Through the lens of Art4Sea, art and science come together to inspire a conscious and sustainable relationship with the sea. All artworks can now be explored online, in the Metaverse, or via Meta Quest VR.
It was during the summer months that Art4Sea came to life across the three Mediterranean islands: Ustica (Italy), Alonissos (Greece), and Gozo (Malta). Sun-warmed harbours, winding coastal paths, and crystalline waters became open-air studios where murals, land sculptures, and underwater installations took shape. The inaugurations were collective events, culminating in Ustica’s Grand Event, which brought the local community together in a spectacular celebration of performances, projections, and storytelling along the narrow streets of the island.
Now, a few months later, with the memories still vivid, the artworks remain on the islands, continuing to speak to those who visit, reminding us of fragility, biodiversity, and our shared responsibility toward the ocean.
Yet the journey does not end at the shoreline. Art4Sea moves forward, carried by technology into digital spaces where everyone can join the experience. The artworks can be explored in multiple ways: by accessing the Virtual Exhibition for Meta Quest VR (download here), visiting the exhibition in the Metaverse (access here), or viewing the works online on the website and the YouTube channel (see the full list of works below).
The Art4Sea Virtual Exhibition Platform for Meta Quest is designed as an underwater hub, where 24 transparent bubbles float, each granting access to a unique artwork. The bubbles evoke the delicate, interconnected balance of marine ecosystems, inviting users to explore and interact, becoming active participants in the VR environment. The exhibition offers 10-second previews of each artwork, sparking curiosity and guiding users through a fluid journey into Ocean Literacy. This open, immersive experience reflects the ocean not only in form but also in function, as it is a space of connection, attention, and discovery.
On the Artworks Collection page of the website, users can preview all the works — both physical and digital — as they are presented in the Virtual Exhibition environment. From this page, it is also possible to access a dedicated page for each individual artwork. Ten digital artworks are available for full viewing; for the others, visitors can explore image galleries showing the work and its stages of creation. Each page also provides insights into ocean literacy, endangered Mediterranean species, and ocean sustainability, conveyed through the artists’ own notes.
Here follow are the links to the digital artworks that can be fully viewed on the website and on the YouTube channel: Pelagia by Sara Bonaventura | Bread and Circuses by Anne Fehres | Blue Horizon by Ada Johnsson | I have been here before by Luke Conroy | Pinna opens their house for us tonight by Ioulia Marouda | Through The Current by Timaeus | Liquid Tiles by Carlos Izquierdo | The Copernicus Pathways: Six Speculative Journeys Exploring How Ocean Shapes Life on Earth by Samuel Hernandez de Luca: The Withering – The Chasm – The Decay – The Collapse – The Reckoning – The Resilience | Wake up to disappear… by Natalia Wilk
Beyond the artworks, the message of Art4Sea is further conveyed through a special video on the state of the seas, produced using scientific data from Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), titled Ocean Health – Sailing Towards a Sustainable Future. It reminds us that protecting the ocean means protecting ourselves and highlights that everything is connected — climate, biodiversity, and human health — emphasizing that the time to act is now.
As Art4Sea prepares to reach its conclusion with a public dissemination event in mid-January at the Institut de Ciències del Mar in Barcelona (updates to follow), the project’s message continues to travel far and wide. Technology serves as a bridge: what was once reachable only by sea and summer light can now be experienced from anywhere in the world, through a screen, a VR headset, or a portal into the Metaverse.
