The polar bear — a charismatic icon in the struggle against climate change — faces a precarious future along with other ice dependent species as its Arctic habitat rapidly continues to melt away. With camera in hand, wildlife photographer Steven Kazlowski has dedicated over eight years of work to bring to life the immediate reality of this most pressing environmental crisis — the devastation of the Arctic ecosystem through global warming.

Organized by the Burke Museum and Braided River/The Mountaineers Books, The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World will present approximately 40 large-format color photographs by Kazlowski and document the polar bear in its Arctic coastal habitat from Hershel Island in Canada to Point Hope, Alaska. Accompanying panels and labels will illuminate the drama at the heart of the global warming debate. A new companion book of the same title will be published by Braided River/The Mountaineers Books. Kazlowski's work has also been featured in Audubon, Backpacking, Canadian National Geographic, National Wildlife, and Time magazines. The visitor experience will also be enhanced by an audiovisual media presentation — produced by independent filmmaker Arthur C. Smith III — that features polar bears of the Southern Beaufort Sea located on the Arctic coast.

Major support for the exhibition has been provided by Tom and Sonya Campion, Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, and Peach Foundation. Additional support has been provided by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and The Norcliffe Foundation.

Exhibit Specifications

Additional Information

Exhibition Support

As a host of The Last Polar Bear, you will receive the following:

Registrarial Requirements
This exhibition has been designated Moderate Security. It will contain wall-hung elements consisting of approx. 40 large-format color photographs, text panels, and captions. In order to be hung in approx. 225 running feet, multiple photographs will need to be double hung. This exhibition has not yet been fabricated. Additional requirements may be added to reflect the final exhibition.

Space

• Venues must have a limited-access gallery of sufficient area and wall space to accommodate the exhibition. An open mall, hallway, or lounge area is not acceptable.
• Smoking, eating, and drinking are prohibited in the exhibition area, exhibitor receiving, and staging spaces.
• No part of the exhibition may be stored, crated, or moved off the premises without prior authorization from the Burke Museum. Empty crates for all exhibit contents must be stored in secured, pest-free, and fire-protected storage.

Security

• Trained professional guards and/or personnel must be present in sufficient numbers to protect the exhibition adequately throughout the time it is on site (during truck off-loading, unpacking, installation, deinstallation, repacking, and truck loading) and on view.
• The exhibition area must be locked and secured during closed hours. Alarms and/or guards during closed hours are preferred but not required.
• Functioning fire-prevention systems and other fire-protection devices that meet local ordinances must be available in the exhibition, staging, and storage spaces.

Environmental Controls

• The exhibition, staging, and storage areas should have a temperature range of 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit and a humidity range of 40-60% relative humidity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Venues without an HVAC system will need to provide climate data that reports consistent environmental conditions.
• The venue must have environmental recording equipment (hygrothermographs or dataloggers) in the exhibition, staging, and storage areas. A member of the collections management or registration staff must make routine checks of the exhibition.
• There must be no direct sunlight in the exhibition, staging, or storage areas. It should be diffused or eliminated. Light levels must be limited to 20 foot-candles. Light must be filtered for UV.

Exhibition Care

• Handling of all exhibit contents during unpacking, installation, deinstallation, and repacking must be done by curatorial, registrarial, or by other trained and experienced museum professionals.
• The exhibition may contain crates weighing up to 400 pounds. Venues will need to have the facility and staff or the ability to hire skilled personnel for crate delivery and movement.
• The exhibition contents must be left in their crates for 24 hours before unpacking.

For more information, please contact:
Mark R. Hand
Traveling Exhibits Coordinator
Phone: 206-616-0268
Email: mrhand@u.washington.edu