Text by CLOT Magazine
CLOT Magazine has joined forces with MedGardens and ético to launch Art for Marine Regeneration (AfMR). This auction-based project aims to raise awareness of marine environmental issues, setting value for artists while using their artworks to fuel marine regeneration through the work of MedGardens.
MedGardens is a Mallorca-based initiative born to tackle the urgent need for marine regeneration with a main focus at the community level: research, develop and test diverse societal strategies that can favour coastal regenerative processes over time while restoring seagrass meadows & seaweed forests. MedGardens is endorsed by sculptor Cristina Iglesias, President of FUNDEA Manolo Arango and President and Co-founder of Save The Med Brad Robertson.
With this in mind, AfMR was initiated based on the fact that artists are particularly keen and unique observers, capable of shaking underlying readings within the audience’s conscience. Artists can re-search, re-view and re-create from genuine perspectives. Together with a crescent interest in artistic initiatives that help raise awareness and the recovery of our seas and oceans, such as TBA21-Academy, Museo Atlántico (Lanzarote, Spain), Sculpture by the Sea (Sidney, Australia), Estancias Sumergidas (Isla Espíritu Santo, Mexico), AfMR thought this was a most relevant time to give life to the project.
The AfMR platform plans to carry out interventions of different nature such as auctions, talks, round tables, exhibitions, curation for companies, and other cultural activities.
The platform’s first action is to launch an online auction series (SeAuctions) that will begin on October 2. This series of auctions was born with the idea of creating a community of committed artists, collectors and institutions while generating funds for the marine regeneration work carried out by MedGardens.
Each auction will be focused on a theme related to the seas. With an eye on contemporary art, the artworks will expand different types of artistic media and different starting price ranges. The first auction will host works by photographers Pep Bonet (National Geographic) and Martin Colognoli (cofounder of the NGO Coral Guardian), contemporary painters Socatoba and Aguirre Schwarz, sculptor Xabier Amonarraiz and digital artist Jaime de los Ríos.
The auctions will be available through the platform Rally-up and open for bids from 2-17 October 2021, accessible through this link. Funds collected will be split between the artist (50%), Medgardens (25%) and curation, PR and administrative tasks. All the proceedings with transaction details from the actions will be reported and shared transparently through MedGardens.
If you have an idea or project you would like to share with AfMR, contact them through their website.
