Artists and scientists join together to focus on local water issues, highlighting the relationships between our fresh water and ocean systems with a emphasis on ecology and sustainability. The event is a unique combination of site-specific installation art, sustainably and ecologically focused research, educational outreach, video projection mapping, sound art, performance art, sculpture, and more.
The lighthouse has been chosen as a unique symbol of communication, guidance, and warning between the land and sea, between man and nature, and for their majestic presence and historical significance.
The title “Bloom” refers to the cycle of light that rotates within the cupola of all lighthouse towers. The “Bloom” is the moment that the wave of light reaches its peak and becomes visible within the eyes and mind of the viewer. The term simultaneously refers to phytoplankton blooms and the seasonal upwelling cycles of the ocean and river estuaries that occur each spring, supplying valuable nutrients to our local food web.
Presented through a partnership between the UCSC Digital Art & New Media
graduate school program, the Openlab collaborative research group at UCSC, and
the city of Santa Cruz.
Free and open to the public.