Xtina Parks
Xtina Parks is an African wildlife photographer, filmmaker, African art gallery owner, and a conservationist who lives in the United States and Botswana. Through Parks’ shared journey of working with African artisans, her gallery located at MASS MoCA, ROAM a Xtina Parks Gallery, strives to promote and support both established and new contemporary and traditional artists. Parks’ work as a photographer has expanded towards on-the-ground conservation, working with biologists and researchers to protect endangered species in Africa, to heal the environment, and to promote sustainable economic advantages for people while honoring cultural traditions.
Xtina Studios is a documentary film production company whose debut film, This is Ethiopia, follows Parks and her team of researchers as they work alongside the local people to protect their home in the rainforest, as well as the animals, plants, trees, and all others under the massive canopy of the rainforest in the Bale Mountain National Park. At this critical moment in our time on earth, Parks hopes to inspire thoughtful actions and appreciation of our natural world. By reminding us that the land, the sky, the animals—as well as the resources of not only Africa but of our entire world—can be renewed, protected, and treasured.