Date: April 4, 2025
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center

Join us for a First Friday event with artist and student Nicole Emlen, as she shares her photography series Lives and Lessons of Zoo Animals. Nicole will provide a brief introduction about her project and about the future of her work. Come meet the artist, and enjoy an inspiring night at MNHC!

Light snacks and beverages provided.

From “Lives and Lessons of Zoo Animals” series by Nicole Emlen

About Nicole Emlen:
I am a graduating senior at the University of Montana studying Biology. Biology has always been part of my story. I see beauty and diversity in every life form—from grizzly bears to wood frogs, crane flies, and glacier lilies. I have been privileged to grow up surrounded by science, and I’m in the process of cultivating my own relationship with it. For me, science and biology are intertwined with art and self-expression.

Photography helps me capture some of the beauty that exists in the world and share what I see with others. Beauty is all around us, whether we notice it or not, and photographs give us a chance to study nature with a perspective we couldn’t get in real time. I hope to curate curiosity with my photographs and inspire people to ask questions, rather than dismissing something because it’s gross or scary or cute.

I aspire to work with animals, either at a zoo, sanctuary, or educational non-profit. It is unfortunate that so many animals are in captivity, and while many are there for good reasons, it means they won’t live like they could in the wild. My goal is to make the life of every individual I work with better in some way and share their stories with the world. There is so much we can learn from other forms of life, and I strive to listen when they
speak.