Recent Artistic Collaborations
Each year we are approached by many artists—filmmakers, dancers, painters, photographers and musicians. We pick one or two strategic collaborations yearly to inspire interest in the ocean and to build new audiences for our work.
Our most consistent artistic effort is Sea Stories. Seastories.org is Blue Ocean Institute’s quarterly online journal of international ocean writing and art. Its mission is to nurture curiosity, creativity and concern about the world’s oceans through literary and artistic expression. Sea Stories publishes memoirs, poetry, descriptive prose and imaginative nonfiction, as well as photographs, drawings and other visual arts. In addition to publishing compelling work, the site offers ideas for educators and organizations.
Here are a few collaborations from the past year:
The Art As Reef Project is the brainchild of artist Christopher Wojcik who is also a marine biologist and SCUBA instructor. He is currently working on a series of multimedia art projects that promote education and ocean conservation. The first of these projects is a forty-foot long, anatomically-correct representation of a horseshoe crab. The sculpture will literally “live” on the bottom of the sea for hundreds or even thousands of years and act as an artificial reef. It will attract fish, crustaceans, and encrusting organisms of all sorts. The sculpture will be sunk off of the coast of New Jersey on July 25, 2012, adding to the fifteen already established reef systems. Chistopher is also developing a documentary film on the life history of mako sharks.
Reelblue, LLC
reelblue, LLC, directed by Jennifer Galvin and Sachi Cunningham, received a 50K grant from The Heinz Endowments to begin the production of “Elwha Unplugged: The Opus of Dick Goin (working title), a feature documentary about the quest of Pacific Northwest American hero, Dick Goin, who dedicates his life to set the Elwha River and its natural inhabitants ‐ salmon ‐ free. Leading the biggest dam removal project yet in American history, the story of Dick Goin teaches viewers the power of one, and the effect that a determined lifelong love and respect for nature can have on a region’s ecological and cultural survival.
To view the trailer for Elwha Unplugged: The Opus of Dick Goin, click here.
Blue Ocean Institute is also working with ARKive in supporting their mission of promoting the conservation of the world’s threatened species through the power of wildlife imagery. With the help of the world’s best filmmakers, photographers, conservationists and scientists, ARKive.org is the ultimate multimedia guide to what thousands of endangered species look like, how they behave, and what makes them special. We invite you to explore this unique, growing collection of work.
