• Our exhibition

    Realms of Hope is a celebration of nature's beauty, exploring the role of 'hope' and 'persistence' in conservation through the lens of 6 renowned artists.

  • Our team

    The exhibition is born from a collective mindset of artists and conservationists alike, who wanted to use their skillset in the fight for lasting change.

  • Our partner

    We are thrilled to partner with DSWF. 50% of the proceeds of the exhibition will be donated in support of their ground-breaking conservation efforts across Africa and Asia.

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"In a world filled with hardship, people feel increasingly powerless. With this exhibition, we are unveiling the importance of 'hope' and the critical role is has played in reconnecting ourselves with nature and achieving 'wins' in the conservation space."

Detlef Tibax, co-founder of Art 4 Conservation

The artists

  • Casey-Nadine-Banwell

    Casey Nadine Banwell, is an accomplished sculptress for the film industry.  She has worked on numerous titles, such as Beauty and the Beast and Star Wars, Episode 9 and many more, spanning a 10-year career. Outside of the movie industry, Casey has dedicated her talent to creating pieces that generate funds to protect the species which they are inspired by. An example of this is on world wildlife day, the sculpture ‘Protection’, was installed on the grounds of number 10 Downing Street and presented to the first lady at State House in Nairobi, to symbolise the unity of two countries committed to the protection of the pangolin.

  • Cole Stirling

    Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Cole's passion for wildlife started at an early age. His earliest memories include early morning drives in his beloved Hwange National Park. Art came as a by-product and a way to express his passion. Studying photography at university, later completing field and trails guide qualifications, gave him an even greater appreciation for the natural world and a want to conserve it through his work. Cole has always been drawn to monochrome imagery, especially the simplicity of focus on tone and form, a feature he strives for in his works. It's also quite handy, being colour-blind!

  • Davina Bosanquet

    Davina grew up surrounded by animals and she was always drawing them but it was after a holiday abroad to Kenya that her passion for painting wildlife was truly ignited.  She has spent much of her career trying to get close to the animals she loves to paint and of course this led her straight to conservation.  Davina was lucky enough to meet David Shepherd himself on a second visit to Kenya, he was a massive inspiration to her, and since she has visited and held solo exhibitions in support of Fernan-Vaz gorilla project, Gabon, NEX jaguar reserve, Brazil and AfriCat, Namibia.

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"Realms of Hope is both a super exciting and challenging opportunity for me as an artist. The realisation that not all is lost and there is still so much to fight for, has driven me to produce some works that I am most proud of to date."

Cole Stirling, participating artist

  • Detlef Tibax

    Detlef is an award-winning wildlife artist from Belgium and founder of Art 4 Conservation, an NGO that sells art in support of conservation charities. His passion for the natural world originated from observing birds with his dad in the late 90s and trying to capture their personality and behavior in drawings. Over the years his interest in other wildlife, conservation and art grew and drove him to pursue an MSc in marine biology. You can find him traveling the world photographing and sketching wildlife or visiting conservation projects to learn about their work. His hopes are to bolster the human relationship with nature and, through his art, urge public attention on the environmental challenges the world is facing today.

  • Stephen Rew

    Stephen Rew is an artist based in Wales. Whilst studying for an arts degree at Swansea University he spent time studying animals in the wild in India, the Middle East and Africa's KwaZulu-Natal and it was there, in Africa, that long-term objectives to combine artistic practices with a love and respect for wildlife began to emerge. Stephen is creative yet practical and his success with his artworks lies in his ability to be broadminded with his tools, palette, and concepts. Stephen brings the wild to life with his bronze sculptures and coffee and ink paintings of the animal world. Stephen was also awarded the coveted title of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2019 by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation for his spectacular wall-mounted Octopus "Writhe".

  • Zoe Fitchet

    Zoe Fitchet is a wildlife artist from the South of England, who uses her work to raise awareness and support wildlife conservation projects around the world. Working in acrylic or coloured pencil, Zoe creates lifelike portraits, each piece requiring numerous tiny details and multiple layers to build up a realistic result. With the use of negative space to create focus on the subject, her wildlife pieces adopt a more contemporary look. From a young age Zoe has worked hard to grow her ability and skill, always seeking ways to improve the accuracy of her pieces.

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"To me 'Realms of Hope' is a powerful and positive way of using art to inspire others; allowing them to engage with conservation through the successes and wins out in the field. This exhibition is a wonderful way to celebrate all the beauty in wildlife conservation through visual art and storytelling, and I'm so grateful to be a part of it."

Zoe Fitchet, participating artist

About DSWF

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) is a highly effective wildlife conservation charity operating across Africa and Asia to end wildlife crime and protect endangered species in their natural habitat. Working from grassroots to the world stage, DSWF adopts a holistic approach to conservation. They put people at the heart of their work and take into consideration the vital importance of communities in the fight to protect the world's most endangered wildlife. Since 1984, they have invested more than £12.3 million directly into wildlife conservation.

Some of the projects we support through DSWF

  • Save The Rhino Trust

    For nearly four decades, DSWF funding has gone towards protecting the world’s last remaining stronghold population of desert-adapted black rhinos, in Namibia. They focus on direct ground-based support, through ranger patrols who spend thousands of hours each year patrolling this arid and difficult terrain on foot, in search of poachers. DSWF also fund research and monitoring programmes in Namibia to collate vital data on the remaining populations, which is imperative to their survival and in helping inform government and conservation protection strategies.

  • Painted Dog Conservation

    For over 20 years, DSWF has been funding immersive educational bush camps, alongside anti-poaching teams working on the frontline of species protection and community engagement. Through positive interaction with rural communities and children in Zimbabwe, thanks to ongoing support from DSWF, the painted dog remains a symbol of strength, unity, and perseverance within the area.

  • Aaranyak

    Aaranyak is based in Assam, in the northeast of India, and work to protect the world’s biggest population of greater-one horned rhino, tigers and many other species. DSWF has supported Aaranyak with funding for anti-poaching efforts, park protection, education programs for local children and wildlife crime investigation initiatives for over 25 years.

  • Game Rangers International

    In Zambia, DSWF has funded the Game Rangers International (GRI) Wildlife Rescue Programme since it was established in 2008. The project rescues elephants orphaned by human-wildlife conflict and poaching and rehabilitates them with the ultimate aim of releasing them back into the wild.

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