BAZ-ART (a creative NPO whose work focuses on the transformation of public spaces using urban art.
Its work is combined with Greenpop’s activism and public art projects with the aim to empower green communities and restore ecosystems in Sub-Saharan South Africa) is working towards producing an online museum to facilitate awareness on plastic pollution and the effects it has on South African marine life using virtual art murals. “The Museum of Plastic” Exhibition is a collaborative response to climate change that connects art, science and digital technology. This online museum will be included in the cultural program building up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) which will be hosted in the United Kingdom from 1-12 November 2021.
A group of nominated South African mural artists who will form part of the collaborators to the Museum of Plastic met with community representatives across Cape Town to commence the creation of the online museum. These mural artists are tasked with painting murals that speak to the theme of plastic pollution of the ocean. Waste Ed’s Candice Mostert and The Two Ocean Aquariums’ Education Department provided the mural artists with an enlightening discussion on the impact of plastic waste on the longevity of our marine life as a means of imparting knowledge and providing inspiration to the artists who are to contribute to the online museum. Thereafter, the artists were provided with an opportunity to explore painting 3D murals in Virtual Reality.
The use of plastic has proven to be rather detrimental to the Earth and is no longer sustainable if we want to save our oceans from the pollution created by the use of plastic.
According to the IUCN, 80% of all marine debris is made up of 8 million tons of plastic that wind up in our oceans annually.
Plastic pollution is a grave threat to marine life and biodiversity which ultimately threatens our food security, human health and coastal tourism. This project is a vital educational tool aimed to build awareness and consciousness regarding the impact of plastic use on the sustainability of our oceans.
This project will be using Curatours’ virtual reality platform to create a virtual museum that is set in the future that will provide viewers with an opportunity to look at a world in which single-use plastics have banned and see the importance of the 21st-century activists’ work that has led to the aversion of the climate being destroyed. The Museum of Plastic exhibition will utilise both science and nature education, 3D objects including 360 degree experiences providing viewers with a virtual experience. The murals created by South African artists can be viewed on the museum’s platform which is set to launch by the end of 2021.
