Education & Workshops

Bow Seat team members are available to give virtual or in-person presentations, lead workshops, and serve as panelists on topics such as art as activism, STEAM education, and creativity in conservation. We can deliver one of the selected topics below or work with you to develop a custom workshop that meets your specific goals and audiences. Let’s work together >

Webinars

Visit our Events page to sign up for upcoming webinars & virtual events >
We Rise: How We Use Art to Uplift Our Stories

Listen to an inspiring conversation with artists, writers, performers, and activists about how we can harness our creative energies to tell the stories that need to be heard. Learn how the arts can be used as an advocacy tool for change and empowerment, especially to protect the sacred element that connects us all.

Water Wednesdays Webinars

Meet and learn from artists, scientists, community leaders, and activists working at the intersection of water and ecology, climate, health, justice, and culture. This monthly educational series dives into water issues around the globe, and offers opportunities to explore actions we can all take to rise up and protect water resources.

Click the icon on the right-hand side to open the recording playlist:

Activating the Next Wave of Ocean Leaders

Hear how Bow Seat student artists around the world are raising awareness about threats to marine life and advocating for ocean conservation. This webinar was part of the 2020 National Biodiversity Teach-In.

Right Whale Road Show

Hear researchers and advocates share their work to keep North Atlantic right whales safe and healthy. View artwork and poetry — inspired by the right whale — by local artists and students winners of Bow Seat’s Healthy Whale, Healthy Ocean Challenge. We’ll also show you how you can take action to protect these incredible whales.

Our Amazing Oceans: Global Warming in the Gulf of Maine

Explore the impacts of global warming on our local ocean. First, you’ll follow Alyssa Irizarry of Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs on a digital tour of artwork inspired by the warming of our seas around the globe. Then you’ll hear from scientist Dave Wiley about his experiences studying the impacts of global warming on species in the Gulf of Maine. Finally, we’ll share information about policy tools that we have to keep our New England oceans cool and show steps you can take to help out.

Exhibit Talk: Youth Voices for the Ocean

In February 2020, the New Bedford Whaling Museum welcomed Bow Seat’s guest exhibition “Youth Voices for the Ocean.” Hear from Bow Seat’s Senior Vice President Alyssa Irizarry about the origins and impact of the Ocean Awareness Contest global art program, meet award-winning visual artist Gwenan Walker, and take a virtual tour of this powerful collection of artwork exploring our intimate connection with oceans and marine life.

World Oceans Day Youthathon

Art is a necessary tool in the global movement to raise awareness of environmental issues and solutions and to motivate communities to take action for our blue planet. Hear from youth activists from around the world about how they use visual art, dance, and poetry to bring people together to care for our oceans. Get inspired to use your own creative voice as a tool for positive change!

Ocean-Inspired Painting

Join Bow Seat Founder and President Linda Cabot for a fun session of ocean-inspired painting and discussion. Follow along from home while Linda paints an ocean landscape and talks about her love of the sea and art-making.

Climate Justice through Science & ARTivism

Hear from local experts about climate science basics, climate change impacts on Boston’s coastal and frontline communities, and the important role that art plays in engaging and mobilizing communities of all backgrounds in climate action and justice. The panel is moderated by Kannan Thiruvengadam from Eastie Farm and features: Dr. John Mandelman (Chief Scientist at New England Aquarium), Dr. Ellen Douglas (Professor of Hydrology at UMass Boston), Linda Cabot (President of Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs), artist Silvia Lopez Chavez, John Walkey (Waterfront Initiative Coordinator at GreenRoots, Jason Talbot of Artists For Humanity, and Akira Biondo (Director of Operations at PangeaSeed Foundation).

Workshops

CREATIVITY IN CONSERVATION

How do artists play a role in communicating science, amplifying environmental activism, and creating space for change? In this workshop, learn how Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs engages young people to use art as a tool to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire communities around the world to take action for our blue planet. Finding inspiration in their work, create your own art that advocates care and action for the ocean.

EXPERIMENTS IN ART, SCIENCE, AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Tap into your creative side while making marine science art! During this hands-on workshop, students combine chemistry and painting to explore climate change and ocean acidification, a serious problem impacting our waterways and marine life. No art experience is necessary.

“I like doing creative things, and when it is combined with something I am passionate about, like environmental activism, then it really makes me happy. This program was the right combination of creativity and helping nature.”

DRAWN TO DISCOVERY: KEEPING A NATURE JOURNAL

Conservation grows from appreciation. Nature journaling is an ongoing act of discovery—a creative practice of observing, recording, and building an understanding of and appreciation for the world around you. This introduction to nature journaling gives participants tools to begin their own journals while exploring the natural world around them, from cracks in the sidewalks to a rocky shoreline. Learn the basics of keeping a nature journal, refine your sense of perception using a variety of observational drawing techniques, and build on your practice through experimentation with materials and ideas.

MURALS WITH A MESSAGE: DESIGNING AN OCEAN-THEMED MURAL

Participants explore the history of public environmental art; learn about mural techniques, resources, and materials; and express themselves while contributing to the creation of an ocean-themed mural.

  • Students at Collins Middle School (Salem, MA) work on an ocean mural on a campus staircase. Photo: John Andrews
  • Students in the Girls, Inc. Beach Sisters program (Lynn, MA) begin one of two storm drain murals downtown.
  • Students during the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit (Sarasota, FL) collaborate on an ocean-themed mural.
  • Students at Bates Elementary School (Salem, MA) working on a storm drain mural on their school's campus.
GYOTAKU: ART OF FISH PRINTING

Learn about the history of the traditional Japanese art form of “gyotaku” and practice basic printmaking techniques using fish replicas and other materials. Students also discuss the impacts of marine debris on ocean habitats and wildlife.