Saving Dumbo

If you grew up on Babar, Dumbo, or Horton, your inner child probably screams with delight every time you see an elephant at the zoo. They are gentle giants, as evidenced by the now-viral friendship between Bubbles, a 9,000-pound elephant, and Bella, a Labrador retriever, that has been making adorable waves throughout the interwebs. Yet there are people out there who don't see elephants as anything more than temporary ivory carriers. Liora Goldfield Davis is not one of those people, and in fact, she's using her artwork to help show how important elephants are as well as how surprisingly similar they are to humans when it comes to emotion. Her exhibit is called "A Tribute to Elephants and Other Works." "35,000 or more were killed in 2012 and 2013 in Africa alone," says Davis' website. So if you were curled up into a ball crying when those jerks in Dumbo made fun of his ears, then the thought of Dumbo being sold for spare parts while his ivory is given to highest bidder should probably result in an all-out ragefest. Davis says 50 percent of proceeds will be donated to various elephant organizations such as the Elephant Listening Project and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. But don't feel too bad if you go to the exhibit and want to buy something of hers that's not elephanty, because 20 percent of the proceeds for nonelephant pieces will also go to support those organizations. "A Tribute to Elephants and Other Works" will be at the Parker Playhouse, located at 707 NE Eighth St. in Fort Lauderdale, from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday. Visit lioraart.com, or call 954-462-0222.
Thu., March 6, 6-9 p.m., 2014