ChihChung Chang and Yara Costa have been selected as the two new artists for the 2025 – 2026 edition of the EMBracing the Ocean programme!
We are happy to announce the two new EMBracing the Ocean artists for the 2025 – 2026 edition of the EMBracing the Ocean programme. These projects demonstrate strong collaborative approaches and potential for impact of various types of stakeholders from local communities, shipbuilders, the wider public and policy makers, as well as linking back to science.
ChihChung Chang is a visual artist and cultural researcher based in the Netherlands and Taiwan. His art explores rapidly shifting environments such as ships, islands, water, and ports, uncovering universal experiences and the grey areas within the tensions among humanity, civilization, and nature as they continuously shape one another. Narrative and storytelling serve as the foundation of Chang’s practice, with his works integrating meticulous craftsmanship across multiple media and formats, including site-specific projects and workshops. Since 2019, inspired by his father’s work in shipbuilding, Chang has investigated antifouling paint’s overlooked role in port modernization, shipbuilding, and marine pollution. In 2020, commissioned by the Taipei Fine Art Museum and supported by NTU’s Institute of Oceanography, he transformed this research into an escape room puzzle game, revealing East Asia’s hidden “toxic footprint.” For his EMBracing the Ocean project, he will expand this project to Northwest Europe, where sailing culture and ecological awareness are more deeply embedded. Through cross-disciplinary collaborations and emerging technologies, he aims to make this issue more accessible and engaging. By integrating experiential art with puzzle game design, the project seeks to spark dialogue and advocate for change, working in collaboration with Associate Professor Lena Granhag, and her antifouling and biofouling research group at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
Yara Costa is a Mozambican filmmaker and artist working at the intersection of ecology, indigenous knowledge, and storytelling. Based on the Island of Mozambique, her work connects coastal communities with global audiences through film, immersive media, and cultural oral archives. Her practice explores the role of ancestral maritime knowledge in facing today’s climate crisis, highlighting the strength and wisdom of ocean-facing communities. For her EMBracing the Ocean project, she will explore the interaction between science and ancient oral tradition of the coastal communities along Mozambique’s Swahili coast to protect marine biodiversity and strengthen our bond with the ocean. In collaboration with marine biologists Yara Tibiriça (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Italy) and Myriam Beck (Humboldt University of Berlin), she will create an immersive sensorial storytelling experience aboard an interactive physical dhow boat.
Find out more and stay up to date as their projects evolve here.