Taking its cue from the 2021 state-wide initiative Freedom & Captivity, the 2022 L.C. Bates summer exhibition, Wilderness and Culture, invites artists to reflect upon the meanings that these two concepts hold for the natural world and the ways in which we conceive, represent, and imagine freedom and captivity in nature. Possible avenues of reflection are, for instance, wilderness, cultivation, and domestication. The L.C. Bates is a non-traditional, encyclopedic museum with a focus on the natural world. Its annual summer exhibition, which runs from May to October, is the result of a collaboration between the museum’s staff and two Colby students under the supervision of Prof. Véronique Plesch. The exhibition’s opening reception will occur on May 7th, 2022 from 4-6 pm at the museum.