For immediate release.

Encounter Mythical Creatures in a Natural Landscape at Fernbank Museum

“Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles” opens March 29.

ATLANTA, GA, Feb. 26, 2025 — Immerse yourself in a breathtaking exhibit that bridges Mexican cultures and contemporary art when “Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles” opens at Fernbank Museum. From March 29 to Aug. 3, guests can enter a supernatural world when they walk alongside towering, brightly colored and richly patterned sculptures in the natural landscape of Fernbank’s WildWoods.  

In creating “Spirit Guides,” artists Jacobo and María Ángeles were inspired by an ancient Zapotec stone calendar. Indigenous to southern Mexico, Zapotec culture is deeply connected to plants, seasons and animals. “Spirit Guides” beckons visitors to travel into the spiritual landscape of Southern Mexico’s Indigenous traditions through these animal sculptures that act as both spirit guides and astrological embodiments of human character. Some of the hybrid animals depicted include a combination of a deer-butterfly or a coyote-fish. These larger-than-life sculptures depict patterns and designs that symbolize different aspects of Zapotec life and culture, such as happiness, fertility and community.

The artists have previously stated that, according to a Zapotec legend, when you are born an animal came to you to serve as your protector in this world. This animal is your tona, a being that shares your destiny and soul. Along with your tona, you also have a nahual, which is assigned based on the year of your birth. This spirit animal embodies characteristics that mirror your own personality.

As guests stand before the sculptures in WildWoods, some of which stand at nearly 8 feet tall and 9 feet wide, they are made conscious of the profound connection between the natural and cosmological worlds.

By drawing inspiration from the Zapotec calendar and their own imaginations, the Ángeles team sculpted their own mythical creations.. This exhibit features eight towering, vibrant fiberglass sculptures from fiberglass of hybrid animals, intersecting art, mythology and identity. The sculptures were designed through a multistep process that included conceptual sketches, small wooden renderings and papier mâché molds before casting the fiberglass. A team of artisans then helped to paint the sculptures with striking colors and intricate geometric patterns inspired by Zapotec and other Indigenous designs, each with their own unique meaning.  

About the Artists

Jacobo and María Ángeles are a married artist team based in Oaxaca, Mexico. Joyful, fanciful and distinctively patterned, the Ángeles’ animal sculptures embrace both contemporary art and folk-art traditions. They employ and teach more than 100 artisans in their workshop, which has created artworks shown in museums around the world.

“Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles” is on view from March 29 – Aug. 3, 2025. This exhibit will be included with General Admission at Fernbank Museum and is free with CityPASS. It will also be on view select nights when the museum is open, including Fernbank After Dark and Fernbank... but Later. For more information, please visit www.fernbankmuseum.org.

“Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles” is organized by Denver Botanic Gardens.

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Tickets

Exhibits, films and Discovery Days are included with daytime general admission and with CityPASS. General admission tickets include three floors of exhibits in the natural history museum, choice of one giant screen film, and 75-acres of nature explorations in Fernbank Forest and WildWoods. Fernbank After Dark and some other special after-hours events are available at a separate ticket price and may include access to special exhibits. Fernbank is located at 767 Clifton Road NE in Atlanta, minutes from midtown Atlanta and downtown Decatur.  

General admission tickets vary by date and program, starting at $23.95 for children, $24.95 for seniors and $25.95 for adults, and include a film in the Giant Screen Theater. Tickets purchased online are discounted. Members receive free general admission. More information is available at FernbankMuseum.org. 

Media Inquiries    

Jena Allison| Communications Manager     

Jena.Allison@FernbankMuseum.org    

404.929.6381     

About Fernbank    

Fernbank is one of the most popular and iconic cultural destinations in Atlanta. Known as Atlanta's Science and Nature Experience, Fernbank invites guests to discover a World of Wow through an expansive natural history museum, 4-story giant screen theater, and 75-acres of nature adventures in WildWoods and Fernbank Forest. One of the oldest not-for-profit conservation organizations in the country, Fernbank was founded in 1939 to preserve Fernbank Forest, the largest urban, old growth, Piedmont forest in the United States. The museum and giant screen theater opened as "a school in the woods for nature studies" on Oct. 5, 1992, and is today known for its giant dinosaurs, hands-on STEAM* programming, immersive experiences, and year-round nature exploration. Visit fernbankmuseum.org for more information and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok.   

*Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.