This story is a part of the GenOcean campaign — an official Ocean Decade campaign showcasing Decade Actions, collaborating organizations and ocean leaders that focus on youth and citizen science opportunities to help anyone, anywhere be the change the ocean needs.
From Berlin to Vancouver and Marseille to Nice, a powerful wave of change is gaining momentum through WE ARE OCEAN, a bold transdisciplinary art project that bridges the gap between artistic expression and climate science, with a focus on amplifying youth voices and empowering the next generation of ocean advocates. As an endorsed Ocean Decade action, WE ARE OCEAN addresses Challenge 10: restore humanity’s relationship with the ocean through art, cultural events and educational campaigns across the globe.
Launched in 2019 by ARTPORT_making waves, a nonprofit founded in New York and Valencia in 2006 with structures in Germany, France, Spain and Sweden today, WE ARE OCEAN brings together artists, scientists, students and policymakers to spotlight the deep interconnection between humans and the ocean. The program uses a range of immersive formats including interdisciplinary workshops, art performances and exhibitions, film screenings and scientific interventions to inspire both educational and behavioral change.
“WE ARE OCEAN is a global program which aims to give agency to young people worldwide with Ocean Literacy tools to become leaders in ocean protection,” says Anne-Marie Melster, Co-Founder and Executive Director of ARTPORT_making waves. “The program merges contemporary art and marine and water science with informal education through participatory workshops, co-creative art production and events at conferences. This innovative educational format provided a role model for many more organisations worldwide.”
Since 2019, they have produced projects in Berlin, Venice, Marseille, Vancouver, Stockholm, Glasgow for COP26 Climate, Montreal for COP15 Biodiversity, and the three Wadden Sea countries Germany, The Netherlands and Denmark. They have also worked in Honduras and Palma de Mallorca, and have just started the WE ARE OCEAN_Blaupausen (blueprints) series at schools in Germany, which is traveling to all 16 federal states to raise awareness of “blue schools.”
Global Reach with Local Impact
Each iteration of WE ARE OCEAN adapts to its local environment, embracing unique cultural and ecological contexts. Below is a selection of WE ARE OCEAN projects. For a full list, visit their projects page:
- Berlin (2019–2020, 2025): The German capital has played a key role in launching and reactivating the initiative since 2019 as a host for multiple film and discussion events, including the premiere of the film “We Are Ocean” by Berlin-based artist Lisa Rave which emerged as a result from the eponymous series of workshops with students from Berlin and Brandenburg. In May 2025, Berlin was host to the first leg of WE ARE OCEAN_Blaupausen, a new three-year series aimed at building a network of “WE ARE OCEAN schools” across Germany to spread the idea of the Blue Schools concept. One of the participating artists, Tue Greenfort, guided students in exploring the city’s relationship to water through art and environmental science. The young participants had the opportunity to showcase their work at the first German Marine Conference held in Berlin on May 6 and 7.
“Art communicates for itself, I think,” says Greenfort. “However, it does mean different things for different people. Critically unpacking those meanings together with young people is certainly one of the most impactful activities that all professionals involved in any type of art can do. It is particularly useful for artistic practices like my own that address environmental issues. It raises and increases the awareness of the life and health of the ocean as one important example. This is important even more so in big cities where the majority of people are out of touch with the interconnectedness of land and seascapes and their critical states. Art helps to address the urgency of immediate individual and collective climate action.”
- Marseille (2020): Known for its vibrant Mediterranean culture, Marseille hosted activities geared towards school-aged children in three parts: school workshops with the French artist Marc Johnson, outdoor film screenings with a panel discussion on the Plage du Prophète and a performance with school students created by the artist in collaboration with the Institut Pythéas, L’école élémentaire de la Roseraie et la Mairie du 1-3 (Marseille).
- Venice (2020): In the lagoon city known for its vulnerability to sea-level rise, students and artists engaged in dialogue about climate adaptation and the role of coastal communities, led by the Barena Bianca collective. Students participated in an interactive educational workshop titled “Come va lì? Qui…” (“How is it like there? Here…”). This initiative invited participants to reflect on shared environmental challenges through mailing art to fellow participants around the world, fostering global connections and raising awareness about issues like coastal erosion and pollution. The project culminated in a virtual fishbowl discussion and on-site events at Ocean Space Venice, promoting interdisciplinary dialogue among artists, scientists and the public.
- Vancouver (2020–2021): With its proximity to the Pacific and strong Indigenous presence, the Vancouver edition integrated Indigenous knowledge systems alongside contemporary science in a Covid-safe, outdoor-exploring experience. Local youth and their families were invited to explore Vancouver and learn about the history of its waterways through a video/podcast series hosted by Canadian artists T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss and Olivier Salvas that emphasized ocean stewardship and ecological interdependence.
- Nice (2025): The newest addition, WE ARE OCEAN Nice – Raconte-moi la Mer, kicked off in March with workshops at Collège Jules Romains. Led by artist Morgane Ganault and geoscientist Christian Gorini, students explored the interconnectedness of rivers and oceans. Their creative outcomes were showcased at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference aboard the German research vessel Meteor.
“Storytelling through words and drawings is a way to delve into the depths of each individual’s inner world,” says Ganault. “Adolescents engaged in our Nice workshops with remarkable ease, revealing their sensitivity and connecting emotionally with audiences. By adopting the perspectives of other marine species and imagining how they might feel if they were maimed by a plastic bag, displaced by massive constructions or threatened by the ever-growing appetite of humans and market forces, they succeeded in making these issues accessible to all.
‘Raconte-moi la Mer’ (Tell Me about the Sea) was a wonderful journey involving the Collège Jules Romains, where critical thinking about images was intertwined with the power of storytelling and the importance of inspiring our imaginations with visions of a vibrant, preserved ocean. The teenagers followed the entire creative process of producing comic strips. From the initial idea to the script, including character creation, they wrote a story based on knowledge transmitted by their teachers as well as scientific researchers from La Sorbonne. Field knowledge, theoretical understanding and emotional expression formed the foundation of this project, which resulted in thirteen multi-page stories. These sketches are complemented by posters created in collaboration with other pupils from Marseille, who were also made aware of major contemporary issues: pollution, overfishing and the decline of biodiversity. Far from presenting a distressing overview of the situation, I aimed to highlight the ‘step aside’ perspective that comics can offer using humor and aesthetics to encourage reflection and hopefully action.”
Empowering Youth Through Art and Ocean Literacy
In recognition of its innovative model, ARTPORT has been invited to contribute a chapter to the upcoming Ocean Literacy with All anthology, a landmark publication that highlights impactful ocean education projects from around the world.
“We started ARTPORT_making waves at the end of 2005 when art, science, climate and ocean action had not been combined into an interdisciplinary field before. It was innovative, but the work was very challenging in the first years,” says Melster. “Since then we have patiently built up a strong international network of partners, artists, curators, scientists and other stakeholders. We have created hundreds of projects and events worldwide. We have worked with more than 65,000 young people globally and reached an audience of more than 9 million people. We even achieved Observer Status on behalf of UNFCCC and regular accreditations for other UN conferences, allowing us to reach out to decision makers shaping laws and politics around conservation.”
Looking Ahead
Big things lie ahead. From 2025 to 2027, WE ARE OCEAN_Blaupausen will tour all German federal states, cultivating a national network of schools committed to marine sustainability. This summer, after the well received WE ARE OCEAN_Blaupause Berlin presentation at the first German National Marine Conference in Berlin, the project continues in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony.
At the same time, ARTPORT is preparing a powerful collaboration for COP30 in Brazil, involving a Brazilian artist and a local Indigenous community. This initiative will underscore the project’s commitment to integrating Indigenous knowledge into global climate dialogue.
ARTPORT_making waves has also secured a long-term partnership with the OKEANOS Foundation in Germany, reinforcing its mission to connect art, science and sustainable development across borders.
How You Can Get Involved
By 2030, ARTPORT will have also added projects in Tanzania, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Sweden and many more countries. Look out for a project near you! Whether you’re interested in hosting a local event, participating in workshops or supporting through partnerships, WE ARE OCEAN offers numerous entry points. Visit artport-project.org to learn more.
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