FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Ombretta Agró Andruff, ARTSail, (212) 433 0878
ARTSail and the Biscayne Bay Marine Health Coalition launch an awareness campaign and fundraiser to benefit the CLEO Institute and Miami Waterkeeper
Biscayne Bay Threads
In July 2020 Miami Biscayne Bay was quite literally gasping for air. Local news and social media were flooded with images of dead fish floating across the bay and littering our shores and marine life struggling to breathe. Florida International University scientists reported oxygen levels down to 0 (zero) for up to five hours; fireboats were oxygenating water around Morningside Park, the 79th Street causeway, and other locations where the worst of the fish kill has been reported by the public. Biscayne Bay has reached its tipping point: pollution from sewage leaks, septic tanks, fertilizers, and stormwater runoffs, along with the record high temperatures in the lower 90s is killing seagrass and marine life at an unprecedented rate.
The time to act is NOW!
ARTSail Residency and Research Initiative have partnered up with the Biscayne Bay Marine Health Coalition and a group of concerned citizens to raise awareness, and funds, on behalf of our beloved Bay. Thanks to the support of Prosper Technologies, we have commissioned two artists to create T-Shirts to be sold via a fundraising campaign on the online platform Bonfire.
Profits from the sales will benefit two local organizations that have been tirelessly raising awareness and advocating action to save Biscayne Bay, the CLEO Institute and Miami Waterkeeper. The funds will be used to support youth climate and environmental education and advocacy efforts.
The Fundraising campaign will kick off on April 8th, 2021.
About the selected artists:
A M L g M A T D, a Miami-based collaborative studio established by Laz Ojalde and Natalie Zlamalova in 2014, experiments in works of art, design objects and environments that reflect their quirky points of view and love of unusual and overlooked materials. AMLgMATD’s modus operandi consists of incorporating historical and geographical research into their visual language, playing with the sense of nostalgia, the application of familiar materials onto new forms and unexplored materials into familiar settings. AMLgMATD’s works are collected by private and corporate clients in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles, and their WEBSTR stools are available throughout the US in both boutique and museum stores. For the past five years, AMLgMATD has been invited to participate in creating public seating & installations at UNTITLED, Art in Miami Beach during Art Basel. They have also been selected by the jury in the City of Miami’s Art in Public Places program to complete a large-scale mural and custom hand-made breeze block security wall at the new ASPCA Community Veterinary Center in Liberty City, Florida, which was awarded the AIA Miami 2020 Divine Detail prize in architecture.
Jozie Furchgott Sourdiffe‘s (b. 1986) work embodies a fascination with anatomy and the relationship of human culture to the natural world. Her art practice is influenced by the transformative power that art holds, how it can shift culture and reach across divides. How art can be a mechanism for healing and igniting conversations and thoughts that are not typically the easiest to access.
Furchgott Sourdiffe was born in Vermont and currently lives in Miami, FL. She works in various mediums but predominantly in printmaking, painting, textile design, fine art tattooing, and handmade Artists Books. She has had her work exhibited in various solo and group shows nationwide including being a featured artist in “Sex Work, Art Work” in New York City, and in “Any Day: Artist’s On Death” at the Gage Art Academy in Seattle, Washington and most recently being a featured artist in “Garden of Eden”, an exhibition during Art Basel in Miami 2019. In a more commercial vein, Furchgott Sourdiffe founded her company Feisty Ink Designs in 2008. Feisty Ink consists of custom graphic and product design, a line of wearable art centered around unique textiles called Feisty Ink Threads, and illustration.
About the CLEO Institute: The CLEO Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization exclusively dedicated to climate crisis education and advocacy. Founded in 2010, we work with communities across Florida to build climate literacy and mobilize climate action for a just and resilient future. www.cleoinstitute.org
About Miami Waterkeeper: Miami Waterkeeper’s (MWK) mission is to defend, protect, and preserve South Florida’s watershed through citizen engagement and community action rooted in sound science and research. We work to ensure swimmable, drinkable, fishable water for all. www.miamiwaterkeeper.org
About Prosper Technologies: Prosper Technologies is a vertically integrated Nanotechnology company that is focused on the restoration and maintenance of important marine environments, species, and eco-systems. www.prosperth.com
About ARTSail Residency and Research Initiative: A nomadic, multi-faceted platform, ARTSail facilitates interdisciplinary practice to cultural producers in the creation of innovative content addressing the climate crisis specific to South Florida. We connect artists with climate activists, scientists, and marine experts to investigate how climate change and man-made pollution are impacting the South Florida waterways and assist them in the creation of tangible outcomes with climate advocacy value. www.artsail.info
About Biscayne Bay Marine Health Coalition: The Biscayne Bay Marine Health Coalition (BBHC) is a coalition of volunteers working collaboratively with government agencies, academic institutions, businesses, and nonprofits dedicated to advocating solutions for a healthy and resilient Biscayne Bay watershed. www.biscaynebayfl.com