Bow Seat Partners with Artist Jason Talbot to Uplift Young Voices of Color Through New Award and Programming

January 14, 2021

Through our Ocean Awareness Contest and other programming, Bow Seat has pursued our mission to empower students to address critical environmental issues through creative advocacy, and to create a safe space for all young people to share their feelings, hopes, and ideas about their future. From a survey of recent Contest participants, however, we realized that our program was falling short of our goal to uplift diverse student stories, experiences, and expressions.

To better fulfill our mission, we are thrilled to partner with Boston artist Jason Talbot on an exciting initiative to engage a greater number of Black, Indigenous, and Latina/o/e students in the 2021 Ocean Awareness Contest. Jason is a longtime visual art judge for Bow Seat’s Contest and co-founder of Artists For Humanity, an organization that fuses art-making, entrepreneurial and business training, experiential arts and STEM learning, and audience engagement to create empowering and transformational experiences for under-resourced teens.

“Bow Seat is committed to making a greater investment in young, creative environmental advocates of color, particularly those whose communities have been the most affected by environmental racism, pollution, and the impacts of the climate crisis, and who have been historically underrepresented in ocean conservation efforts, including our programs,” said Linda Cabot, founder and president of Bow Seat.

“We are fortunate to have Jason on board with us to implement this initiative—his leadership, experiences, networks, and passion will be invaluable as we work to engage and uplift diverse perspectives, ideas, and values.”

Bow Seat and Jason will work together to engage emerging creators of color in the 2021 Ocean Awareness Contest through the following efforts:

• We All Rise Prize – Funded by Bow Seat, ten $750 awards in both the Junior Division (ages 11-14) and Senior Division (ages 15-18)—a total of 20 awards and equaling $15,000—will be offered to students in the U.S. who identify as Black, Indigenous, or Latina/o/e in the 2021 Ocean Awareness Contest, and whose entries demonstrate notable artistic achievement in their chosen category. Cash awards are not restricted and can be used for tuition, art supplies, or personal expenses.
• Educational programming – We will provide creative offerings such as webinars, videos, and interactive activities that center the voices of artists, performers, and activists of color, as well as uplift diverse, inclusive, and intersectional narratives of environmental advocacy.
• Advisory committee – We will convene a diverse and representative group of artists, educators, environmentalists, and other role models who will contribute to outreach, programming, and judging.

“I am honored to partner with Bow Seat to launch the We All Rise Prize to encourage Black, Indigenous, and Latina/o/e teens to share their voices through their art,” said Jason Talbot. “A more representative environmental movement is critical to ensuring that we come up with solutions that work for more people and places, and to make sure that our water is safe for future generations.”

Learn more about the We All Rise Prize >

Featured Student Artwork by Jada Mensah (Massachusetts), 2020 Ocean Awareness Contest Silver Award Winner in Art