Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs (Bow Seat) is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit whose mission is to engage youth in environmental conservation through the arts.
For more than a decade, Bow Seat’s flagship educational program – the annual Ocean Awareness Contest – has invited youth to explore the connections between human activities and the health of our blue planet through visual and performing arts, creative writing, film, and multimedia. Over 33,000 middle and high school students from all 50 U.S. states and 142 countries have participated in the program, which has introduced them to issues such as climate change, plastic pollution, water justice, and endangered species. We have awarded over $700,000 in scholarships to Contest winners.
We expand the reach of student work by featuring their pieces in our online Gallery, and through exhibitions, film screenings, workshops, presentations, and social media. This provides a special opportunity to showcase teens’ individual skills while also leveraging the strength of their collective voices to raise awareness of environmental issues among broader communities.
Art, Bow Seat 2022, Dilemma by Hongying Wu
Since 2012, the Contest has helped to build a strong conservation ethic among youth and strengthen critical skills such as communication, critical thinking, and global awareness. According to feedback surveys from the 2023 Contest:
- 78% of students reported that the program increased their knowledge of climate change or environmental issues.
- 69% stated that it impacted their worldview and behavior.
- 85% reported that creating something for the Contest (i.e., art, writing, music, films, or multimedia) helped them personally connect with conservation topics.
- 76% reported that the Contest increased their confidence in their creative skills.
By inviting youth to explore environmental issues through the arts, the Contest provides a platform for students to learn and investigate feelings about, as well as forge personal connections with, these topics. It also offers a productive outlet for them to share their questions, concerns, visions, and hopes in a discussion frequently dominated by adults, and welcomes them into a global community of like-minded creators, advocates, and allies. The Contest empowers young leaders to use their art and stories to demonstrate awareness and guide pro-environmental action on personal, community, and policy levels. Their submissions become part of a growing global collection of student work that helps to raise awareness of environmental challenges, inspire protection for our planet, and imagine a better future.
Art, Bow Seat 2023, Through the Lens of the Abyss by Johnny Wang
For many students, participating in the Contest is a stepping stone into the world of civic and environmental engagement. The artistic process is a means for them to investigate knowledge and feelings about issues, as well as a way to find and share their voice. It shapes their attitudes about their own power to make a difference and gives them the courage to speak up about the changes they want to see for their community and for their future. Inspired by their experience with the Contest, many program alumni take on leadership roles in school or local environmental projects, or join global initiatives like Bow Seat’s Future Blue Youth Council (FBYC). The FBYC is a diverse group of Contest alumni from around the world who work together to advance Bow Seat’s mission and to empower their fellow peers to advocate for our blue planet.
View more of Bow Seat’s art at www.bowseat.org/gallery
