Recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, Elizabeth Turk ’94 (Rinehart School of Sculpture MFA) has long explored the tension of co-existence. And though her preferred medium as an individual artist is marble, she also brings artists and people together to create art experiences that celebrate the human connection to each other and the natural world. She does through the ET Projects Foundation, a nonprofit she founded called "an experiment" that organizes large-scale, immersive installations at sites across the country.

One of ET Projects most recent works includes Ridgeline, a flash art experience at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia that brought together 500 school-aged participants and their families. Carrying LED-lit umbrellas that showcased images inspired by endangered flora of the East Coast, the gathering featured a group performance — captured overhead by drones — that inspired dialogue and raised awareness of the importance of environmental stewardship.

Examples of Turk’s sculptural work can currently be seen at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Tx., in The Tipping Point: Echoes of Extinction. On view through May 1, 2024, the outdoor exhibition includes vertical sound sculptures of bird species that are either endangered or extinct. Each piece is a visualization of the call of a bird that has reached, or surpassed, a tipping point — whether one of loss (the Ivory-billed Woodpecker) or regeneration (the Bald Eagle). In addition to reminding us of our role in the delicate and quickly changing environment, the sculptures in the exhibition include QR codes containing each bird’s song.