Santa Cruz, USA

September 13-18, 2021

Sea Walls Santa Cruz

produced in partnership with

We are excited to host the first Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans project to take place in Santa Cruz, California. From September 13-18, 2021, our team of regional and visiting artists will gather in Santa Cruz for one week to create a series of locally relevant public artworks to help spur environmental activism, while beautifying the town’s streetscape. Sea Walls Santa Cruz will be the most significant urban beautification project in Santa Cruz history.

The public artworks will serve as educational tools and conversation-starters, addressing marine environmental issues relevant and of importance to the local community. Our goal is to ignite ownership for the sustainability of natural resources and to build community around the common cause of protecting the region’s ocean and coast for future generations.

Originally planned for June 2020, Sea Walls Santa Cruz has been postponed to September 2021 due to COVID-19. We will adhere to CDC guidelines and our health and safety protocol to ensure the safety of our team, the artists, volunteers, and the community.

The project is produced by the Made Fresh Crew and is supported by the City of Santa Cruz Department of Economic Development, the Save Our Seas Foundation, and Lost Coast Plant Therapy, amongst others. With paint support by Montana Cans and Smog Armor carbon-absorbing paint.

Download the Sea Walls Santa Cruz Mural Map

Sea Walls Santa Cruz Artist Line Up

Support Sea Walls Santa Cruz

Across the globe, our Sea Walls projects have a grassroots spirit and are made possible by local communities and businesses coming together to support a common cause.

You too can be a part of this movement by supporting this groundbreaking project through a donation to the project.

Download the Sea Walls Santa Cruz Partnership Deck

Donate

Artists

will paint for a purpose, shining a light on local marine environmental issues through ARTivism.

Days

of varied public programming will invite the community to get involved in proactively advocating for Santa Cruz's ocean environment.

Mission

unifying and inspiring the local Santa Cruz community and visitors to stand up for the Central Coast's coastal resources.

Event Schedule

September 16	PANEL DISCUSSION AND SHORT FILM SCREENINGS 6-9 PM Tannery Arts Center 1060 River Street, Santa Cruz
September 18	BEACH CLEANUP 9 AM – 12 PM Natural Bridges State Beach
September 19	CLOSING PARTY 5-9 PM Shanty Shack Brewing 138 Fern Street, Santa Cruz

Why Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is the gateway to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which boasts the nation's largest kelp forests and one of North America's largest underwater canyons and closest-to-shore deep ocean environments, covering an area larger than Yellowstone National Park. Its diverse marine ecosystems harbor an incredible variety of marine life, including 34 species of marine mammals, over 180 species of seabirds and shorebirds, at least 525 species of fishes and an abundance of invertebrates and algae. However, the region also faces numerous global environmental issues, including plastic pollution, shoreline erosion, overfishing, ocean acidification, river runoff, sea-level rise, conservation of valuable ocean species, and climate change. The entanglement of whales at the hands of commercial fisheries, point-source pollution from massive cruise ships, and the disregard for critical freshwater habitats such as the San Lorenzo River as well are issues that too often go unnoticed or are overlooked in the interest of economic growth and urban development. Despite a wealth of scientifically-conclusive findings and informative education about the harms of our actions, we far too often lack the political will and the people’s buy-in necessary to effect meaningful change for the better. Through our large-scale public artworks and community outreach events, we aim to invigorate the community to speak up for what cannot speak for itself.