The North Carolina Zoo’s extensive animal art collection magnifies nature's beauty and complexity. The Zoo features over 150 art pieces that range from wall art to animal sculptures and paintings that emulate nature’s diversity. Our animal art collection is spread across the entire zoo.
For your visit, download our Art in the Park Guide, which includes the art collection map, information about artists, installations, mediums and sponsors.
Making Connections to Nature
Different styles, artists, and art forms invite visitors to embark on a unique journey of personal discovery and exploration. Our collection aims to inspire guests with colors, shapes, sounds, movements, and textures.
Each piece emulates nature's diversity, emerging as smooth bronze sculptures, recorded stories, textured ceramics, colorful paintings, lighthearted sketches, complex murals, and lively music. Together, they complement one another, exposing and explaining the bonds linking humans to the living organisms we need for survival.
The Poetry of Conservation
Throughout the Zoo, you will find poetry from poets both local and renowned. Poetry helps align what we learn about the natural world and how we feel about it - to deepen our understanding of nature by drawing attention to its beauty, diversity, and fragility. The hope is that a more enduring commitment to conservation will result by joining emotion with rational analysis.