For Immediate Release:
August 28, 2023
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
Washington – As the summer tourism season draws to a close, PETA’s massive Council of Animals (What to Do About the Humans) immersive exhibit will trumpet for one more week from the National Mall—and to mark the occasion, PETA will host an all-ages party on Saturday. Kids are invited to come out and enjoy free vegan popsicles, get their faces painted like the animals portrayed in the exhibit, and take home free activity books and stickers—and there will be free vegan cookbooks for adults, too.
When: Saturday, September 2, 12 noon
Where: National Mall, Jefferson Drive S.W. (between the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum), Washington
Washington state–based artist Quill Hyde created the collection of towering steel-and-aluminum sculptures—which include a 7-foot-tall polar bear, a 1,200-pound elephant, and a 6-foot-tall rhinoceros with a chicken perched on his back—to answer this question: “If animals spoke in a language we could understand, what would they say about us?” A coyote voiced by Battlestar Galactica actor Edward James Olmos responds by drawing attention to the talents, languages, and cultures of various animals and familiarizing visitors with speciesism—the belief in human supremacy.
“After a successful summer of inspiring people to consider how much we all have in common with polar bears, elephants, and other species, it’s time for Council of the Animals to pack its trunk,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “With this going-away party, PETA is giving everyone one last chance to immerse themselves in an exhibit that challenges us to listen to other animals’ pleas for respect and a just world.”
The Council of Animals will be open every day this week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., until Sunday, September 3.
PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way.” For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
