Art & Culture

Shedding Light on the Importance of Our Oceans

An Interview With Lighthouse Artist Semine Hazar
By: Selva Ozelli

1. Tell us about your journey to becoming a world renowned lighthouse oil painter

I was a financial executive until I retired from my job. When my late husband who was a captain passed away, I began taking painting lessons at prominent art schools including Atelier Teymur Ryzayev established by Azerbaijan’s state artist who is also a Hermitage Museum Gold Medalist to learn how to compose and paint lighthouse paintings. I began painting lighthouses as a memorial to my late husband who as a captain found his sea route based on the silent light signals from lighthouses.

Oil painting titled Quiet Ship by Semine Hazar showing a lighthouse at sunset with boats and seagulls at a wooden dock — *“Quiet Ship” by Semine Hazar – Named after the poem “Sessiz Gemi” by Yahya Kemal Beyatlı, which was made into a song by Humeyra*

What started as a very personal project took on a larger life when I began exhibiting my sea and lighthouse themed oil paintings via the Painters Club (Ressamlar Dernegi) in Istanbul. With my lighthouse paintings, I began drawing attention to and reaching a larger audience regarding the importance of oceans to our world, our ecology and our need to guard them with their silent signals.

2. When and how did you transition from exhibiting locally in Istanbul to internationally?

In 2020 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic during lockdown, a friend from the atelier Selva Ozelli Esq, CPA, Artist and Author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally curated a group art show with ten artists from our atelier which was originally going to be shown at the Balat Culture Center in Istanbul. But with the lockdowns, our group art show at Balat Culture Center was cancelled. Gallerist Cem Ustuner of Pinelo Art Gallery prepared a video of our group art show titled “Atelier Teymur Rzayev’s First Digital Climate Change Art Show” which was shown at the world’s first climate change museum CUHK Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change in Hong Kong during World Environment Day on June 5, 2020 instead.

From 2020 to 2021 I exhibited in numerous global museums, United Nations Conferences including COP26 and NGOs. And kept going ever since without looking back.

3. Have you exhibited at the United Nations?

Since 2020 my work was selected for exhibition at several United Nations Conferences including COP26 and several World Oceans Day events which is run by Oceanic Global.

This year my painting titled “Lighthouse at the End of the World” was featured at the United Nations during the inaugural World Glaciers Day event as well.

4. Tell us about your art exhibitions in the United States

I began exhibiting in the United States in 2021 at Oceanic Global. In 2024 my painting titled “Clear Water” was the cover photo of the “Pink and Blue” a group art show consisting of 11 artists—oil painters and photographers—from 6 different countries at Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, NY.

Oil painting of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater sailing through stormy waters by lighthouse artist Semine Hazar — *“Clear Water” by Semine Hazar – Depicting Pete Seeger’s Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a symbol of environmental activism and river conservation*

The “Clear Water” painting is of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a replica of 18th and 19th-century Dutch cargo sloops. It’s owned and operated by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc., a non-profit established by award-winning musician Pete Seeger—who was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Honor in 1994, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. The sloop serves as an educational platform and a symbol of environmental activism, particularly in the fight to clean up the Hudson River.

[Watch the video here]

The same painting was featured in the World Maritime Day event for Climate Week NYC at the Putnam History Museum in Cold Spring, NY as well and was purchased and added to the art collection of Pete Seeger’s producer who also authored a book about the musician.

The same year my “Concord Point Lighthouse” painting was featured in a yearlong exhibition at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum which added one of my paintings to their permanent collection.

Oil painting of Concord Point Lighthouse in Havre de Grace Maryland at twilight by artist Semine Hazar — *“Concord Point Lighthouse” by Semine Hazar – Maryland’s second oldest lighthouse, highlighting the Chesapeake Bay’s maritime heritage and environmental challenges*

Concord Point Lighthouse is located in Havre de Grace, Maryland, and is significant as the second oldest lighthouse in Maryland and a historic aid to navigation. It stands at the mouth of the Susquehanna River where it enters the Chesapeake Bay across from the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, and was in service for 148 years, from 1827 until 1975.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the US and a National Treasure. Its 64,000-square-mile watershed encompasses one of the most economically significant regions of the United States. It is protected by the landmark Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement (adopted in 2014, amended in 2020) that calls for, among other things, conservation and restoration of the treasured water, sea, and landscapes with participation from six states – New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Unfortunately in the 1970s, the Chesapeake Bay was found to contain one of the planet’s first identified marine dead zones, where waters were so depleted of oxygen that they were unable to support life, resulting in massive fish kills which is what I intended to draw attention to with my Concord Lighthouse painting, so we collectively work towards avoiding marine dead zones in our world.

5. Tell us about the art projects you have been working on this year

This year starting in March, I exhibited at the United Nations during the inaugural World Glaciers Day celebrated on March 21, 2025, jointly with World Water Day. The day highlighted the crucial role of glaciers in global water resources and the urgent need for action to protect them from the impacts of climate change. This inaugural event was part of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025.

In April I took part in the “Our Power Our Planet Art Show” which was featured in 3 countries and 11 culture institutions including but not limited to Lord Howe Island Museum, Morton Memorial Library, the Queens Botanical Garden Climate Art Festival among others.

During May I took part in the “Stories of City Birds” art show which was featured by the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum and National Lighthouse Museum.

[Insert Image: “Gulls on a Rowboat” by Semine Hazar]

*“Gulls on a Rowboat” by Semine Hazar (This painting that is included in the permanent collection of Havre de Grace Maritime Museum was named after a poem by Kenneth Slade Alling)*

During July and August, I am taking part in the “I Love New York” art show which celebrates NY for being the birthplace of the US environmental movement at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center in Poughkeepsie, NY where I am for the first time featuring my “NY’s Lighthouses” including the Statue of Liberty painting in celebration of USA250.

Creative oil painting featuring the Statue of Liberty surrounded by New York City buildings in a circular composition by Semine Hazar — *“Statue of Liberty” by Semine Hazar – Part of the “NY’s Lighthouses” series celebrating New York as the birthplace of the US environmental movement for USA250*

I will continue to exhibit the “NY’s Lighthouses” series together with esteemed Hudson Valley photographer Barbara Todd to bring our art show “New York’s Lighthouses” to the National Lighthouse Museum from September 4 to December 13, 2025 to present Lighthouses of NY based on our unique but complementary artistic styles and interpretations.

This art show celebrates Lighthouses of New York, the birthplace of the US environmental movement, which are recognized landmarks with symbolic and aesthetic qualities including distinct architectural characteristics located in picturesque settings. Many of these lighthouses are now lovingly preserved and open to the public, evoking feelings of hope, guidance, resilience, and revival. Their depiction in my paintings and Barbara’s photography captures New York’s coastal landscapes and maritime history as once these lighthouses played a crucial role in the region’s maritime history, guiding ships and enabling trade and transportation. The exhibition highlights important aspects of the region’s past, and its adaptation to technological advances with a strong connection to the Hudson River School, America’s first art movement, which celebrated the beauty of New York and its surrounding landscapes that are an integral part of ongoing preservation efforts the National Lighthouse Museum is actively involved in.

Oil painting of the iconic Little Red Lighthouse in New York with cyclists and seagulls by artist Semine Hazar — *“The Little Red Lighthouse” by Semine Hazar – Celebrating New York’s maritime heritage and the power of community engagement in historical preservation*

For this exhibition I painted the first lighthouse that was built in New York, which is the fourth-oldest working lighthouse in the nation—MONTAUK POINT LIGHTHOUSE in Long Island, as well as lighthouses of Staten Island, New York, the Hudson River including the Little Red Lighthouse which represents the power of community engagement in protecting historical structures and highlights the ongoing need for environmental awareness and responsible stewardship of our natural resources, especially the vital Hudson River ecosystem and Jefferson County which sits on the US-Canada border, connected to Ontario by the scenic Thousand Islands International Bridge across the St. Lawrence River, boasting significant tourism, maritime and military importance.

I also painted the Reefs of New York because New York State has 16 artificial reef sites as well as natural oyster and coral reefs in the area. The National Lighthouse Museum on Staten Island is collaborating with the Billion Oyster Project to restore oyster reefs in New York Harbor. These oyster reefs are being established to improve water quality, provide habitat for marine life, and help protect the city from storm damage. The project aims to restore one billion oysters by 2035.

Underwater oil painting by Semine Hazar depicting colorful coral reefs and marine life representing New York's oyster restoration efforts — *“Oyster Reefs of New York” by Semine Hazar – Supporting the Billion Oyster Project to restore New York Harbor’s marine ecosystem*

6. What are your future plans?

With the support of great institutions which I am grateful for, I would like to continue painting lighthouses of this world and exhibit them globally to draw attention to and spread the message that we need to protect our oceans.

7. How can people reach you and find out more about what you are working on?

Contact Information

Email: seminehazar@yahoo.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/semine.hazar
Galleries: Ro Gallery NYC, Pinelo Art Gallery
Auction House: BankCosta Auction House

Article Gallery

Art & Culture

Sixteen days in Tunisia

*Bab Al-Bhar, the historic Sea Gate of Tunis, once opened directly onto the Mediterranean. Today, white colonial buildings stand where water once lapped at the city walls.*

Tunisia is named after Tunis. Not the other way around. If the country takes its name from the city, then any attempt to understand Tunisia must start in Tunis.

Before reading any further, look at a map. You must appreciate the exceptional location of Tunis; only then does the city make full sense. Historically, Tunis was little more than a compact nucleus pressed in the strip of land between the Séjoumi lagoon (a flamingo sanctuary) and Lake Tunis, once the natural harbour. Everything that now feels expansive, avenues, neighbourhoods, infrastructure, rests on land reclaimed from water. Bab Al-Bhar, the Sea Gate, crystallises this transformation: standing there today, flanked by white buildings, you have to imagine the water once visible straight through the gate. The city quite literally stole land from the sea as it expanded.

That tension between land and water, between natural geography and human intervention, repeats itself everywhere in Tunisia. An artificial peninsula appears in the ancient harbours of Carthage. Salt lakes replace vanished seas in Chott el Djerid. Urban coastlines are pushed back, fortified, paved over. Today, the landscape bears the marks of centuries of negotiation with water, sometimes reverent, sometimes violent. But let’s stay in the capital for a moment.

Visiting the medina (old town) on a Sunday, when most souks are closed, made the architecture audible. Without the commercial noise, proportions, light and texture take over; the business-day buzz is thrilling, but silence teaches you how the city breathes. That quiet also sharpens your attention to thresholds. And then the beauty of the doors hits you. Again and again. Painted, carved, symbolic, they demand to be read, often concealing unexpected worlds behind them. In the medina, access is never guaranteed: museums may still be family homes, so you knock, you wait and someone might let you in. Knowledge survives through generosity. This constant negotiation between private and public space explains why repurposing feels so natural here. People inhabit ancient burial sites, former shrines become cafés and even the old slave market has transformed into the jewellers’ quarter; history reused rather than erased. The twenty madrasas scattered through the medina embody this logic perfectly: still embedded in daily life, neither fully public nor entirely private, their doors test your luck. Finally stepping inside one felt unreal, courtyards opening suddenly, tiled interiors that seemed imagined rather than constructed. I honestly felt I was dreaming.

But don’t forget to look up, as architecture constantly communicates power, belief and belonging, often far more than we initially perceive. The green-tiled domes signalling burial places, the octagonal or patterned motifs minarets proclaiming variants of Islam (Ottoman and Almohad respectively) or the colour codes identifying hammams and barber shops all speak a visual language that locals instinctively read. In Tunis, belief is never private, it is inscribed into skylines and façades.

That inscription extends inward. Mosques feel less like austere institutions than wellness centres, spaces of rest, learning and calm. Mats are placed against ancient columns to shield people’s backs from the cool marble. I even witnessed people nap inside Al-Zaytuna. So much peace that you can sleep. How do churches compare?

*The courtyard of Al-Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis, built in the seventh century with repurposed Roman columns. The Great Mosque remains the spiritual and commercial heart of the medina.*

Al-Zaytuna itself is the city’s anchor, the Great Mosque. The souks grew around it, originally as little more than rented awnings, now covered streets wrapping commerce around devotion. You walk through trade and suddenly stumble into the sacred. Built in the seventh century, shortly after the Islamic conquest of Byzantine Africa, the mosque stands on layers of belief. While it is likely that a temple existed here since antiquity, legend says it was built on the shrine of Saint Olive of Palermo. “Zaytuna” means olive, in Arabic and in Spanish. Language preserves memory even when stones are repurposed. Indeed, the entire prayer hall is held by a forest of Roman columns and capitals, older worlds literally supporting newer ones.

As a Spaniard, Tunisia had many a surprise in store for me. Rue des Andalous reveals one of Tunisia’s most consequential migrations. During the Middle Ages, much of Spain was Muslim. Forced conversions, expulsions and finally the mass expulsion even of Moriscos (former Muslims converted to Christianity) in 1609 drove tens of thousands across the sea. Spain was Al-Andalus in Arabic and so these Spaniards became known as “Andalusians”. Large numbers settled in Tunisia, founding neighbourhoods and entire industries. That legacy is not abstract. Chechias, the characteristic red felt hats associated with Tunisois men, were produced using techniques brought by Andalusian refugees. By the nineteenth century, chechia makers were among the wealthiest and most influential merchants in Tunis. The Tunis souks where you can still watch them work are living archives of forced migration turned cultural inheritance. Indeed, the link with Al-Andalus is still emotionally present. Several people called me “cousin” when I told them I was Spanish. It did not feel metaphorical. It felt familial. Spanish presence resurfaces repeatedly: forts at La Goulette, inscriptions in Castilian, Andalusian refugees founding towns like Testour, where the mosque clock runs backwards (‘anticlockwise’) like Arabic script. Jewish and Muslim Spaniards built whole towns together after fleeing persecution. They brought urban planning, architecture, food and memory.

*The ribat of Monastir, a fortified Islamic monastery, now separated from the Mediterranean by a modern coastal road. The ancient fortress once stood directly on the beach.*

Non-human animals are also everywhere if you know where to look, silently narrating human history. Today, cats dominate Tunis, lounging, glamorous, fully at home in the city. But North Africa was once also home to another feline: lions, ultimately erased from the landscape by hunting. At the Bardo museum, Roman mosaics celebrate them while also depicting their mass slaughter in amphitheatres. Venationes (gladiatorial hunting shows) paved the way to extinction long before modern poaching. Rome’s “games” were ecological disasters disguised as entertainment. El Djem boasts the third largest amphitheatre in the world, an uncomfortable reminder that the spectacle of violence against animals became industrial. Birds, too, mark survival. Storks now nest on electrical poles, thanks to recent conservationist efforts, and the ancient castle on the artificial Chikly island in Lake Tunis is now a natural reserve for over fifty-seven species.

Water management reveals another continuity of power. Ancient Carthage was defined by water engineering. Artificial harbours, commercial and naval, remain legible after 2,200 years. Aqueducts carried water across vast distances; cisterns stored enough to sustain one of the Mediterranean’s largest cities. Fresh water was sacred. Springs, such as that at Zaghouan, were divine. Nymphs were believed to guard the source so temples rose where water emerged from the rock. But human transformations of the landscape sometimes rival natural phenomena. Chott el Djerid, now a salt desert, was once part of the Mediterranean Sea. When geological shifts cut it off, the water evaporated, leaving salt behind. The salt is now actively extracted and shipped north, sold to Scandinavian countries as grit to combat icy roads. At the same time, visions of reversing this desiccation persist, from colonial-era schemes to the revival of the “Sahara Sea” project in the 2010s, approved by the Tunisian state in 2018. Coastlines have also been shaped by humans. Hammamet’s medina once met the waves directly. Boulders and walkways intervened. Monastir’s ribat once stood on the beach before roads severed it from the sea. Sousse’s medina now violently cut away from the Mediterranean. Tunisia has never stopped imagining how to reshape water.

The medina walls of Hammamet meet a rocky breakwater constructed to protect the coastline. Where waves once touched ancient stone, boulders now buffer the historic town from the sea.

A fisherman wades through the ancient Punic harbours of Carthage, still in use after 2,200 years. The artificial basins, once home to Carthaginian naval and merchant fleets, now serve local fishing communities. — The medina walls of Hammamet meet a rocky breakwater constructed to protect the coastline. Where waves once touched ancient stone, boulders now buffer the historic town from the sea.

Just as water and animals shape human settlement, so too does climate. Again and again in Tunisia, habitation reveals extraordinary adaptation to environment. At the ancient site of Bulla Regia, houses were built partly underground to escape heat, flooding interior spaces with light while sheltering them from extremes. At Matmata, troglodyte dwellings carved into the earth have stabilised temperature in a harsh desert landscape for centuries. At Zriba Olia, a town only abandoned decades ago, Amazigh (Berber) architecture merges seamlessly with mountain rock: the house ends, the mountain begins. Even the Roman theatre at Dougga takes perfect advantage of the mountain’s elevation. These are not picturesque oddities; they are intelligent, time-tested responses to landscape. But changes aren’t always benign, especially when colonial brutality is concerned. In Carthage, Roman policy deliberately buried, erased and levelled the Punic past on Byrsa Hill. Centuries later, French authorities turned amphitheatres into chapels, erected cathedrals atop Punic acropolises and even built a farmhouse on the Roman capitol at Oudna. Layers of civilisation were literally crushed to assert dominance. The irony is that archaeology eventually resurrected what imperial ideology tried to annihilate.

An underground villa at Bulla Regia, the ancient Roman city where homes were built below ground level to escape North African heat. Roman columns frame a sunken courtyard still preserving intricate floor mosaics.

A traditional troglodyte dwelling in Matmata, where Amazigh families have carved homes into the earth for centuries. The sunken courtyard design provides natural climate control in Tunisia's arid south. — An underground villa at Bulla Regia, the ancient Roman city where homes were built below ground level to escape North African heat. Roman columns frame a sunken courtyard still preserving intricate floor mosaics.

Language binds all of this astonishing diversity together. Phoenician (Punic) script underpins our Latin alphabet. Tifinagh survives among Amazigh communities. Writing systems are fossils of contact. Even humour reveals linguistic layering: Tunisians seem to have the worst, and best, wordplay, producing gems like “Pub-elle”, “Bar Celone” or “Mec Anic”, jokes cleverly built on French that land perfectly in Tunisian streets. Religion, too, refuses neat boundaries. Phoenician deities merge with Egyptian, Persian and Roman gods. Judaism flourished in North Africa from antiquity and remained deeply rooted in Tunisia until the twentieth century. Christianity arrived early, fractured into multiple denominations and left basilicas, cathedrals and martyrs’ narratives across the landscape. Islam absorbed, adapted and reinterpreted what came before. Syncretism is not the exception here, it is the rule.

By the end, what remains clearest is this: Tunisia is not a palimpsest with erased layers. It is an accumulation where nothing disappears entirely. Former seas leave salt. Empires leave infrastructure. Migrations leave words, recipes, and cousins!

Sixteen days is nothing.
And it was everything.

Written by: Fernando Nieto-Almada

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fernando read History at university in London and Paris and currently teaches Languages. You can follow him on Instagram here.

Art & Culture

“Patagonia National Park,” Book by Rewilding Chile

Patagonia National Park is one of Chile’s most important ecological restoration or rewilding projects. It consists of the former Tamango and Jeinimeni reserves and the Chacabuco Valley, a sector that was donated by Tompkins Conservation to the State of Chile in 2018 and which was formerly one of the largest cattle ranches in the country.

To highlight and celebrate the work done in the Aysén region, where today the community can enjoy and connect with this protected area, where species and ecosystems are gradually regaining their place, the book “Patagonia National Park” was published.

The book’s photographs and stories are dedicated to the diverse landscapes of Patagonia National Park, encompassing forests, glaciers, and steppe, as well as the park’s wild inhabitants and the efforts being made to recover healthy populations of endangered species such as the huemul, rhea, puma, and Andean condor. Most of the images are by the prominent photographer Linde Waidhofer, while the texts were written by various personalities such as Yvon Chouinard, founder of the outdoor clothing brand Patagonia, a close climbing friend of Douglas Tompkins; environmental figures such as Marcelo Mena, and Juan Pablo Orrego, as well as the words of former president Michelle Bachelet, in the prologue.

In the summer of 1994, while Douglas and Kristine Tompkins were traveling through Patagonia, marveling at the beauty of the Aysén steppe, they camped on the banks of the Chacabuco River: “We imagined that such an extraordinary place should be protected forever; it was like nothing we had ever seen before,” said Kristine, co-founder of Rewilding Chile, at the time. Twelve years later, with the President of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet, she signed the decree to create the Patagonia National Parks Network, a public-private strategic vision of ecosystem conservation, which seeks to promote the economic development of local communities based on responsible nature tourism. At this milestone, the creation of the new Patagonia National Park was also announced.

Today, Kristine Tompkins presents to the community a book that brings together profound reflections with beautiful images of the park, which take you on a journey through this area at different moments in its history and give an account of the efforts made to restore this ecosystem. In its 276 pages, it brings together texts by 18 contributors who talk about the geological history of the park, the human settlement of the valley, the infrastructure developed for public access in the park, the change from a cattle ranch into a national park, its rich wildlife, the restoration actions to restore the park, the history of the park, the history of the park, the history of the park and the efforts made to restore the ecosystem.
The book contributes to the conservation of the ecosystem, among other topics.

For Carolina Morgado, executive director of Rewilding Chile, a legacy foundation of Tompkins Conservation, this book reinforces the concept that national parks are the jewels of a country where everyone is welcome. “With this book, we seek to bring the natural heritage closer to readers from different corners of the planet, to raise awareness about how nature can heal when we give it the space to do so,” concludes Carolina Morgado.

“Con este libro, buscamos acercar el patrimonio natural, a los lectores de diversos rincones del planeta, para generar conciencia sobre cómo la naturaleza puede sanar, cuando le damos el espacio para hacerlo” Carolina Morgado, directora ejecutiva Rewilding Chile

About the park

Patagonia National Park covers 304,000 hectares, where the former Lake Jeinimeni National Reserve and the former Tamango National Reserve were merged with the lands of the Estancia Valle Chacabuco, donated by Tompkins Conservation.

The most important features include the plant formations of the Patagonian steppe of Aysén, which is at its maximum expression in this area. Also noteworthy are the large extensions of Patagonian Andean forests present in the high and foothill sectors associated with bodies of water, which mainly contain three species of the beech genus (Nothofagus): the lenga, the ñire, and the coigüe. Rainfall can reach 200 millimeters a year, producing dense, nutrient-rich forests. These forests are home to 370 types of vascular plants, which are vital to the survival of the surrounding fauna.

Patagonia National Park is home to and protects the highest levels of biodiversity found in Aysén. All of the region’s native species are present, from Andean condors to guanacos and pumas. The park also protects large tracts of habitat for the endangered huemul, an iconic species part of Chile’s national coat of arms.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOK “PATAGONIA NATIONAL PARK”

Art & Culture

Cultural Heritage Included in the COP30’s Ocean Action Agenda for the First Time

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil had a
theme of “Forests to Sea” that recognized the interconnectedness of these two vital
ecosystems.

For the first time, in a significant milestone for international climate policy, culture and
heritage was formally recognized within the framework of the UN climate negotiations
under the “Fostering Human and Social Development” axis of the Global Climate Action
Agenda. This inclusion extended to the Ocean Action Agenda, integrating the human
and social dimensions of marine environments into the global conversation on climate
adaptation and use culture-based solutions for climate action.

Five new cultural heritage indicators were adopted as part of the 59 “Belém Adaptation
Indicators” for measuring progress against the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). These
indicators measure adaptation implementation for tangible and intangible heritage,
digitization, emergency preparedness, and community engagement, including
Indigenous knowledge and practices.

The new focus emphasizes that the ocean is not only a natural resource but also a
significant cultural space that shapes identities and livelihoods, particularly for coastal
and island communities.

The COP30 Virtual Ocean Pavilion hosted wide-ranging events – 2,500 registrations by
delegates representing 150+ countries fostering dialogue among leading voices
worldwide. Here are four of the art shows that were registered at the COP30 Virtual
Ocean Pavilion.

1. Paradise by Ian Hutton and Selva Ozelli for Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory of Columbia University

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is a world-renowned research
institution within Columbia University’s Climate School, founded in 1949 to study Earth’s
natural systems. LDEO scientists were among the first to map the seafloor, provide
proof for the theory of plate tectonics, continental drift and develop a computer model
for predicting El Niño events. LDEO’s research covers everything from formation of the
Earth and Moon, as well as the movement of carbon and other materials through Earth’s systems from its atmosphere through land via seismic activity, plate tectonics, tree ring
analysis to rivers and oceans to identify climate shifts and changes.

The LDEO’s Forests to Sea themed research and exhibits Art Meets Science for COP30
feature the interconnectedness of these two vital ecosystems through art and science
to encourage the expression of original ideas that have long, and transformative
impact. Professor Steven Goldstein, the Interim Director at LDEO, notes that “Science
and art share many common characteristics. The essence of science is to use our
imagination with observation and logic to comprehend the world around us, how it is,
was, and possibly will be, while art is also the expression of our imagination about what
is, was, or might be.” He has encouraged using art and science together to
communicate to the broad public the critical role of geoscience in our understanding of
how our planet works, which must serve as the basis for finding solutions to the climate
crisis.

Paradise by Ian Hutton and Selva Ozelli – COP30 Digital Ocean Pavilion

Ian Hutton explained the impact of ocean warming on seaslugs featured in his
exhibition at LDEO titled “Paradise” with Selva Ozelli which was registered at the
COP30 Digital Ocean Pavilion “Since 2013, Prof. Stephen Smith (Aquamarine
Australia) and I (Lord Howe Island Museum) have been hosting a Sea Slug Census
program a long-running citizen science project that has spread across Australia, and to
sites in Indonesia and Vanuatu, with more than 4,000 participants photographically
documenting the distribution of over 1,100 species to date. This program uses public
contributions to document sea slug distribution, providing valuable data on how these
seaslug populations are changing due to ocean warming.”

2. Healing Waters by Selva Ozelli for Global Ocean Development Forum

The main “Global Ocean Development Forum” (GODF) for 2025 took place in Qingdao,
China, bringing together nearly 700 guests from 68 countries and regions gathered to
discuss pressing ocean issues, including marine economy, technology, and ecology.
The forum’s agenda addressed a wide range of cutting-edge topics spanning
sustainability, innovation, and more, all in an effort to secure the seas for present and
future generations. An ocean-themed art exhibition was held during this conference at
the Lixian Art Museum, Shandong which featured three paintings from Selva Ozelli’s
“Healing Waters” series that was a registered COP30 Ocean Pavilion event.

The “Healing Waters” art show by Selva Ozelli is a series of exhibitions focused on
environmental conservation and the rehabilitation of threatened water bodies, of the
Chesapeake Bay, which is the largest estuary in the US and a National Treasure. Its
64,000-square-mile watershed encompasses one of the most economically significant
regions of the United States. It is protected by the landmark Chesapeake Bay
Watershed Agreement (adopted in 2014, amended in 2020) that calls for, among other
things, conservation and restoration of the treasured water, sea, and landscapes with
participation from six states – New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland,
Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Unfortunately in the 1970s, the Chesapeake Bay was found to contain one of the
planet’s first identified marine dead zones, where waters were so depleted of oxygen
that they were unable to support life, resulting in massive fish kills including the extinct
Darter Fish which is the focus of my “Healing Waters” series, so we collectively work
towards avoiding marine dead zones in our world.

Healing Waters by Selva Ozelli – COP30 Digital Ocean Pavilion

3. Ocean & River Lovers by Selva Ozelli for Havre de Grace Maritime Museum

The “Ocean & River Lovers” art show by Selva Ozelli, an ambassador to Oceanic
Global is a series of exhibitions presented globally at the United Nations Conferences
and museums to raise awareness about the climate change and plastic pollution crisis
affecting oceans and rivers.

The artwork, which includes paintings of angel fish, and discus fish, draws attention to
how marine life and ecosystems are harmed by warming waters, and pollution.

The show is part of a larger body of work endorsed by the UNESCO Ocean Decade and
cataloged by the United Nations, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, and Berlin University of
Art.

Selva Ozelli explained why she focused on Amazon rivers’ Discus Fish in her Ocean &
River Lovers exhibition for Havre de Grace Maritime Museum registered at the COP30
Digital Ocean Pavilion “The Amazon River is home to the vibrant, disk-shaped cichlids
known as discus fish (Symphysodon spp.) These colorful fish are native to the Amazon
River basin and its tributaries, where they are typically found in slow-moving, heavily
wooded areas. They prefer warm, soft, acidic, and highly oxygenated clean waters.

Discus fish thrive on a diet rich in protein, which they forage in their specific habitats.
However, their delicate ecosystem is under threat. Climate change and the ongoing
deforestation of the Amazon directly harm these beautiful fish by destroying their
habitat, reducing their food sources, and ruining their breeding grounds.“

Ocean & River Lovers by Selva Ozelli – COP30 Digital Ocean Pavilion

4. NY’s Lighthouses by Semine Hazar and Barbara Todd for National
Lighthouse Museum

The “NY’s Lighthouses” series is by oil artist Semine Hazar and Hudson Valley
photographer Barbara Todd that celebrates Lighthouses of New York, the birthplace of
the US environmental movement, which are recognized landmarks with symbolic and
aesthetic qualities, including distinct architectural characteristics located in picturesque
settings.

The exhibition highlights important aspects of the region’s past, capturing New York’s
coastal landscapes and maritime history, as once these lighthouses played a crucial
role in the region’s maritime history, guiding ships and enabling trade and transportation.
And its adaptation to technological advances with a strong connection to the Hudson
River School, America’s first art movement, which celebrated the beauty of New York
and its surrounding landscapes that are an integral part of ongoing preservation efforts
the National Lighthouse Museum is actively involved in.

NY’s Lighthouses by Semine Hazar and Barbara Todd – COP30 Digital Ocean Pavilion