BRINGING THE OCEAN TO CENTRE STAGE AT COP26

Bringing the OCEAN to centre stage at COP26. WE ARE OCEAN and INTO THE OCEANIC are bringing the OCEAN to centre stage at COP26 through a series of artists events and screenings, offering a platform for young audiences, policy-makers, artists, scientists and the public to come together and discuss ocean protection and climate change.

WE ARE OCEAN + INTO THE OCEANIC @ COP26 is an interactive journey created by ARTPORT making waves, in partnership with the INTO THE OCEANIC, which gathers several interdisciplinary projects to a city-wide programme. A series of artist screenings, talks and events are coming to Glasgow and Edinburgh during COP26 on 1-12 November, showcasing work by Scotland-based and international artists including Elizabeth Ogilvie, Robert Page, Lisa Rave, Marc Johnson, Cease Wyss, Olivier Salvas, Barena Bianca, Being Salmon Being Human, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, and Asa Andersson.

INTO THE OCEANIC experiential semi-abstract outdoor video projections by Elizabeth Ogilvie and Robert Page will be projected on iconic buildings during COP26, in collaboration with Double Take Projections. Hosted by Glasgow Caledonian University, the film will run on a loop from 5pm to 11pm every evening until November 12. It will also appear in Edinburgh on 11th November on the facade of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), and on a number of Glasgow buildings on 12th November, culminating with the Armadillo at 11pm on 12th November.

WE ARE OCEAN | INTO THE OCEANIC hub runs from 8-12 November at the Glasgow School of Art, Vic Caf. & Bar, featuring workshops, film screenings, and panel discussions with marine scientists. The hub is open to the public on Tuesday the 9th and Thursday 11th November from 12 to 5:30pm, with Glasgow School of Art students taking part in the interactive scheenings and workshops and joining discussions with marine scientists and policy-makers on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

In-person film screenings of WE ARE OCEAN Art – Science – Education Berlin/Brandenburg by Lisa Rave and fishbowl discussion on “How interdisciplinary collaborative projects between art, science and education are driving social change in marine conservation” with Anne-Marie Melster (curator of the program), Elizabeth Ogilvie & Rob Page (Artists and film directors of INTO THE OCEANIC), Martin Lee Muller (VILLAKS, Oslo, Norway) will take place at the Goethe Institut, Glasgow on Wednesday 10th November at 6:30-8pm.

WE ARE OCEAN + INTO THE OCEANIC @ COP26 is an interactive journey created by ARTPORT_making waves and INTO THE OCEANIC (Elizabeth Ogivlie and Rob Page) which gathers several interdisciplinary projects into one city-wide program during COP26 and as part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).

WE ARE OCEAN and INTO THE OCEANIC bring the ocean to Glasgow and put it in the centre of discussions. At least every second breath we take is generated by the ocean. Humankind cannot survive on a planet with lifeless seas. All ecosystems are connected by water, and damage to one ecosystem causes rippling effects throughout the world. At a fundamental level, marine life helps determine the very nature of our planet. The effect of climate change, ocean acidification and oxygen depletion have already triggered a phase of extinction of marine species which contribute significantly to the oxygen cycle and regulation of Earth’s climate.

In addition to the outdoor video projections, INTO THE OCEANIC feature documentary will also launch during COP26 – lyrical and analytical in form, it chronicles the pursuit of new research in an environmental artist’s practice, revealing investigation and collaboration with world-class scientists, working remotely and sustainably. The documentary brings together interdisciplinary voices, including professor William Austin, chair of Blue Carbon Scotland, Dr Richard Lilley Director, Project Seagrass Scotland, anthropologist Tim Ingold, oceanographer Bee Berx, mermaid, filmmaker, Kate McLeod, and artist Luis Guzman, among many others.

Speaking about the project, Scotland-based environmental artist Elizabeth Ogilvie said:

“Kelp forests, seagrass meadows and saltmarshes, amongst other ocean environments – our socalled blue carbon habitats – represent significant opportunities to offer a nature-based solution to mitigate and adapt climate change and provide invaluable havens to marine life. This artscience project is a visceral meditation on such ecosystems, recorded in Atlantic and Sea North Waters, it celebrates some of our greatest weapons to combat climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and proposes the vision of a dynamic collaboration for us all with the ocean – our revered partner.”

Ogilvie and colleague Robert Page’s driving objective of the INTO THE OCEANIC project is to encourage active participation, particularly among young people, in tackling environmental issues through democratising understanding of climate science and research, working creatively to encourage and involve different communities and through securing democratic access to work, science, knowledge.

ARTPORT_making waves’ curator and director Anne-Marie Melster will present INTO THE OCEANIC in Venice concurrent with the 2022 Venice Biennale, in collaboration with the Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR), at their historic headquarters Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice. The ocean is as dependent on us, humankind, as we are on the ocean. Through a series of events WE ARE OCEAN | INTO THE OCEANIC aims to engage the public by bringing together citizens, UN delegates, local politicians, international scientists, NGOs, educators and other stakeholders.

The aim of the project is not only to convey scientific information on the state of the ocean and the generation of knowledge, but also to stimulate rethinking and behavioral change through awareness activities.

Anne-Marie Melster, curator WE ARE OCEAN, Director ARTPORT_making waves said:

“ARTPORT_making waves has been working for 16 years with young people, who are the citizens of the future and its largest interest group, and who are demanding, more than ever, that politicians and systems of power take them seriously. WE ARE OCEAN brings these young people together with artists, politicians, academics and other decision-makers to think about feasible solutions.” ARTPORT_making waves has delivered city wide art programs for several Climate Conferences over the last twelve years (Copenhagen, Cancun, Paris, Bonn) and is an advocate for bringing climate and ocean knowledge to civil society through interdisciplinary art projects, to stimulate action.

WE ARE OCEAN continues to promote the regular implementation of such external scholarlyartistic workshops into the curriculum of schools to provide first-hand knowledge in a creative way and to involve young people in an international process. It gives young people an active voice. As an official UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) Action and the Ocean Literacy Program of IOC-UNESCO (oceandecade.org), these voices are carried around the world.