RESA BLATMAN, Small Bat Portrait 1 (detail), 2008. Oil on panel.
SALEM – The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) presents “Bats!” live and up close in a multi-sensory exhibition that explores the wondrous world of bats and our connections with them.
As the only mammals that can truly fly, bats have developed a host of superpowers that benefit both humans and habitats around the world. Yet, bats remain shrouded in mystery and are often misunderstood. “Bats!” is on view from Sept. 9 through July 28, 2024 in PEM’s Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center.
Through the run of the exhibition, visitors can meet and peer into the lives of a small colony of Egyptian fruit bats that will be in residence at the museum. Accompanied by PEM collection objects, contemporary artworks, pop culture items and interactive zones, these furry ambassadors will teach visitors about the unique biology of bats and the vital role they play in our lives, ecologically, culturally and as inspiration for technological advances.
“From images of Batman cartoons to symbols in ancient Chinese art, bats have long held cultural meaning across the world,” said Jane Winchell, PEM’s Sarah Fraser Robbins Director of the Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center. “Often misunderstood and maligned, bats have been associated with the underworld, magic, superstition and been symbols of both good and evil. As human activity continues to threaten bats and encroach on their natural habitats, it is increasingly urgent that we gain a more full understanding of these remarkable creatures. My hope is that visitors will come away with a deeper and more complex understanding of our friends in the night sky.”
“Bats!,” organized by and produced by ExplorationWorks! and Build 4 Impact Inc., features original content generated by PEM and works by contemporary artists Resa Blatman, Michael Brolly, Nick Demakes, Juan Nicolás Elizalde, Steve Hollinger, Tony Rubino, David Yann Robert, Rebecca Saylor Sack, Jeffrey Veregge, Michael LaFosse and Richard L. Alexander.
