Video featuring alumnus wins Chicago Emmy

Alumnus Kurt Fondriest (CCAD 1985) was featured in the film Operation Rhino, which received a Midwest/Chicago Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Operation Rhino documents the transportation of a ceramic rhino from the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois to Misericordia Heart of Mercy, a center that provides services for adults and children with developmental disabilities. The rhino was then used as part of an artistic and educational project led by Fondriest, an art therapist at Misericordia.

Misericordia residents researched rhinos and met with Chicago Zoological Society rhino keepers and veterinary staff to ask questions and be taught about the care of rhinos within the zoo. The residents also completed a mural of the Serengeti on the ceramic animal.

“Through Operation Rhino, Misericordia residents used the expressive arts as a way to learn about the challenges that rhinos face in the wild and how people can take conservation action to support them,” Fondriest said in a press release.

The residents were then brought to the Brookfield Zoo where they were able to touch and feed one of the rhinos there.

“It was moving to watch Misericordia’s residents interact with Broookfield Zoo’s rhinos. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and something we’ll never forget,” Fondriest said.

To view the award-winning video click here.