Project Overview
The Universal Sea is an interdisciplinary art–science initiative initiated by the Institute for Art and Innovation in 2017 to explore how creative practice can contribute to addressing the urgent ecological challenges facing our oceans. The project emerged from the growing awareness that while scientific knowledge about ocean degradation is widely available, effective societal engagement and long-term behavioural change remain limited. Plastic pollution, ocean acidification, resource extraction, and climate change continue to threaten marine ecosystems, yet the complexity and scale of these issues often prevent meaningful public involvement.
The Universal Sea was conceived as a response to this gap. It set out to explore whether artistic practice, in dialogue with science, technology, and entrepreneurship, could open new ways of understanding, communicating, and acting upon ocean-related challenges. At its core, the project investigates how art can function as an active driver of dialogue, participation, and innovation.
The Universal Sea is an interdisciplinary movement to accelerate positive blue futures for our oceans.
Art, Science and Collective Action to Catalyze Change
The amount of plastic in our waterways continues to grow, and microplastics have already entered our food chain. Whether bottled or tap water, plastic is now omnipresent. At the same time, ocean acidification, resource extraction, and warming waters increasingly threaten marine ecosystems. While these developments are widely reported, comprehensive and systemic responses remain insufficient.
Can cross-sectoral collaborations catalyze change?
Through its activities, The Universal Sea experiments with new roles for artists and cultural practitioners, exploring how artistic practice can intersect with scientific research and entrepreneurial thinking. Together with experts and the public, the project identifies and co-creates approaches to address urgent water-related challenges such as pollution, acidification, and warming. The project is driven by the conviction that art can open new perspectives, stimulate dialogue, and support the development of creative and sustainable solutions.
We have been exploring new collaboration models between art, science, technology, and business. For us, art is at the core of our joint efforts, as it can reach people emotionally, spark creativity and motivate people to get involved. “The Universal Sea” has been experimenting with exploring new business models for artists and cultural actors. By that, we believe in rediscovering the role of the artist in our societies and revealing the opportunities that arise when art meets science and entrepreneurship.
Activities and Approach
Our aim is to generate solutions that stop the plastic epidemic, especially in our waters!
The Universal Sea has been realised through a vibrant series of international activities that combine artistic production, public engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The project has taken place in multiple locations across Europe and beyond, each responding to local contexts and challenges.
These activities included exhibitions, artistic interventions, public talks, film screenings, and participatory workshops. A strong emphasis was placed on co-creation, bringing together artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, and local communities to exchange knowledge and develop ideas collectively. Through this process, a growing network of innovators and change-makers emerged, connected by a shared commitment to ocean sustainability.
Project History and Development
The Universal Sea brought together artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, cultural institutions, and civil society actors in a shared process of inquiry. Through artistic research, participatory formats, and public interventions, the project explored how knowledge from different fields could be connected and translated into accessible, meaningful experiences. Particular attention was given to the role of artists as mediators between disciplines and as catalysts for new ways of thinking about environmental responsibility. Thus, we began this art and innovation project with a worldwide Open Call to artists in the end of 2017. Out of more than 250 applications from 38 countries, the international jury chose five artists to join our intensive collaboration journey. These artists ran participatory actions with the public and worked closely together with experts.
In June 2018 we enthusiastically launched our second international Open Call for artist submissions. From the top publicly voted artworks in each category, REACT, REDUCE, REPLACE, The Universal Sea jury chose three talented winners. Shortly afterwards, this time with a focus on film, we launched our third international Open Call for short films and presented an amazing program at Trafo House cinema in Budapest as part of our 2 months long Art Moments – The Universal Sea Budapest Festival in fall 2018.
In March 2019, the project culminated in the publication of a comprehensive book featuring over 600+ artists and 500+ innovators from 70 countries fighting the plastic epidemic in our waters. Readers say it is an inspirational source for you and everyone on this planet to take action.
So, what are you doing to fight water issues?
So far, The Universal Sea project has been a massive undertaking, bringing together more than 1100 artists and business innovators, 70 (scientific) institutions including 25 universities and 10 festivals. In less than two years we have attracted an audience of 5.5 million visitors and 1.7 million online visitors, coming from 70 countries and 6 continents.
Now, our dynamic online platform serves our community by spreading ideas, actions, and solutions. It works as a hub to visualize our network and its diverse activities. Additionally, we have been building a Facebook base of almost 35k like-minded followers.
Let us know about your ideas and actions. Join our movement – participate in our events and become part of our network. Together we can make change happen!
We are proud of our Outcomes and Impact
The Universal Sea generated impact on multiple levels. On a cultural level, it contributed to increasing public awareness of ocean-related challenges and helped translate complex scientific knowledge into accessible and emotionally engaging formats. On an institutional level, the project supported the development of new interdisciplinary collaborations, educational formats, and research initiatives. Several follow-up projects, academic courses, and independent initiatives and startups emerged from the networks formed during the project period.
Importantly, the project demonstrated the potential of artistic practice to act as a catalyst for systemic thinking and societal reflection. Rather than offering predefined solutions, The Universal Sea created spaces in which new questions, perspectives, and forms of engagement could emerge. This approach proved particularly valuable in addressing complex sustainability issues that require long-term cultural and behavioural change.
Sustainability and Legacy
Following the completion of its initial funding phase, The Universal Sea continued as a living platform and reference project for subsequent initiatives in the field of art, sustainability, and participatory research. Its methodologies and networks informed later projects such as the Ocean Future Lab and the Art for Futures Lab, as well as contributions to international discourse within the framework of the UN Ocean Decade.
Furthermore, the project’s legacy lies in the durable collaborations and shared understanding it fostered between artistic, scientific, societal, and politcal actors. It demonstrated how art can be a meaningful and relational interface between knowledge, emotion, and action, and how creative practice can contribute to responsible long-term environmental transformation.
Project Coordination and Funding
The Universal Sea was initiated and is run by the Institute for Art and Innovation e.V. (Berlin, Germany).
The project was kindly supported and co-funded by the EU Creative Europe program (2017 – 2019). As an independent non-profit initiative it was coordinated during that period by the Foundation for Entrepreneurship (Berlin, Germany), in partnership with the Center of Polish Sculpture (Oronsko, Poland) and Hybridart Management (Budapest, Hungary), in cooperation with EUCC-D (Rostock, Germany).
Featured image by Alex Cote.