TBA21’s engagement at the International Seabed Authority
As the only cultural organization with an Observer Seat at the ISA, which it has held since 2017, TBA21 advocates a ban on deep-sea mining, emphasizes the importance of a cultural and embodied connection to the sea, and supports local and Indigenous communities that have long opposed the exploitation of the seabed. In line with TBA21’s core research lines: Convivial Conservation, Rights of Nature, and Governing Otherwise, which together frame deep-sea governance as a multidimensional, more-than-human challenge requiring disruptive policy, cultural, and artistic practices, we engage with the ISA across artistic, policy, and community-based work. Bringing together artists, cultural practitioners, Indigenous people, coastal communities, and policy experts, the foundation fosters artistic inquiry to create conditions in which art can directly engage with policy to help reimagine our relation with the deep sea—one based in reciprocity and care.
The first major research commission dedicated to deep-sea mining was conducted by the artist and The Current fellow, Armin Linke, over a period of three years. The resulting investigative exhibition, Prospecting Ocean, developed in collaboration with the Istituto di Scienze Marine (CNR-ISMAR) and curated by Stefanie Hessler, drew upon rare footage of the deep sea and interviews with leading scientists, policymakers, legal experts, and activists. This project facilitated TBA21’s application for observer status with the ISA, which was granted in 2017, becoming the first-ever observer status granted to a cultural organization. Through commissions such as the Inhabitants’ web series What is Deep Sea Mining?, Nabil Ahmed’s INTERPRT, Latai Taumopeau’s Deep Communion sung in minor (archipelaGO, THIS IS NOT A DRILL), and the research project Culturing the Deep Sea, TBA21 strives to contribute to a body of work building critical ocean literacy about the deep sea, advocating for honoring our connections with the Ocean beyond its monetary value.
Alongside its base in Madrid, TBA21 maintains major hubs of activity in Venice, through its cultural center Ocean Space, and in Portland (Jamaica), in partnership with its sister foundation, the Alligator Head Foundation (AHF), a Jamaican-based project launched in 2015 with the support of TBA21 that focuses on the intersection of science, art, and community. Through its newly established Convivial Blue Commons Lab, a joint initiative by TBA21–Academy, the AHF, and the Convivial Conservation Centre, it pioneers a model of marine conservation rooted in culture, justice, and systemic critique—promoting connection over protection, the just integration of people and nature, and political-economic transformation at multiple scales. This new chapter aims to deepen local impact while positioning East Portland as a landscape-scale demonstration project to help shape new paradigms of marine conservation while taking national leadership around the blue economy.
TBA21 is a member of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, BBNJ High Seas Alliance (HAS), UNFCCC High Level Champions, the Group of Friends of Culture-based climate action, and the UN Culture Goal Campaign.
