The first Gulf of Maine EcoArts project is a multi-year art/science/educational initiative that focuses on the changes in biodiversity in the Gulf due to climate change and other human impact.
Making art, and out of the activity of making art, awakening a sense of connection–to the teeming life in the Gulf of Maine, to the science and the scientists who are busy seeking ways to sustain that life, to the students, teachers, climate activists, and fellow artists who are collectively inviting us to take up our destiny as stewards—this is what the project is all about.
Gulf of Maine EcoArts, an Art &Science initiative, installed a large scale sculpture installation and exhibition at the Bigelow Lab for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine. The culmination of the collaborative’s first project was the result of three years of work by a team of 7 artists, teachers and students in 16 schools, and research scientists and staff at Bigelow Lab. The exhibit included a life size adolescent North Atlantic Right whale skeleton, enlarged Comb Jelly lights and Diatoms, threatened bird species, and Ghost Gear, with an immersive display of enlarged photographs of Cashes Ledge by award winning National Geo photographer, Brian Skerry.
The central piece – a fictional Ecosystem: A 12’x24’x30’ sculpture, film installation featuring a 24 foot North Atlantic Right whale, and a selection of other endangered and threatened marine denizens, will be designed and built by six professional Maine sculptors and filmmakers and about two hundred students ranging from middle-school through college level.
The sculpture was made with 95% beach debris and recycled, re-purposed materials.
First venue: Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, Maine – Summer/Fall 2021.
Gallery: ‘Majestic Fragility’ project – Process to Finish
Gallery: Art and Materials | Gallery: Signage | Gallery: Students at Work
Moving Forward: The Bigelow Project in the Time of Covid