¡vamos, simbiosis!

In my portfolio, I am excited to showcase my involvement in the ¡vamos simbiosis project, particularly during the immersive three-week phase in Águilas, Spain. As part of this transformative initiative, I undertook a diverse array of tasks, including strategic planning, project management, social media management, brand identity development, crisis management, project curation, database creation for creative and scientific projects, visual communication, PR, website development, photographer, event and exhibition management, and teaching in science communication.

Under the visionary leadership of sisters Annika Guse and Stephanie Guse, ¡vamos simbiosis! embraces an interdisciplinary approach, trying to reconnect humans to the sea through arts and science to inspire change towards a more sustainable future.

During our time in Águilas, we fostered a dynamic environment at the Symbiosis Studio, a collaborative space where diverse disciplines from science, art and locals converged. Through innovative techniques like the Thinking Hands Workshop, we facilitated interdisciplinary exchange and creative exploration.

As the project culminated, we proudly presented at the end the outcomes of our collective efforts.
These included a performance, a mural, a new book concept, a photo series, a reading and even a unique beverage named Gin Plantonic.
These achievements symbolize our shared commitment to fostering symbiotic relationships with the sea and driving meaningful change in our quest for sustainability.

!vamos, simbiosis! 2022, Trailer by Tobias Brehmer and Axel Warnstedt, 2023, 35:52 min.

Project process

In September 2022, bringing our project to life required significant groundwork. We arranged several visits to Águilas for participants to familiarize themselves with the city and connect with the local Town Hall. Strategy meetings were essential to define our project's approach.

Organizing the logistics was a major undertaking. Coordinating travel for over 50 participants, creating a welcoming space, and ensuring everyone had comfortable accommodations while providing a structured daily schedule demanded thorough planning. I collaborated closely with Gisela Klammsteiner to manage these tasks.

Together, we brainstormed various concepts, including the "morning Briefing" - a daily update with a catchy jingle summarizing the day's events. These efforts reflected our commitment to creating a smooth and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

What we’ve achieved so far …

Art

Design of a logo (The Blue Orange) representing the mission, based on a collaborative process
Publication The Blue Orange – a brochure in German, English, and Spanish explaining the project's philosophy artistic way
Illustrated poster series related to science and local issues; public exhibition of these posters in local shops and as billboards on the Plaza de España, Águilas

Creation of the Symbiosis Studio in Águilas, which has facilitated:

Staged public reading (30 min), including development of a script based on interviews with local fisherman and excerpts of Los Viejos and the Sea (in Spanish)
Dance performance (Rhythm of Life) including composition of music and costume design
Creation of a science-inspired mural for a public school (Colegio Mediterráneo) in Águilas
Design concept for an educational Tree-of-Life-Game in e.g. a museum
Thinking Hands workshop to capture the participants’ views on the relation between humans and nature
Illustrated portrait series of local fisherman and cooks
Illustrated series of the history of a local fishermans’ boat and about the personal stories of two cooks
Series of illustrations of participating biologists
Series of illustrations of how exploratory science works
Artistic photographic series repurposing seagrass and fishernets as fashion
Exhibition concept with 3-D objects resembling oversized planktonic organisms
Visual presentations and memory collage of student’s collected findings and experiences, including a poem collection
Video poem (Manos Saladas) based on an interview with an elderly, local woman (student project)
Development of a musical audio series (Morning Briefing) announcing the daily schedule for the participants
Conceptual ideas for blue economy and raising ocean awareness including a Posidonia fan club (and logo design)
Conceptual ideas for blue economy and raising ocean awareness including a Posidonia fan club (and logo design), Superhero-Cards, GinPlanktonics, a Floating Center

Science

Photo documentary (>10,000 pictures)
Documentary film (30 min and 3 min)

Anthropological and social science research on the relation of the local people with the Mediterranean Sea including:

Documented (audio, transcripts, illustrations) interview series of 6 fishermen and 5 cooks
Public cooking event in the Symbiosis Studio with local city representatives, cooks, fisherman and migrants to establish relationships aimed at solving existing societal and environmental issues

Biological research of the Mediterranean Sea including:

Establishing plankton collection methods in collaboration with the local dive school, followed by exploring plankton biodiversity and image capturing using a standard stereoscope, a CellScope and a PlanktoScope
Establishing monitoring techniques for fish and marine invertebrates by underwater photography, generating a databaseof pictures of local biodiversity, and initiation of an automated workflow for species identification (student project in collaboration with data scientist)
Production of a video to engage the public in monitoring(student project)
Testing the use of the cost-effective Foldscope for citizen science
Illustrated book for children from 10 years onwards about the biology of plankton
Collection of 8 recorded (public) talks in English and Spanish on contemporary topics in molecular biology, history and anthropology
Establishing Veranda Talks, one-on-one conversations between a scientist and an artist on a swing with photos, and documentation by audio files, photos and selected quotations, as the basis for learning how artist and scientist work together
Comprehensive digital database of all material generated to establish a searchable online Symbiosis Platform