Marine Conservation through Art

By: Rina Hauptfeld
Education Coordinator – Tres Palmas Marine Reserve in Rincon, Puerto Rico
Facebook: Reserva Marina Tres Palmas

What does an art fair have to do with marine conservation? On Saturday, August 21, the graphic artists from the Sea Grant Program at University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM) joined the artists of JuntArte for Noches de Galería in Rincon to demonstrate how their art aids conservation. Graphic artists Daniel Irizarri, Oliver Bencosme and Alexis Rivera joined dozens of local artists and artisans at Noches de Galería, including jewelers, painters, sculptors, body artists and musicians in the Plaza in Rincón to showcase their talent and demonstrate that art can be much more than decoration. Artists are an indispensible part of the conservation team at Sea Grant, helping anthropologists, educators, communicators and marine biologists reach a broad public in profound ways by creating educational materials that are both engaging and entertaining.

Using a computer set up with dual screens, Alexis and Daniel took turns demonstrating to an interested public how a graphic artist melds talent, a keen eye and computer technology to create educational books like “Peces de Puerto Rico”. In an involved process the artists revealed how they refer to photos of fish in the wild to guide them as they add life and color to previously created black and white illustrations of local species.

The three artists also highlighted the collaborative nature of their work by painting a free-hand coastal scene together on canvas, entertaining and answering the questions of curious observers as the painting developed. And as a special treat, Daniel immortalized a lucky few audience members, drawing portrait caricatures on the computer screen before their very eyes, demonstrating how it takes a talented artist to turn life into graphic art. At the next table, the public could peruse the great number of books and periodicals created by Sea Grant about marine, coastal, and fisheries topics in Puerto Rico and even take one of these beautiful works of art home with them.