A Beak is a Bridge between Field and Flyway, a multi-year initiative, brings together artists, scientists, farmers, conservationists, rural and urban communities, and organizations along major bird migration routes (known as ‘flyways’) through the North and South American continents. A series of locally centered gatherings along the flyways will share knowledge and promote citizen science, art and culture.The project explores rich connections between the health and well-being of migratory bird populations and that of rural communities; it ties those connections to stewardship and migration in ecologically rich and threatened bioregions that transcend state and national borders.

Artist Austen Camille, along with the first cohort of Flyway Fellows Tia Kramer, Amanda Leigh Evans, and Mark Menjivar, has set in motion a multi-year curatorial research effort focusing on building partnerships with Wisconsin stakeholders including Wormfarm Institute, Aldo Leopold Foundation and International Crane Foundation. The team aims to cultivate trust by deepening relationships and exploring the role of public art for the species who rely upon connectivity across the span of a flyway. Together Camille, the artist team, partners, participants, and host sites will develop site-responsive artworks, and gather and construct a multimedia archive of conversations, soundscapes, and documentation.