Celebrating the ocean through creativity and education

Last month, we came together with The Ocean Agency (TOA) to launch the next phase of #CreateWaves — our social campaign which helps to inspire our global community to use their creativity to advocate for change and raise awareness about the importance of the ocean and the need for ocean protection.

We know that creativity has the power to make that change possible. And stories, visuals and immersive digital experiences specifically have the power to engage and evoke emotion and impact actual change.

Through our ongoing commitment to use creativity to educate, inspire and advocate for a more sustainable future, we’re excited to partner with the The Florida Aquarium (TFA), in collaboration with TOA and UNESCO, to launch our first-ever digital Ocean Decade Exhibition. As the largest aquarium in the U.S., FLAQ aims to educate and inspire the public about planet restoration and protection through informed and interactive exhibitions.

“Just in time for World Ocean Day, we’re thrilled to bring the long-awaited Ocean Decade Exhibition to life in partnership with Adobe and The Ocean Agency,” says Roger Germann, president and CEO of The Florida Aquarium. “Our goal at TFA is to help build awareness, provide education and inspire our guests to action to protect and restore our beautiful planet. Through this exhibition, we are excited to bring together art and ocean conservation to inspire our guests in a new and unique visual way.”

The exhibition features ‘Seven Key Facts to Know About Our Ocean,’ interpreted through inspirational digital artwork from global artists participating in the #CreateWaves campaign. Visitors can get inspired by these creative visualizations of essential ocean facts and reflect on the ocean’s importance to life on Earth. The animated displays and visual design for the Exhibition were created by Adobe Studio and Adobe Design and feature original artwork by illustrator Kelly Malka (@byKellyMalka). Adobe and TOA will continue to gather new art from the creator community submitted for this year’s #CreateWaves campaign, running through the end of June.

The Exhibition features works by Al Barizi, Gryphon Bearden, Abdo Elbadry, Tim Helou, Siddhesh Katkar, Egzon Muliqo, Aanish Peshave, Justin Peters, Hansruedi Ramsauer, Diogo Sampaio, Huseyin Sahin, Kemi Schneider, Martjin Schrijver, Cesar Sousa, Herri Susanto, Haruki Tominaga, Santi Urso, Shaylin Wallace.

Richard Vevers, founder, and CEO of The Ocean Agency, has been an integral partner in bringing the first of many exhibitions to life and believes in the importance of creative storytelling to help inspire a new generation of conservationists. “Our partnership with the Florida Aquarium and Adobe is the first of many important opportunities to connect with regular people around the world about the importance of ocean conservation through visual artwork and learning,” says Richard. “By engaging people with inspirational and simple messaging, we can really help the public take action and make an important change.”

Guests will also be encouraged to join in, by creating their own ocean self-portraits during their visit and sharing on their social channels with the #CreateWaves hashtag for the chance for their creations to be seen. To make creation fun and easy, visitors can download the Adobe Express app to remix one of our ocean-themed templates.

Adobe and TOA will continue to partner with TFA on additional activities and initiatives using creativity to teach ocean conservation and encourage others to help take the necessary actions to restore the ocean. This summer and later this year, the exhibition will visit other museums and venues, including the UN Ocean Week Conference in Lisbon, starting on June 27.

The Ocean Decade Exhibition at The Florida Aquarium runs now through early 2023.

The Ocean Decade Exhibition is an official contribution to the UN Ocean Decade.