Meet the woman who plans an underwater summit

New York has The High Line, Miami has The Underline, and Miami Beach will soon have the ReefLine. This massive public act features an underwater sculpture park with art and artificial carbon sequestration, as well a seven-mile snorkeling path that runs from Fourth Street in South Beach down to Bal Harbor.

Zimina Kamenos is an art curator, cultural site creator (using planning, art, and design to grow communities) and founder of the ocean-centric non-profit. BlueLab Preservation AssociationAnd theThis project, which he led in collaboration with Art Studio of Miami, was an interdisciplinarian one. Coral morphological. Other partners include Miami Beach’s Metropolitan Office of Architecture (OMA), responsible for the masterplan covering 15 acres, and other players in the blockchain world like AoristA digital art platform that allows users to create digital art. decentralizationVirtual world 3D

The city recently issued $5 million in bonds to fund ReefLine. This is on par with Miami Beach’s most prestigious cultural institutions such as the Miami Beach Art Museum. New World SymphonyAnd the Bass Museum), and the first and second phases of the project are supposed to start in early 2023.

“ReefLine is a manifestation of all the areas that I care about most,” Ms. Caminos said. “It is art as an instrument of change. It is durable. It is informed and supported by science, technology. Above all, it is participatory, free and open to the public.”

Ms. Kamenos spoke about ReefLine, how art can be combined with technology, and what drove her forward. This conversation has been edited to be more concise and clear.

How did ReefLine come to be?

The idea was born out of a conversation I had about artificial reefs and how they can be used to protect Miami Beach’s marine ecosystem. This area’s natural coral reefs are rapidly disappearing. It inspired me to think about how science and art could be combined to create sustainable change. Colin and I created a grant proposal for Knight Foundation’s Challenge Arts Award. We were looking for unusual ideas and won. We were able to get the seed money to restart the idea.

What is ReefLine supposed be doing?

Most people don’t realize that after water, Concrete is the second most used material on earthand accounts for its production 8 percent of all global carbon emissions. I wanted to create something that would capture the more than 3 billion tons of carbon that is released into the atmosphere each year. This would also serve as an example to other cities.

Petroc Sesti, a British artist has created a completely new art medium called Carbon Xinc. This is a cement-free concrete made with mineral carbon dioxide and contains atmospheric carbon.

It is extremely rare for coral species, in terms of biodiversity to be able to reproduce and grow in the remaining habitat. ReefLine will be a public fish habitat that provides plenty of opportunities for life to flourish and grow. We are collaborating with marine biologists, field experts, and others to test the site’s reef resilience. They will also discover what helps corals recover from stressors. There will be plenty of community programs available for anyone who wants to help. Corals are grown in coral nurseries within a specific section of the coral line.

You are fortunate to have strong creative talents. What can we expect from the design process?

I called Engineer Shohei Shigematsu from OMA after we received the grant. He was able to implement the masterplan. We have worked together before, and I knew that his genius would take this project beyond the ordinary. We will submerge the first installation, which was tested in a University of Miami hurricane simulation. It will be located 600 feet offshore of Fourth Street. Leandro Erlich, an Argentine artist was commissioned by us to create a site-specific work using 22 carbon Xinc sculptures approximately 20 feet below the surface. This artwork is a warning tale about what will happen to coastal cities if global warming is not addressed. It also transforms the modern symbol for carbon emissions into a carbon sink that is colonized by marine life. This is quite amazing.

Mr. Sesti uses laser scanning to create a work called “Heart of the Okeanos”, a five-foot Xinc sculpture of a blue Whale’s heart. A real 400-pound specimen preserved by scientistsIt was washed ashore at Canada in 2014. The artwork will be unveiled during Art Week in December, before being symbolically returned to the ocean.

A diving track will connect the fixtures using OMA-designed shapes. These shapes are designed to fit together like Legos and act in the role of a coral layer. We have a large number of artists that we would like to collaborate with in future installations. We plan to hold open calls for artists and public competitions to ensure all ideas are included.

How does technology play a crucial role in ReefLine’s development, in addition to the use of innovative materials?

Last year’s artweek was BlueLab Preservation AssociationPartner with AoristArtist and the artist Anatolia CompanionNFT Art Collection, a collection of vividly colored AI data sculptures inspired ReefLine by, was created by. ReefLine was a beneficiary of a portion NFT’s sales. This year, we share with AoristAs well as a collective and collaborative art studio based in London, international random. I applied for a grant to create an enhanced reality version of ReefLine. This allows people to view digital photos from underwater art installations on the beach, along with details about the artists and aquatic species. And with decentralizationWe are integrating ReefLine into the metaverse to allow people to adopt virtual coral with cryptocurrency. This is a great way to raise awareness about environmental issues.

What do ReefLine’s goals be?

This is a massive undertaking and I have hesitated at times because it seemed daunting. It was a blessing that I met Dr. Sylvia Earle. “Its royal depth!”The Aspen Climate Ideas Summit. She was initially skeptical about our project. But after reviewing all the research and speaking with field experts, she confirmed her support for the project. We are rebuilding what was there before. This model can be replicated and inspired by others. It gave me the strength and courage to continue.

ReefLine will hopefully spark a global conversation about how to restore the health of our oceans, and convince people that they are capable of making a difference. This can be done underwater in Miami Beach, the ground zero of climate change.