Nonprofit organization Washed Ashore, which creates art out of ocean plastic, brought 11 sculptures to the University School campus, marking the first time Washed Ashore has collaborated with an educational institution.
Washed Ashore is an Oregon-based nonprofit organization that creates art to educate people about ocean plastic pollution. This organization has exhibited its sculptures in notable venues, such as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and botanical gardens across the United States.
Jaimie Crawford, director of the Upper School at the University School, is excited about the collaboration.
“Washed Ashore has been at national museums and different government organizations, but it’s the first time that this tremendous art installation has been at a school,” Crawford said. “We’re actually hoping that maybe we can keep one of the art pieces to be here, possibly Sylvia the Shark, and we would be home to one unique piece of art installation.”
COURTESY OF STACEY GONZALEZ
Brad Parks, conservation education director of Washed Ashore, speaks to fourth- grade students at NSU University School.
Brad Parks, conservation education director of Washed Ashore, said the collaboration with NSU University School was made possible by a parent’s donation.
“We were brought to the University School by a parent who visited our gallery in Bandon, Ore. He saw our art and really wanted to bring this exhibit down to the students here at the University School,” Parks said. “So it was really through one person who felt inspired and wanted to make a change and wanted to see an impact by bringing it to the university.”
The art sculptures brought in from Washed Ashore are made out of plastic materials that are disposed of in the marine environment. Its key art piece is Sylvia the Silvertip Shark. This sculpture was made out of a lotion bottle top, knife handle, toy truck wheel as well as other plastic materials. The art pieces were brought to help the students understand the importance of sustainability and its effect on the environment.
“Thinking forward, we need to look at how do we stop putting plastic in the ocean and getting it in there as pollution and that’s really where Washed Ashore comes into the picture. That means we’re taking things out of the environment and using them again in a different way,” Parks said. “For us, it is about really helping people consider how to live sustainably, how to use plastic or better ways to avoid plastic and find solutions and alternatives to it. So that’s what we’re really trying to help the students think about in their own lives.”
This exhibition was part of the Colen Family Summit on Human Dignity, a project the NSU University School runs every two years with a different theme. This year’s theme is sustainability.
“We know that global warming and climate change is a huge topic, and we want to positively impact students’ habits in all four divisions in preschool, lower school, middle school and upper school, so that they can come out of this year and this week knowing more and how to really preserve our Earth in the best way possible,” Crawford said.
With the theme of sustainability, the summit offered students at the University School exposure to a variety of activities from March 11 to 15, such as a campus clean-up and making utensils out of Potato Plastic. Students also had the opportunity to attend off-campus activities and guest presentations, including one by Parks.
The art sculptures from Washed Ashore were exhibited from Jan 1 to March 25.
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