WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eight Washed Ashore sea life sculptures made entirely of marine debris will be on display at the Our Ocean Conference at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., September 15 -16, 2016.
The sculptures are created by the non-profit, Washed Ashore, which has been creating and exhibiting powerful artwork of sea life made from marine debris for the past six years to educate the public about the effects of ocean pollution and to spark changes in consumer habits. Most recently their work has been seen at Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Georgia Aquarium and at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History where a 12 ft. long display case currently informs visitors in Sant Ocean Hall of the effects of plastics on the ocean.
Priscilla, a 16-foot-long parrot fish and Chompers, a 10-foot-long shark will greet Conference attendees as they enter the State Department Building. Inside, visitors to the Conference will walk under a 12-foot-long whale bone ribcage made from beached white bleach bottles and twirl a 10-foot-tall sea jelly made of plastic water bottles. These works of art are made to be interactive as well as highly informative with familiar plastic debris of all kinds visible on each sculpture. Discarded toothbrushes, combs, detergent bottles, nets, lighters, and toys remind us that we are part of the problem and can be part of the solution. Each work of art represents an animal that is threatened by the constant flow of plastics into the ocean. The sculpted animals, in many cases, make direct eye contact with the viewer and beg to be remembered. They speak to the many serious issues sea creatures face because of trash including habitat loss, entanglement and ingestion.
Washed Ashore was founded by artist and educator, Angela Haseltine Pozzi in 2010. She serves as Executive and Artistic Director to the Bandon, Oregon based non-profit organization. Angela depends on her dedicated staff, visiting artists and thousands of volunteers of all ages and abilities to create the gigantic sculptures which are then put on the road to educate millions of people. Multiple exhibits tour the globe visiting zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, museums and science centers educating the world about how we can all work together to make better choices for our oceans and waterways.
Washed Ashore's mission is to build and exhibit aesthetically powerful art to educate a global audience about plastic pollution in oceans and waterways and spark positive changes in consumer habits.
Since 2010 the organization has processed over 18 tons of marine debris into 70 sculptures with over 10,000 hours contributed by volunteers and over 8 million visitors seeing the artwork across the nation.
Washed Ashore is currently finishing an innovative Integrated Arts Marine Debris Curriculum, made possible by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This curriculum weaves the arts into science and blends environmental awareness with the importance of hope and action.
About Washed Ashore:
The Washed Ashore Project is sponsored by Artula Institute for Arts and Environmental Education, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2010 by Angela Haseltine Pozzi. Washed Ashore is an environmental education project that uses art to raise awareness to the tragedy of plastic pollution in our oceans through community involvement. It has taken hundreds of volunteers and thousands of pounds of marine debris to create the monumental sculptures that now make up the Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea Traveling Exhibit.
In addition to art workshops, Angela and her staff are currently developing an Integrated Arts Marine Debris Curriculum, partially funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
