YELLOWKNIFE (June 10, 2015) – The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre officially opens Ice Age Bison Discovery: Our Frozen Past and Thawing Future on Thursday, June 18th at 7:00 p.m. On exhibit for the first time — a 13,650-year-old steppe bison skull found in Tsiigehtchic, NWT in 2007. This exhibit highlights ice age fossils and the changing landscape of the North.
The exhibit includes a strikingly realistic mural of the NWT ice age bison, created by Vancouver-based paleoartist Julius T. Csotonyi. Highly regarded as a natural history illustrator, Csotonyi draws on his scientific expertise (PhD in natural sciences) to “restore as realistically as possible the curiously alien environments that earth has hosted in its deep past”.
Csotonyi’s work was recently featured in a special series of stamps by Canada Post, Dinos of Canada. The Royal Canadian Mint also recently commissioned Cstonyi to create phosphorescent and silver engraved prehistoric-themed coins. Other projects include several life-sized dinosaur murals (up to 150 feet long) for the Royal Ontario Museum’s 2012 exhibit, ‘Ultimate Dinosaurs; Giants from Gondwana’, life-sized murals of dinosaurs for the Dinosaur Hall (2011) at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and most of the artwork for the new Hall of Paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Join us at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre auditorium to discover how Csotonyi draws on his scientific background to reconstruct ancient worlds through illustration. Ice age mammals, dinosaurs and ancient landscapes will be featured in this informative presentation.
Leading up to the exhibit opening, budding young artists up to 12 years of age are invited to participate in a colouring contest that will be judged by Csotonyi. Prizes will be awarded to the winners in five age categories. Drop by PWNHC to enter the contest or visit http://www.pwnhc.ca/ice-age-bison-colouring-contest/
To see Csotonyi’s work, visit http://csotonyi.com/
For information on the exhibit, visit http://www.pwnhc.ca/
Media inquiries:
Tami Johnson
Communications Specialist
Department of Education, Culture and Employment
Tel: 920-6147
Email: tami_johnson@gov.nt.ca