WHAT \ U.N. Safe Planet Campaign \ Art & Public Outreach

Plastic Pollution, Hawai'i

The Safe Planet exhibition PLASTIC POLLUTION and event ART AND THE OCEAN in Honolulu, Hawai'i on the occasion of the 5th International Marine Debris Conference, March 20 - 25, 2011, gave Safe Planet another chance to connect to the local population about issues threatening our very existence . Making the links between consumer waste, plastic production, and the chemical pollution from persistent organic pollutants, our artists look at the danger and history of marine debris from a conceptual base, via photography, Spoken Word, sculpture, installation, and film.

 

ART AND THE OCEAN had an evening focusing on native Hawaiian culture, whose ancient practices of land and sea stewardship are a model for the rest of the world.  Plastic pollution endangers Hawai'ian and all living cultures around the world.  Artists in this exhibit address these realities in provocative images and words.  Many thanks to the dozens of volunteers who helped to make this happen, especially Bart Potter, Kelly Arnett & Lucy Sanders.

 

 

Art & Public Outreach

(1) Education

     • State-wide Art Contest in local schools on plastics pollution.  

     • Prizes:  Tours of the Sea Dragon Pangaea/5Gyres Research Vessel in Honolulu

     • Winners Announced from the Mid Pacific Institute, Honolulu:

          Kaul Son, 4th Grade

          Group Project by Reina Maglasang, Irie Cheng, and Nyah Juliano

          Kennedy Flores, 3rd grade

          Keawe Saizon, 5th Grade

          Josephine Kane-Royos, 6th Grade

(2) Satellite Exhibition “The Architecture of Plastic Pollution” around city of Honolulu at these venues
     • University of Hawai'i, Mānoa, Architecture Department
     • Waikiki Aquarium at Surfrider's event, March 26, 2011
     • 5IMDC, Marriot Hotel

 

     Invited Artists:  Mark Chai (Hawaiʻi), Barbara Benish (CZ/USA), Chris Jordan (USA), Tony Cragg (UK), Rahmin Bahrani (USA), Jamaica Osorio, Hawai'i, Libuše Niklová (Czech Republic), Jason Taylor, (UK/Mexico), Susan Scott, (Hawai'i)

 

 

(3) Symposium and Event "Art & the Ocean" at University of Hawai'i, March 24, 2011, 5:30 - 9:00 pm
Architecture Department conference hall

 

• Keynote:  Dr. Charles Moore, Algalita Marine Research Foundation

• Invited Guest Speaker:  Dr. Jonathan Osorio, Professor, Hawai‘inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

 

• Stiv Wilson, 5Gyres film

 

• Featured Organizations:  Stuart Coleman, Surfrider's Foundation, www.riseaboveplastics.com, www.bagitmovie.com, Angela Haseltine Pozzi, Artula Institute for Arts and Environmental Education, www.washedashore.org, www.seathingsart.com, Wayne Sentman, Oceanic Society, www.naturefinder.blogspot.com, Pam Longobardi, Georgia State University, Dianna Cohen, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Mia Hanak, Millenium Art, danielbeltra.photoshelter.com, Conservation Council for Hawai'i.

 

• Closing Remarks:  Barbara Benish, ArtMill/UN Safe Planet Campaign

 

• Reception 7:30 - 9:00pm, Pupus and refreshments.  Music  Kapakahi Jug Band

 

(4) Media Event

March 25, 2011 - Pro-Surfer Mary Osborne, who sailed with the Sea Dragon, collecting plastics in the ocean, appears at Patagonia Store.

 

More information on climate change and hazardous chemicals & wastes can be found on the
websites of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions.

 

Learn about plastics debris and plastics pollution in the  UNEP Yearbook 2011.

See pictures of the Exhibition and Art Contest HERE.

 

Download file - Hawai'i Art Contest Info
Download file - Press Release