Reviviscence – Marine forests are burning: a poetic title for the session at the Festival dell’Acqua in Staranzano dedicated to our project and the collaboration recently launched with the Slovenian artist Miha Godeč.
Elena Toti, part of the communications team at Shoreline, and the artist discussed the project during one of the event’s closing talks, introducing the audience to the habitat formed by Cystoseira sensu lato, its ecosystem services and the importance of restoring it.
During the festival, visitors were able to immerse themselves in the first result of the encounter between macroalgae restoration and the Slovenian artist’s installations. The supports used for the transplant were exhibited as art objects in the exhibition Scapes_Under curated by Francesco Scarel and the Liminal Research ETS project.
In addition, Miha Godeč has created a preliminary art installation inspired by the photogrammetry of a sample of macroalgae from the Cystoseira sensu lato group; that is, a short video in which viewers can observe the details of the sample and the delicate filigree of the algal fronds.
The talk Reviviscence, despite taking place on a sunny Sunday afternoon just before the Water Festival closed, was very well attended. Miha Godeč showed the audience some of his past work, followed by a talk by Elena Toti on the importance of marine forests, which is, unfortunately, often underestimated.
The intrigued audience asked for more information on how to restore habitats degraded by human impact or the climate crisis. In particular, one member of the audience asked how we can engage the younger generations in habitat conservation, given that they have, for example, never had direct experience of healthy and abundant marine forests in the Adriatic Sea. There is no single answer, but by passing on the memory of reefs rich in vegetation and a sea teeming with diverse species, we can inspire the younger generation and convey the values associated with environmental conservation and protection.
