The Ocean is an expanse. Spanning more than 360 million square kilometers, it is a vast and vibrant space of cohabitation, diversity, creativity, and constant conversation.
This year's World Ocean Day carries a new, multi-year theme, Catalyzing Action for our Ocean and Climate, advocating not only for a "healthy blue planet but also a more just, equitable, and sustainable society." Showing an understanding of the inextricability of social and environmental issues, this approach highlights the importance of advocacy to catalyze collective and intersectional action, including a just transition to clean and renewable energy, an end to fossil fuel extraction, the inclusion of local communities, restoring natural habitats, and collaborating in transformative ways.

After more than a decade of working with the Ocean through our research center, TBA21–Academy, we have learned that there are many different spaces for change. If the Ocean itself can be an art space, then art can be a space of advocacy, and science can be a space for art. Finding ways to connect these spaces and weave them into transdisciplinary conversations has long been our mission. We opened Ocean Space in Venice, a center for Ocean Imagination and Ocean Action, in 2019 to bring together two vital aspects of our work: creativity and change. Building on this commitment, TBA21 will actively participate at the United Nations Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice. TBA21 contributes to the UNOC3 process as an art and science partner and is committed to supporting the policy and scientific community by providing meaning and context to scientific data. By nurturing empathy and appealing to emotions, our work intends to inspire and turn the science and policy interface into concrete action.

This World Ocean Day, TBA21 is delighted to bring Ocean Imagination and Ocean Action to cities around the world, including Costa Rica as part of the preparatory event for the United Nations Ocean Conference, Lisbon, Venice, Oeiras, and more, with a program that will feature artist films, presentations, community events, and music.

We hope you join us in one place or another (or through the digital streams) to celebrate our biggest ally in the fight against the effects of the climate crisis and support regenerative action that will help it thrive–along with all planetary life.

Ocean Imagination and Ocean Action
An Artist Film Program Curated by María Montero Sierra and Markus Reymann
June 7–8, 2024
San José, Costa Rica

Part of the High-Level Event on Ocean Action: Immersed in Change

Ocean Imagination and Ocean Action is a program of screenings featuring artist films dedicated to exploring the state of the Ocean and advocating for a more-than-human sensitivity to underwater life. This two-day program, taking place in the main intermezzo of the panel discussions, is conceived to instigate ocean imagination and ocean action while the most pressing issues regarding the future of the Ocean are debated. The films act as a gentle reminder from the arts of the central role the rich underwater life plays in planetary thriving–including the thriving of humans– bringing forth the multiplicity of underwater sensibilities as part of the governance of the seas and its resources.

Learn more


Ocean Imagination and Ocean Action online

To celebrate World Ocean Day wherever you are, see the film program online through TBA21's digital platform, Ocean-Archive.org. Watch films by Will Benedict (DIS.ART), Stephanie Comilang, Ingo Niermann, Inhabitants, and Khadija von Zinnenburg Carroll via Ocean-Archive live-stream on Saturday, June 8. The screenings will take place at 10 am, 2 pm, and 6 pm CEST. 

Tune in

OCEAN SPACE
Venice, Italy

Bauhaus of the Seas Sails. Venice pilot kick-off
Presentation
5–5.45 pm

A public kick-off of the Venice pilot of Bauhaus of the Seas Sails, a project conceived under the call for the development of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) by the European Union, aiming to promote renewed ethical and aesthetic regenerative development from a diverse range of dimensions of our relationship with the sea. Join us for a round table discussion with Fabio Pittarello, Fabio Pranovi, Alessandra Libardo, Francesco Musco, and Paola Mar, followed by an introduction to TBA21–Academy's research program Convivial Tables. 

Alongside the Venetian kick-off, Bauhaus of the Seas Sails is launching its public program in other pilot cities, such as Malmö, Rotterdam, Lisbon, and Oeiras. See more about the program here. 


Convivial Tables: A Diet for Resistance
A culinary installation curated by Barena Bianca
6–7 pm 

Convivial Tables is a field research program that contributes to the ongoing debate about food resources, raising awareness about the potential harms of daily routines and encouraging an interspecies approach toward a food supply chain that is regenerative for our ecosystem. For its third edition, Convivial Tables is curated by Barena Bianca, a lagoon artivism collective active since 2018. The thematic basis of this year's program is Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania, the ongoing exhibition at Ocean Space.


Immersive Dialogues: Unveiling the Interconnected Worlds through Art and Science.
In collaboration with Tara Ocean Foundation
7–9 pm

An evening of deep conversation and artistic exploration as we delve into the work of renowned artists Laure Winants and Robertina Šebjanič. Both artists, who are residents of the Tara Europa expedition, will share insights from their explorations from the Arctic to the Adriatic Sea. Hosted by moderator Dalil Benhis-Folliot (Tara Ocean Foundation) and Rosa Ferré (TBA21), this event will dive deep into the intricate relationships between more-than-humans and aquatic environments through the lens of situated artistic practices.


DJ Set 
9–10.30 pm

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