Todd McGrain is a visual artist and documentary filmmaker.

For much of his professional life, McGrain has directed his strengths as a sculptor to The Lost Bird Project, large-scale public memorials dedicated to birds driven to extinction in modern times.  This project has required that McGrain work closely with arts and conservation organizations.  His attention to purpose, site, and audience has led to sculpture installations being warmly welcomed into the fabric of the communities to which they belong.

In addition to permanent installations, McGrain’s sculptures have toured extensively to museums, universities, and public gardens.  They are included in several major collections in the United States and abroad.

McGrain’s work is the subject of the award-winning documentary film, The Lost Bird Project, produced by Middlemarch Films.  This rewarding collaborative experience inspired McGrain to direct his own independent documentary film.  

Elephant Path / Njaia Njoku chronicles two crucial years in the lives of one of the world’s last wild herds of forest elephants. Set in the Central African rainforest, against the backdrop of a violent civil conflict, Elephant Path / Njaia Njoku is a moving narrative and a call to action to protect this iconic and vanishing species.  Elephant Path garnered recognition and praise at film festivals and through national and international broadcasts.

In addition to his environmentally focused work, McGrain has created several major commissions for Zen retreats and study centers.

McGrain’s accomplishments earned him the prestigious Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship.