

“At the moment fires are raging through Borneo. Their team are working every single day to fight these fires and keep rescued orangutans safe ... They are heroes!”

When asked how she felt about being asked to create the mural, Amy said: “Orangutans are critically endangered and we must take action now if we are to save the species... I don’t want to live in a world without orangutans.”

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The mural is intended to ‘raise awareness of the plight of the orangutan’ and will be painted to coincide with Orangutan Caring Week in November.

Amy said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the support from Brighton residents after she posted an appeal on Facebook. She said: “That is why I love living here and being part of it and of course the amazing art scene.”

Phily Kennington, social media and community fundraising manager at IAR, said: “We are really excited to be working with Amy Kelly-Miller on an orangutan mural in Brighton.

“Orangutans are Critically Endangered and the time to take action to protect them is now. If we don’t do something, we risk losing them forever.

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“We hope the mural will raise awareness of this amazing animal and our work fighting to save the species. We are a local charity, with our head office based in Uckfield, and we think that Brighton is the perfect location for the mural!

“We hope it will start a conversation and inspire people to join us as we work to save orangutans from the brink of extinction.”

The orangutan mural should now have a home and Amy says she has ‘a few options’.

To see more of Amy’s artwork and to follow the progress of the orangutan mural visit her Instagram page @amy.kellymiller_art

To find out more about International Animal Rescue’s work visit www.internationalanimalrescue.org

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