Help send Seagrass to the Venice Biennial
Hello friends,
I’m writing to you today to ask for your help in sending an ecological artwork from Aegina to Venice.
In 2022, my partner Navine and I founded the artist's collective Vessel on the island of Aegina, to explore creative approaches to ecology, climate change, and the needs of our community.
We’ve taught students how to build collectively and ecologically, painted murals in local playgrounds, and invited people to explore the lost springs of the island.
Now, we’ve been invited to take something of Aegina to the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2025, and we’d like your help to get there.
Mediterranean seagrass – Posidonia oceanica – grows all around our island. It’s an extraordinary plant, the only flowering one in the ocean, and it is vital to marine ecosystems worldwide. It stores carbon, fills the ocean with oxygen, and provides a habitat for everyone else. It’s also under threat, with some 60% of seagrass meadows disappearing from the ocean in the last few decades.
On Aegina, and around the Mediterranean, seagrass has been used for generations as insulation for houses and fertiliser for fields. Although these practices have largely disappeared, and been replaced by synthetic and unsustainable alternatives, the seagrass is still here.
We’ve been using seagrass as insulation in our projects, and it really is a wonder material: fire-resistant, inhospitable to pests, and free to collect on the beaches. Moreover, as we’ve used it, we’ve discovered its worlds, and become involved in conservation efforts to preserve and regenerate local seagrass meadows in the Aegean.
We want to share this knowledge, and raise awareness about seagrass ecology and conservation. And the Vennice Biennial has invited us to do so: but they don’t offer any financial support. That’s why we’re asking for help.
We want to send several packing cases of seagrass, collected on our local beaches, to Venice. As well as samples of seagrass prepared for architectural use, we’ll include ceramic objects made from local clay, which tell the story of seagrass in the wild. This is a reference to the Venetian glassmakers of Murano, who used to send their wares around the world packed in seagrass from the lagoon of Venice. Even the painted crates will be made from reclaimed wood, and will form part of the exhibit, in order to minimise waste and maximise recycling as part of the project.
We are looking to raise at least €20,000 (plus taxes and indiegogo fees) to cover everything from the research and production fees and materials, to the shipping, installation, and accommodation costs in Venice. We’ve already had some support from funding organisations and private donors, for which we are extremely grateful, but we need more.
Part of the budget will also go towards supporting meaningful projects related to seagrass and ceramics on the island of Aegina, so that our local community is fully integrated into the project. These include beach cleans, and practical workshops with Aegina's local clay, which was famous in antiquity for its porosity and ability to store cool drinks in hot weather.
We're not able to offer any 'perks' for your contribution, because we want to concentrate on making this project as simply (and quickly!) as possible, but we do promise to thank every single donor, whatever you can give, in the text accompanying the exhibition. And you will be guaranteed a very warm welcome if you ever come to Aegina!
You can donate to the campaign by clicking here.
Thanks, as always, for your time and attention.
All best,
James and Navine