Become Ocean: Art from World Ocean Day Celebrations

Ombretta Agró Andruff, Founder, ARTSail Residency & Research Initiative

Enjoy Become Ocean, an exhibit presenting a selection of the entire Ocean Flags collection, commissioned annually by ARTSail from different artists. These flags, celebrating the beauty and urgency of marine ecosystems, are unveiled each year at the World Ocean Day Celebration. Featuring artists AMLgMATD, Beatriz Chachamovits, Deborah Mitchell, Maria Useche, Marina Zurkow with Una Chaudhuri.

In commemoration of World Ocean Day every June 8th, since 2021, ARTSail has forged a partnership with the Blue Scholars Initiative, giving rise to our signature annual event: the World Ocean Day Celebration. This initiative harnesses the power of visual art to champion environmental stewardship. Crafted with the aim of promoting ocean conservation awareness, our program offers an array of free activities spanning art, recreation, impact, science, education, and entertainment. By uniting South Florida's youth, ocean conservation organizations, artists, activists, and community members, we endeavor to foster enjoyment, engagement, and safeguarding of our precious One Ocean.

With each rendition, ARTSail commissions a distinct artist to conceive the Ocean Flags—a series of six grand flags prominently displayed on the beach during the daytime festivities. We are delighted to present, at the Miami Beach Public Library, for the first time, a compilation of the entire flag collection. Originating in 2021 with designs by AMLgMATD, inspired by the #SaveBiscayneBay campaign, the series continued in 2022 with Florida Endangered Species crafted by Beatriz Chachamovits. Expanding further in 2023, the collection embraced a carnivalesque interpretation titled We Are Ocean, which serves as the namesake for the current exhibition. This vision was brought to life by Marina Zurkow in collaboration with Una Chaudhuri.

We are excited to announce that the 2024 series is conceived by Maria Useche, a former YoungArts Award Winner. Her design was selected through an open call conducted in partnership with the esteemed Miami-based non-profit. Following the unveiling on June 8th, her flags will be added to the ones already presented in the gallery. Additionally, we will present Weaving with Water, consisting of three large quilts co-crafted through a series of workshops led by artist Deborah Mitchell, involving students from Breakthrough Miami, The Motivational Edge, and The Overtown Youth Center. Following their display at the World Ocean Celebration event, they will be exhibited in the gallery as well.

In addition to the flags, a series of small coral-inspired sculptures by Beatriz Chachamovits are displayed at the center of the gallery, an homage to the large-scale installation Modeling the Reef, created by the artist in collaboration with students from the three organizations mentioned above, in occasion of the 2022 World Ocean Day Celebration.

A nomadic and multi-faceted platform established in 2016, ARTSail fosters collaborations between cultural creators and climate experts to address South Florida's climate crisis. We facilitate artist connections with activists and scientists to explore the impact of climate change and man-made pollution on our waterways, resulting in actionable climate advocacy initiatives. Our programs span artist residencies, exhibitions, and community outreach, bridging awareness to action and leveraging artists' communicative power for policy advocacy.

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