10 Student Stories to Celebrate 10 Years: Red Whelan
May 20, 2021In celebration of 10 years of Bow Seat’s Ocean Awareness Contest, we are showcasing some of the young artists who have helped turn this competition into a global community of creators and changemakers working on behalf of our blue planet.
Red Whelan is a Junior at Central High School in Philadelphia who has participated in the Ocean Awareness Contest for several years, most notably making the cover of the 2019 Yearbook and receiving a Gold Award in the 2020 Interactive and Multimedia category. Their view on the ongoing climate crisis was formed by the awareness of the effects of unfettered capitalism in America, and the lack of government action taken against fossil fuel corporations who are the root cause of ocean warming and acidification. As a member of the Future Blue Youth Council, they hope to bring a voice to the youth of the world so they can be heard on an international level and advocate for their planet.
How long have you been creating art? When did you first become interested in the arts?
I’ve always enjoyed creating, however I would say my best friend in elementary school was my earliest influence. She and I would draw together, and while she was much better than I was, I enjoyed the ability to take an idea or a concept and present it in a way that could be understood by everyone. Together we would create stories, bouncing ideas between each other as we rushed to build our imaginary world every recess. As I began to write down these stories and became more effective at conveying messages through drawing, more friends came along and encouraged these skills in their own unique ways. When I got old enough for real opportunities to challenge myself and grow, such as the Ocean Awareness Contest, I would say my skills skyrocketed from my exposure to creatives at the levels I sought to achieve.
When did you first become interested in protecting the ocean and environment? Is there a special place, species, or person that inspires your work?
I became interested in protecting the ocean and environment when I first participated in the Ocean Awareness Contest five years ago and had to face what climate change was doing to the oceans. I’ve always loved the ocean, as I used to live in the coastal city of Norfolk, Virginia. The beach was an integral part of every summer, where I could see and be exposed to all the wildlife of the Chesapeake Bay. I could watch dolphins play, and I would see horseshoe crabs along the beach. I would pick them up and turn them the right way to send them home, and I have used this compassion moving forward to making sure those crabs still have their home habitats.
Why did you first participate in the Ocean Awareness Contest, and why did you continue to participate?
At first, I simply saw it as a competition. When I entered it in the 6th grade, my teacher encouraged all of us to test and push ourselves, and I saw the Ocean Awareness Contest as a way to challenge my abilities as a writer and artist. However, receiving a Silver Award for my story stuck with me. I had learned more about the oceans, and my mindset had changed. Now I could see what was really happening, what climate change and human impact was really doing to my Earth. I understood then that “why do people need to see this?” was at the core of the creative process. So my mentality had to shift from “how do I win?” to “how do I have the most impact?” As I got older and learned more from my research for this contest, I grew more interested in activism and felt the need to be louder in my support of defending the planet and oceans. The Ocean Awareness Contest became a way for me to express that voice.
Red’s “Til the Last Breath” from the 2019 Ocean Awareness Contest
What have you learned from participating in the Ocean Awareness Contest?
The Ocean Awareness Contest has two integral components: the art on its own as a technical skill, and the message—the research you’ve gathered into one clean statement. My technical skills have improved through the years of course, but the real lesson that you learn from the Contest is the sheer impact of climate change and human influence on the oceans. This seems obvious, however climate change is still a controversial unit in public schools, let alone all of the fallout that goes along with it. I learned horror stories of ocean acidification, of how habitats are destroyed by seemingly small degrees in temperature rise, and the disastrous implications of what sounds like a tiny rise in water levels. These subjects are commonplace around Contest entries but overlooked and pushed aside in our education system. So the real lesson I’ve learned is to do my own research before blindly accepting what I’ve been handed, not just to leave myself in the dark by being content with the bare bones of what my schools have taught me.
How did participating in the Ocean Awareness Contest affect your attitudes toward our ocean? Towards using art as a tool for advocacy?
The Ocean Awareness Contest was really what pointed me towards activism for the oceans. Bow Seat’s idea of art for advocacy influenced me, as I can now see every pencil stroke as a protest, every word as a warning. From seeing Contest winners and simply the gradual reevaluation of my own thought processes, I can now understand how one art piece can be a catalyst for change. We as humans view art through our own experiences, and by using this we can sway minds and turn small flickers of discomfort into full fires of advocacy. By creating stories, we can show how people can turn their world from hurting to healing.
I liked the 2020 Contest’s theme of hope, because many creators, including myself, saw our advocacy as a way of forcing people to care out of fear for the future we are creating. What this topic did was push in the other direction. For all the people who were already scared for the future, all the young folk who had heard that there’s nothing more to be done and that the end may be already upon us, the Contest pushed them to advocacy, because the world isn’t over yet! Our efforts have reversed many environmental losses. When we stand up and fight, we can win. This is what I think the Ocean Awareness Contest really means for me: it pushes people to force change in their communities.
How do you feel when you look at the collection of art created by Ocean Awareness Contest winners?
Whenever I look to the creators that win this competition, I am always awestruck. These teens possess skills that many professional artists would envy. They rock my world by expressing so clearly what I feel when I think of the oceans. Alongside these awesome pieces, I feel pride to see my own piece as the cover art for the 2019 Ocean Awareness Contest Yearbook. The idea that my voice is being heard in the same way that I’m hearing these brilliant artists is deeply empowering.
Did you consider yourself to be an activist before participating in the Ocean Awareness Contest? Do you consider yourself to be one now?
I began to consider myself an activist through the process of this competition. Reading about all the horrible effects we, and by extension I, are having on the environment made me so furious I felt a powerful need to act. This need for activism grew within me as I got older and more conscious of the political world around me, and now I consider action the most important part of becoming aware. I now see youth leaders like Greta Thunberg proving to me that it is possible to have an effect while being so young. I attend marches and protests whenever possible to stand up for the environment and other causes, because it is one thing to merely know the world is hurting, and it is another entirely to be willing to stand up to make it stop. My 2020 piece “A Call To Action” is my way of encouraging activism, and in that way I feel it is an act in and of itself. The newest category, Interactive & Multimedia, allowed me to express myself in a way that hasn’t been heard before in the Contest. It allowed me to share my need for activism in a way that I believe will create more activists, because we are stronger together.
What advice would you give to other young people who want to speak up and create positive change on issues important to them?
Do it! Find whatever opportunities there are around you. Create art, write stories, find marches and protests and scream out until you’re heard. In the United States, the Sunrise Movement has many opportunities for youth to speak on climate change issues. Write to your senators and local government to influence their voting and express the fact that their constituents want climate action. Remind them that while you aren’t a voter yet, their actions now will impact your future vote. You will have the power to take them out of office. They are meant to work for you and your community. Find yourself a group of people to speak with you, because 100 voices are louder than one.
What would you like to say to today’s world leaders?
I don’t think there is anything to say to today’s world leaders. They’ve proven time and time again that they simply won’t listen to scientists, or activists, or anyone in between. Especially in American politics, they’re bound to fossil fuel lobbyists who will drown out any reasoning for their own financial gain. I want to talk to the world leaders of tomorrow. The ones who still have the capacity to care, who aren’t corrupted by power and greed. I want to talk to the future leaders who believe scientists and follow their instructions, the ones who will reign in our impending climate disaster. The leaders of today are hopeless, but tomorrow? There is still hope.
Are you working on any creative projects right now?
My latest entry was a massive project for me, so I am currently on a break to allow myself to recover and to improve my technical skills. I am collaborating with a friend on a sci-fi dystopian novel, along with advising my mother on her latest project. I’m happy to get to work with other passionate youth as a member of the Future Blue Youth Council and look forward to entering the Ocean Awareness Contest again this year.
The 10th annual Ocean Awareness Contest: WATER RISING, is accepting submissions through June 14, 2021. Learn more about how to participate.