More surprises from our 'Small girl with Big dreams'

Antonella Massini, from Cambridge College Lima, Peru, 'our Little girl with Big dreams' has also earned the Gold Award in Art category and Silver Award in Film category in  2016 Ocean Awareness Student Contest. Congratulations Antonella!

Launched in 2011, the Ocean Awareness Student Contest is an interdisciplinary competition that encourages students to think creatively about how humans’ actions impact the health of our oceans and coastal environments. Each year the Ocean Awareness Student Contest is open to eligible middle and high school students from around the world who may submit works in four categories: Art, Poetry, Prose, and Film.

The Ocean Awareness Student Contest has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to talented students since it began five years ago. The Contest—which received over 2,100 entries from 44 U.S. states and 67 countries in 2016—continues to grow each year, a result of the positive-feedback cycles inherent in a program focused on outreach, awareness, and creative education.

Black Tears' - Gold Award in Art category 
2016 Ocean Awareness Student Contest by Antonella Masini.

Antonella Masini “Black Tears” Reflection Sometimes I wonder: Are we the real monsters of this world? I made this painting in March, some weeks after a major oil spill occurred in the Marañon river –located in the Peruvian Amazon jungle. I was outraged and decided that I had to do something about it… After all, this time the oil spill had happened in my country and I felt responsible for it. This is why I entered to this contest organized by “The Bow Seat”. I wanted to raise awareness in people to prevent this event from happening again and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. The pelican in my artwork, made with black ink and black markers, represents the devastating consequences that oil spills have in the marine wildlife. The map of the world in the background represents the fact that this is a worldwide problem so we must all do our part to stop these industrial catastrophes from happening. Finally, the hand and strings, made using a page from a Peruvian newspaper that included an article about the oil spill, represents the impact that humans have in the world -which could either be positive or negative. We still have time to save the oceans! Let’s do it together!

 'Black Shadow' - Silver Award in Film category 

2016 Ocean Awareness Student Contest by Antonella Masini. 

Antonella Masini “Black Shadow” Reflection I made this video in order to raise awareness in people all over the world. I just hope that some day I will be able to look outside my window and appreciate the beauty of nature without wondering how much it will last. Hopefully, this film will make everyone who watches it reflect so that they start to make some changes in their lives. I'm not perfect, and still have many things to do in order to live without harming at all our oceans... but step-by-step I know that I will get there, and I would like everyone to share this journey with me. There is still hope, but it is on us to do something about it. Now, take my hand, and let’s start to make some noise.

From The Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs, the organizer of the Ocean Awareness Student Contest:  

Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs works to inspire the next generation of ocean caretakers through education and engagement with the arts, science, and advocacy.

The Bow Seat seed was born from a feeling of responsibility for our planet. It grew out of a deep concern for the health and future of our oceans and a desire to protect our seas.

In 2011, founder Linda Cabot and her daughters embarked on a journey in Maine to film a documentary—From The Bow Seat—about environmental issues impacting the Gulf of Maine. The act of making a film and creating artwork made Linda and her daughters feel engaged and empowered in a way that went above and beyond reading about these issues in a book or hearing about them in a lecture.

Realizing the power of artwork and media to educate, inspire, and activate younger generations, Linda began to shape Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs into the organization it is today. She wanted young people to feel empowered through creation and imagination, and to become active stewards of the ocean that so inspires her and her family.

Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs believes that students who learn by creating and making experience deeper learning and longer-lasting behavior change. The arts provide diverse and powerful opportunities for expression and communication of ideas. When students are asked to explore a topic, interpret its meaning, and create something—rather than just memorize facts and spit them back out—not only does learning become fun, it also becomes permanent.

Linda Cabot

Founder and President

Linda is a visual artist who credits a lifetime of sailing for her love affair with the ocean. She founded From the Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs to inspire and support the next generation of ocean caretakers. She believes in the power of art, prose and film to raise awareness about ocean conservation and enjoys seeing all the tremendous works of creativity and ingenuity that are submitted to the program. She serves on the Board of Women Working for Oceans (W2O) and is a trustee of the New England Aquarium.

Source: 

ow Seat Oean Awareness Student Contest