Corals from Laguna de Maya Cuba ©Luis Muiño

Forms Fostering Growth: Mara G Haseltine’s NGO “Geotherapy Institute for Art and Field Sciences” Builds Nurseries for Coral Reef Restoration in Cuba

Olivia Carye Hallstein

Artist Mara G Haseltine, Director of the “Geotherapy Institute for Art and Field Sciences,” has developed her first project for coral nurseries in Laguna de Maya, Cuba.  She has expanded her creative work to collaboratively produce an effective regenerative solution for bleaching coral. As a result, The Coral Nursery applies creativity with restoration within a non-profit framework. Working as an official business entity coordinating with local government and other institutions allows the project to surpass common limitations. 

Geotherapy Institute For Art and Field Sciences official Logo

Mara, your project and NGO address coral bleaching in Cuba. What factors did you take into consideration when deciding on location for this project?

Corals are the ‘canary in the coalmine’ for our planet. When healthy, they soften the shorelines creating natural self-healing beach-breaks, create biodiverse habitats for a myriad of aquatic life, create sustainable fishing opportunities, and offer endless opportunities for scientific research including medicine. These delicate biodiverse habitats are headed for mass extinction and preserving them through anthropogenic means is now our only window into their past glory for future generations.

Cuban waters of course are undergoing the same effects of climate change that we are seeing globally. And there are many Cuban nationals working on this topic in different ways. Acidification and temperature rise both create large-scale bleaching leading to the decimation of coral reefs worldwide.  However, Cuba has little or no agricultural runoff from fertilizers used to farm, drastically less commercial building, and less automobile traffic. As a result, there is much less pollution going into the sea surrounding Cuba, making it far more pristine than the surrounding islands in the Caribbean. This makes it a better place to do coral restoration and study the effects of coral restoration scientifically.  

And to restore these corals you have expanded this project by launching The Coral Nursery in Havana, Cuba as an NGO. What has your process of starting an NGO and working amongst scientific institutions as an artist looked like?

I see my specialty as an artist as ‘making the microscopic megascopic’; sometimes on a very large scale. Art is a wonderful tool for public engagement and can make something so visually seductive that the viewer wants to learn more about it to ‘understand’ and thus be compelled to engage with the work. 

The creation of this NGO ‘the Geotherapy Institute for Art and Field Sciences’ and becoming its Director is another level of magnification. There are so many moving parts and it has become organic in its growth, taking on a life of its own. We are building an unstoppable team all dedicated to infusing art into the field sciences: with students and Professors from the University of Havana, Finca Artnomista (a sustainible organic farm), Cuban artists like Isrealito Matanzas and NGO’s like Cresta, the Global Coral Reef Alliance and The Ocean Foundation. 

The word ‘Geotherapy’ acknowledges that we are in the age of the Anthropocene. It is our moral duty to care for our injured biosphere with ‘nature-based’ solutions as a doctor would tend to a sick patient.  My goal with this project and subsequent projects is to create something so poetic that this vital relationship we have with nature cannot be ignored. In the end, you will not see the reef structures we have carefully crafted but a vibrant healthy reef…

I have been a practicing ‘environmental sci-artist’ working with scientists and scientific teams for over twenty-five years. The intense connections and inspiration that come from learning about the science has been a source of inspiration as well as one of camaraderie. I am drawn to people that think outside the box (and sometimes very differently from me). I firmly believe that scientists are like artists in their approach to problem solving… striving for solutions that have not yet been created. 

Coral nursery model ©Mara G Haseltine

Problem solving by “Making the microscopic megascopic” sounds like a great way to describe this project! So, how does it work? 

My design is for a coral nursery. The ceramic stars have cross-bred gametes using a process called ‘sextual coral larval propagation’. The stars have cross-bred gametes individually placed on them by scientists who capture the gametes during full moon spawning events. Crossbreeding strengthens their immunity which is crucial in acidic and warmer waters due to climate change. The nursery grows these corals on the ceramic stars until the nascent corals are ready to be placed on top of the reef with a sextual coral larval propagation design component. 

My theory is that the lightly electrified nursery structures will also increase the survivability of these cross-bred gametes. The corals we are focusing on are hard corals like stag and elkhorn both from the Acropora genus; they are endangered. As the reef builders upon which many other forms of life and coral attach to or lay eggs or nest in, they play a crucial role.

Ceramic substrates for coral larval propagation © Mara G Haseltine

What a fantastic example of research-based design. As an artist, I am curious to hear: what contributed to your design decisions for shape and material?

I chose the shape because I found it beautiful, but also functional. The domed structure with a flat bottom and flanges make it incredibly sturdy, which is crucial for aquatic environments. Corals create energy in two ways through catching tiny nutrient particles that float nearby and through photosynthesis through symbiotic algae called xoonathalle, the design has open space for nutrients to flow through and sunlight to reach to aide these functions.

For the stars I chose high fire ceramics, because they have low porosity and perfect for sub-aquatic environments and added a coral texture for the gametes to cling too. The Biorock method employed for the metal structures which applies light volts of electricity to metal, creating an accretion process coating the metal with layers of calcium carbonate. This is the same substance coral skeletons are made from, which if grown properly creates a self-healing substrate 5x’s the strength of traditional concrete.  The light volts of electricity boost the immune system of corals attached to the structure and in nearby waters. 

Plankton pod © Mara G Haseltine

It seems like, just as you are nursing the complex ecosystem of these coral reefs, you are also fostering a parallelly diverse community onshore. With so many people involved in different ways, what hopes do you have for this project beyond the coral reefs? 

We have built an incredible team, over the past three years of working on this project. I could never have done this single-handedly. Some of the scientists and explorers working on this project have been colleagues for over twenty years, bringing a depth of knowledge to the project one person alone could never do. 

I envision a future where many other artists and scientists can come and collaborate, creating an underwater sculpture park that champions ‘nature-based’ solutions. I also hope Laguna de Maya becomes known globally for its dedication to art, local culture, science and above all stewardship for the planet.  

A healthy reef is diverse, the stake holders in this project are diverse as well and there can be many positive outcomes from educational documentary films to sustainable fishing, eco-tourism and above all hope for a brighter future - the possibilities are endless…

Thank you, Mara, for sharing your valuable insights and work! 

Mara G Haseltine teaching in Cuba © Mau Abascal

October 2025 e-Newsletter for subscribers and non-members is here

Through her circular sculpture, artist Rachel Frank depicts the American Oystercatcher in its tide-pool habitat. Photo: Sydney Walsh/Audubon

The Hidden World of the American Oystercatcher

Inspired by ancient offering vessels, Rachel Frank’s sculpture captures the delicate cycle of a shorebird’s life in the intertidal zone.

Words by Jessica McKenzie, Reporter, Audubon magazine, published Fall 2025

Sculptors often spend a lot of time with their subjects, but Rachel Frank takes that connection to another level. As a rehabilitator at the Wild Bird Fund in Manhattan, she’s cared for an array of creatures that live in or pass through the city, including rodenticide-poisoned owls, kestrels injured by cats, and diseased hawks. Her intimate knowledge of wildlife infuses the ceramic sculptures she creates in her Brooklyn studio.

Originally from a small town in northern Kentucky, Frank grew up working with horses and helping out on family farms. When she moved to New York City in 2005, she missed those regular encounters with animals and nature. So while working as a sculptor and art instructor, she began volunteering for the Wild Bird Fund and then signed on full time after she lost her teaching job during the pandemic. Now she is in charge of one of the most diverse departments: waterfowl, raptors, and—surprisingly, given the facility’s name—turtles. “There’s very different treatments between a lot of these different species,” Frank says, “but I really like the challenge.”

Artist Rachel Frank, with her commissioned piece for The Aviary, in her studio in Brooklyn, New York on July 15, 2025. Photo: Sydney Walsh/Audubon

Some of the standouts on Frank’s long list of patients are the American Oystercatchers that have come into her care with wing injuries and swallowed fish hooks. The large black and white shorebird, which inhabits quieter patches of New York City beaches like the Rockaways and Jamaica Bay, is instantly recognizable: “It has such a bright, orangish-red beak, and a haunting, whistling, kind of laughing call,” Frank says.

The artist features this distinctive species in her piece for The Aviary, titled “Liminal Offering Vessel: American Oystercatcher and Tide Pools.” The statue’s shape was inspired by ancient Mediterranean vessels called ring-kernos, circular pieces with bowls attached to hold offerings of honey, oil, wine, or grains. Frank likes working in this form because of its long history and rich symbolism; many of the earliest ceramics were vessels. “I’m interested in sculptural objects that are tied to ideas of exchange, connection, movement, and ritual,” she says.

Continue reading article at Audubon magazine here

Connecting with Community and the Land: A Workshop on Sustainability in Art & Life

by Colette Copeland September 8, 2025 l Glasstire

Last month, I spent a week living and learning at Chelenzo, an organic farm outside of Santa Fe in Cerillos, New Mexico. Patricia Watts, curator, writer, and founder of ecoartspace — a global community of environmentally focused artists, scientists, and advocates — organized a retreat-style workshop that asked participants to understand materiality through traditional and sustainable methods in artmaking. We learned to make adobe bricks and natural plant dyes, and we did it together, living and working as a community.

I’ve been an ecoartspace member for about a year, attending many of their Zoom lectures by artists and scientists, and this was my first in-person meetup with fellow members. It can be tricky to live, eat, and work alongside relative strangers, but this week was drama-free: everyone arrived excited to learn, interact, and collaborate. Lorenzo and Chelsea Dominguez and their family cooked organic, fresh-picked food from the farm and we all came home a few pounds healthier and happier from the meals and good company.

The farm offers majestic vistas and hiking trails. Each morning, I walked to engage my senses and set an intention for the day. For urban dwellers, the absence of traffic noise and clean air is grounding and healing.

Mornings were spent with workshop leader Jeanne Dodds, an artist, conservationist, researcher, and educator whose creative practice embraces connections and materiality with non-humans. Dodds taught us about the ethical harvesting of plant materials and we created contact prints on fabric using sunflowers grown on the farm.

Continue reading on Glasstire here

September 2025 e-Newsletter for subscribers and non-members is here

The Ecological Power of Contemporary Art:

An Interview with Aviva Rahmani on Art and Ecology, an American artist who combines feminism, activism, and environmental renewal in a single practice of social commitment

originally published May 31, 2025 via Art Tribune online, interview by Antonino La Vela

Aviva Rahmani (New York, 1945) is an artist who combines creativity with a commitment to environmental and cultural renewal. At the heart of her work is the Aviva Rahmani Eco-Art Project, which includes works such as Blued Trees, Ghost Nets, Cities and Oceans of If, and Gulf to Gulf. These projects denounce humankind's destructive impact on the environment and ecocide, inviting audiences to reevaluate their connection to an environment that is fundamental to our cultural identity.

Who is Aviva Rahmani With a solid background in art and environmental studies, Rahmani has developed theories that challenge traditional conventions. Her work combines conceptualism with cultural criticism, intertwining historical narratives and literary legacies, connecting the past to today's social changes, making them symbols of resilience and renewal. We discussed her practice in this interview.

Interview with Aviva Rahmani

Let's start from the beginning. What role can your cultural and landscape experiences, your sensitivity to nature, and your exploration of performance and conceptual art play in environmental renewal?

My earliest memories, linked to nature and an insatiable curiosity for the world, drew me to performance and conceptual art. As a young artist, I wanted to express both my creative impulses and growing environmental concerns. These experiences laid the foundation for my work, which I call Trigger Point Theory as Aesthetic Activism. Confronting phenomena such as deforestation, pollution, and ecocide has driven me to create art that aims to spark real transformations in the relationship between humanity and the environment.

The projects Blued Trees, Ghost Nets, Cities and Oceans of If, and Gulf to Gulf have become fundamental in this field. What message do you intend to convey?

Each of my works stems from the belief that a small gesture can make a difference to the environment. Blued Trees and Ghost Nets highlight the serious consequences of ecosystem collapse, while Cities and Oceans of If and Gulf to Gulf imagine a future where urban spaces and natural environments coexist in harmony. Together, these works invite us to recognize our responsibility to the planet, reminding us that every creative gesture can contribute to healing the planet's wounds.

You have collaborated with prominent figures such as Judy Chicago, enriching your work with a feminist perspective.

Working with Judy Chicago revolutionized my concept of performative collaboration, deepening the connection between feminism and ecological activism. This experience challenged and transcended patriarchal and colonial narratives. The work Ablutions, created together with Judy, Suzanne Lacy and Sandi Orgel in 1973 on the theme of sexual violence, further strengthened my commitment to combating the colonization of the territory and social injustice, themes that have accompanied me since the early days of the feminist movement.

Your art combines science, indigenous wisdom, and cultural criticism in an original way. How do they come together in your creative process?

I consider the world a complex and interconnected system. I draw on physics, environmental studies, and indigenous traditions to construct a holistic vision that guides my work. This approach allows me to create rigorous and emotionally resonant works, highlighting the connections between ecological health, cultural identity, and the devastating consequences of ecocide. This vision opens spaces for thought and concrete action.

Despite international recognition, your work in Italy remains little-known. You presented Trigger Points / Tipping Points at the 2007 Venice Biennale, but much remains to be discovered. Italy's high artistic culture offers the ideal context for a dialogue on the environment.

I see the opportunity to engage the public more, not only by exhibiting my works, but also by stimulating profound reflection on sustainability and ecological justice. This commitment is essential at a time when global challenges, such as ecocide, require innovative and restorative solutions.

In your most recent project, Tolstoy & I, you reimagine classic literature through blue pencil self-portraits, drawn on torn pages from an old edition of War and Peace that belonged to your mother.

Tolstoy & I is an introspective journey into my personal history and my relationship with contemporary politics. Reusing pages from my mother's beloved copy of War and Peace, I grapple with the violation of history —that is, the way political forces fragment collective memory. The use of blue pencil, a reference to my project Blued Trees, creates a symbolic link between my ecological activism and literary reflection, inviting us to rediscover hidden narratives and understand how memory, legacy, and political reality are inextricably linked.

Looking to the future, what message would you like to convey to emerging artists and environmental activists today?

Embrace your creativity as a tool for transformation. Art can speak truth to power, challenge the status quo, and imagine alternative futures. I invite young artists to dare, transcend disciplinary boundaries, and use their voices to address the urgent issues of our time. Our planet needs innovation, passion, and decisive action: every creative gesture is a step toward a more sustainable and just world.

Antonino La Vela

Original article in Italian here

ecoartspace recently did a 1.5 hour interview with Aviva Rahmani in her studio in Vinalhaven, Maine (July 2025), as part of our video archive, which is available to researchers up request. 

August 2025 e-Newsletter for subscribers is here

Sustain(ability) & the Art Studio online Course, Fall 2025
October 18, 2025 - December 20, 2025

DEADLINE September 1, 2024

This will be our seventh course designed exclusively for ecoartspace members that will prepare artists to develop ways of thinking about sustainability in their practice, both conceptually and physically. Participants will learn how to wildcraft art materials, a practice that requires one to deepen their relationship with land, creativity, and self. We will also think critically about how one’s community and ecosystem are vital allies in a time of socio-ecological destabilization.

The first half of the course includes lectures, guest artist talks, resource offerings, and group discussion, as we explore the implications of a bioregional perspective and investigate the function of art today. In the second half of the course, each student will work on their own project, informed by course content (this may include a project already in progress). They will receive feedback from Anna and the class before a final presentation, open to the public.

All classes will be held on Saturdays from 2-4pm ET. The first three sessions will take place over three consecutive weeks, beginning on October 18. The final two classes will take place over two months, giving student time to execute a creative project of their own inspired by course content.

Speakers

Koyoltzintli is an interdisciplinary artist and educator living in Ultser County, New York. She was raised on the Pacific coast and in the Andean mountains of Ecuador. Her work revolves around sound, ancestral technologies, ritual, and storytelling, blending collaborative processes with personal narratives. @koyoltzintli

Nicole Dextras is committed to making art that is completely compostable as an active alternative to plastic and fossil fuels. Her previous material developments include: Willow bark leather, Yucca fibre and fruit peels. The objective of her research is to produce garments that demonstrate and encourage ethical and sustainable futures for the garment industry. @nicoledextras

This online ecoartspace course is taught by Anna Chapman @owl_and_apple

For more information and to sign up, email: info@ecoartspace.org

Call for Artists

NOVEL BODIES
Scientific Art Posters for Society of Environmental Toxicity and Chemistry (SETAC), 46th Meeting, Portland, Oregon 

Conference dates: 16–20 November 2025

Novel Bodies is organized as a parallel visual compendium to traditional scientific posters at the 46th Annual North America SETAC meeting. This year’s conference theme is The Essence of Science: Curiosity, Discovery and Solutions. Scientific abstracts and posters will be organized according to the session tracks (below). This exhibition will be curated by Minal T. Mistry, scientist, artist, and conference committee member from Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Patricia Watts, founder and curator of ecoartspace.

Twenty visually captivating posters will be selected. Art posters will be displayed alongside those for accepted scientific abstracts. Artists are encouraged to submit a short abstract (250 words) describing their submission to aid the viewer. Viewers will be encouraged to share impressions from the dual poster format in a journal and will be shared with selected artists. In person conference dates: 16–20 November 2025.

• Submission Deadline: 15 October 2025

• Submission Form: https://forms.gle/XAGmoM45Sv11wKxg8 

Background

Society of Environmental Toxicity and Chemistry (SETAC) is the professional organization with the mission to advance environmental science and management. SETAC is dedicated to advancing environmental science and science-informed decision-making through collaboration, communication, education and leadership. It fulfills that purpose through events, publications, awards and education programs. The annual North America meeting draws a couple thousand attendees (may be affected this year due to federal changes).

Guidelines

• Posters should address a topic suitable to SETAC. See below in Session Tracks for focus areas.  

• Posters should stand on their own, telling the research/topical story without a verbal narrative. Artists may submit an optional abstract (250 word max.) as a companion to the poster.

• Poster size: 18 x 24 inches or 24 x 36 inches

• Layout: Horizontal or vertical in either final print size 

• Text should be readable from a minimum five feet away.

• Format: Submit printable PDF of artwork formatted for either of two sizes

• No AI generated submissions please.

For clarification please contact Minal Mistry  (materials.deq at gmail.com)

Conference Session Tracks

1. Environmental Toxicology and Stress Response: Explores environmental toxicology and response to stress (biological, physical and chemical) in various systems. Encompasses in silico and in vitro tools and methods involving adverse outcome pathway (AOP), mode of action, molecular toxicology, -omics, animal alternative testing, quantitative structural activity relationship (QSARs), high-throughput techniques and emerging approaches for statistical toxicology.

2. Aquatic Toxicology, Ecology and Stress Response: Explores ecology, ecotoxicology and response to stress of all aquatic systems, including lentic and lotic freshwater systems, estuaries, coastal and marine environments. 

3. Wildlife Toxicology, Ecology and Stress Response: Covers all life forms of wildlife not strictly aquatic (amphibian, reptiles, birds, mammals and other organisms) living in areas from the deserts to the tropics and everything in between.

4. Chemistry and Exposure Assessment: Comprises all aspects of chemical analysis, monitoring, fate and modeling, green chemistry and alternative chemical assessment.

5. Environmental Risk Assessment: Bridges both aquatic and terrestrial environments, and all potential stressors (physical, chemical, biological and biotechnological) with human and ecological endpoints towards the goal of integrated holistic assessment such as “One Health.” 

6. Engineering, Remediation and Restoration: Addresses remediation and restoration of stressor-impacted air, water, and soil and sediment, including tools for predicting, monitoring and evaluation; technologies and methods for remediation and restoration; environmental engineering; green remediation; damage assessment; and strategies for management.

7. Policy, Management and Communication: Includes all aspects of science application in policy or regulations and management (regulatory science), as well as science communication to stakeholders in diverse audiences.

8. Systems Approaches: Uses cross- and trans-disciplinary approaches seeking to address complexity and large-scale issues by applying and integrating concepts such as life cycle assessment, sustainability, ecosystem services, impact assessment and environmental economics. Topics include regional and watershed-scale environmental management, climate change, resiliency and other related areas

Conference information

Katrina Bello, Lupain (Posoge 1), 2023, charcoal and pastel on paper, 53.5 x 48 inches

Terra Madre: Katrina Bello

Carina Evangelista on the work of Katrina Bello. May 30, 2025

Charcoal—in use for human visual expression since 26,000 BCE—is Philippine-born artist Katrina Bello’s preferred medium fortranscribing her response to landscapes she immerses herself in. Exploring the terrain inart residencies in different parts of the U.S. is Bello’s way of finding elemental connections to her adopted country. The haptic—the sense of touch—is ever-present in her process and production. From the earth, dirt, or rocks that she collects or crushes to the charcoal and pastel that she smudges onto paper to create the skeins of lines and the shades of crevices in the tree bark or stone striations that she draws, her hand serves as the medium through which she meditates on what it means to embrace what feels like terra incognita.  

Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Read full essay here

Gallery interview with the artist here