The Marine Foundation Living Sculptures in the Sea Program – Support Apsara: Spirits of the Sea

At the beginning of this month I was lucky enough to be invited to an evening with Celia Gregory, founder of the Marine Foundation to learn more about Apsara, the latest project in the Living Sculptures in the Sea Program. I was really blown away by the program and to cut a long story short in two weeks time I will be joining Celia in Jemuluk Bay, East Bali to support the sink of Apsara on 22nd October. Please take a minute to read on, find out more and be inspired.

Please support this wonderful project through their Indiegogo crowdfunder campaign link is www.indiegogo.com/projects/914894/emal/8491881 or https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/apsara-spirits-of-the-sea/x/8491881

As always please feel free to share and help us spread the word

Apsara – Spirits of the Sea

Apsara, is the most recent sculpture to be created for the Marine Foundation’s Living sculptures in the sea program; an on-going series of permanent underwater art installations which address coral reef degradation and raises awareness of the pressing need to protect the health of the oceans. The interactive sculptures combine innovative theories of coral gardening, artificial reef, fish habitation and coral stabilisation whereby serving two functions; to look stunning and restore damaged marine eco-systems; facilitating eco-tourism and sustainable sources of income for the local communities.

The Oceans have been a vital source of renewable food since the birth of mankind, we depend on their health and well-being. Yet marine eco-systems all over the world are in rapid decline. The Marine Foundation’s approach is creative, innovative and positive enabling small scale but highly effective localised marine sustainability whilst engaging an international audience and galvanising people from a wide variety of sectors. We can be part of the solution and ensure a healthy ocean for all future generations.

Apsara: Spirits of the Sea:  Celia Gregory’s campaign launch video

Supporting Jemeluk Bay, East Bali
Apsara will be sunk into her underwater home in Jemeluk Bay, East Bali on October 22nd where three village communities with the help of Reef Check Indonesia and CORAL are working to establish effective marine management and become guardians to their coral garden and fish nursery preserving its well-being for future generations. The issue of the declining health of our marine eco-systems is something we all need to address. These places may be far away but we are living in a dynamic global economy; the fish we eat may have been caught thousands of miles away and we will all suffer if the most important global eco-systems are not preserved. The work of The Marine Foundation is a step to healthier and renewable seas in which each and every-one of us can be part of this positive process towards sustainability and acknowledgement we are all interdependent. We all live on our Blue Planet, we were born from the seas and instinctively the watery world is in our genes. They are worth more to us as thriving nurseries and we can all ensure there on-going well-being.

Inspiration

The art work is inspired by the Apsara’s, ancient hindu spirits who are very beautiful and wonderful dancers, in many ways they have qualities similar to the greek fables of the sirens and mermaids. Money was raised for the making of the artwork with Desa Seni, during a series of fundraising activities held for world ocean day including a tantra workshop, a mermaid workshop with kids and a ocean themed party. The sculpture has been designed to provide a hiding place for fish and a solid surface for corals and sea creatures to settle. The Sinking of the Apsara into the underwater coral and fish garden is a unique creative opportunity to make an inspirational and uplifting short film.

About the Marine foundation

Celia Gregory is a sculptor from UK, an internationally acclaimed artist and founder of the Marine Foundation. Since 2012 Celia is a member of the Ocean Artists Society. The Marine foundation is funded by the Roddick foundation, Artist Project Earth, Body Shop Indonesia and PATA Foundation. In the past 5 years, the foundation has created and installed underwater sculptures in four key locations in Indonesia in areas where the coral reefs were badly damaged and worked in close collaboration with acclaimed scientists, environmental NGOs, local artists and stakeholders. The most famous of the sculptures, The Coral Goddess http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coral-Goddess within the Karang Lestari Bio-rock
reef regeneration project in Pemuteran, Bali, won a UNDP award for marine conservation. For more info about the partners, please visit http://www.reefcheck.or.id, http://www.coral.org. The project with PATA foundation can be viewed at  http://www.patafoundation.org/?p=1064

For more information please contact: info@themarinefoundation.org

 If you have a project you would like to share with our community, an event you would like to host or an idea you would like to blog about then we would love to hear from you. Please email me at louisa.harris@6-heads.com for more information.