Francuski paviljon

Zagreb, Croatia
16 May – 10 June 2018

Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay

Montevideo, Uruguay
1 September – 18 October

“Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project” produced by the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich will be seen for the first time in South America. The exhibition starts its tour in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.

Uruguay is a small country with a long coastline of over 660 km over the Rio de la Plata and the South Atlantic. The country is internationally known as Uruguay Natural because of its huge extension of green grasslands, and native forest. However, the  coast is being affected by the presence of large amounts of plastic garbage in the sea, which impact the flora and fauna, as is the case with many other countries around the world. Another problem is that plastic has already entered the food chain. 

It's really necessary to review our habits about plastic use.

The exhibition intends to inform and sensitize the population and motivate them to change their daily consumer behaviour. For this reason, we are focusing on educational programs for schools and adults. And we also want to launch sustainable projects.

Tekniska Museet

Stockholm, Sweden
23 March – 30 June 2017

Read the story behind "Out to Sea?" Stockholm by Alan AtKisson:
WHY I USED CROWDFUNDING TO BRING A TRUCKLOAD OF PLASTIC TRASH TO STOCKHOLM

It is widely documented that plastics are accumulating in our oceans in the form of garbage, from large scale to nano-scale. But the problem still suffers from being "out of sight, out of mind". We see "Out to Sea?" as more than a traveling exhibition about garbage: it is an urgent wake-up call about all forms of waste that end up in our global oceans ... and what we can do about it. It also provides education and engagement opportunities for everyone, from companies to schools to individual citizens and citizen groups.
PLIMSOLL Stina Axelsson, ART. 27 Gunilla Hedén, and AtKisson Europe AB have brought "Out to Sea?" to Stockholm, in partnership with Tekniska Museet (The Swedish Museum of Science and Technology), for a number of special reasons:
Sweden and Fiji have committed to being the global leaders on the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 — the global goal, agreed to by all countries, to conserve our oceans and make our use of them more sustainable. This goal includes, as its first Target, preventing and reducing marine pollution. 
Sweden and Fiji will together sponsor the first-ever UN high-level "Conference on the Oceans and Seas" in June 2017, in New York. We want to help bring more attention to that conference, both locally in Sweden, and internationally, using the exhibit as a platform for social media communication.
Numerous other agencies and organizations in Sweden have a stake in this exhibition, and will use it to help raise awareness on ocean-and-sea related issues.

We believe "Out to Sea?" will grab attention locally, and reach out nationally through national media, helping to raise awareness and potentially "making waves" all the way to the SDG 14 conference in New York, in June 2017.

Since its start in 1936, the National Museum of Science and Technology has received millions of children and adults curious to see, feel, touch and understand technology in our society. The National Museum of Science and Technology is Sweden’s biggest museum of technology, and has a national charter to preserve Sweden's technical and industrial history as part of its cultural heritage.

Archipelago Centre Korpoström

Korpoström, Finland
3 May – 29 September 2019

The Archipelago center works in an interdisciplinary manner to create exhibitions and happenings with interesting angles of approach on matters and phenomena that are peculiar to the archipelago.Our center also works as station for marine biology (Åbo Akademi University) and as base for the Archipelago National Park.

Museum of Architecture and Design

Ljubljana, slovenia
8 December 2016 – 23 April 2017
 

Plastic bags, children’s toys, PET bottles, food packaging… since the beginning of the 20th century this mineral oil based product has advanced triumphantly through the world of consumption. Its advantages are obvious: it is cheap, easy to process and can be given almost any qualities required. Our everyday lives are filled with plastic. But what happens to a plastic product at the end of its life cycle?  A large proportion of these products – every year more than 6.4 million tons – lands unchecked in our environment and, ultimately, in our seas, which are gradually being transformed into a global plastic soup. Already today not a single square kilometer of seawater is free of pieces of plastic.
The exhibition turns the focus on the end of the design history of useful objects: the center of the exhibition Out to Sea? and the symbol of the ecological catastrophe is an installation of plastic flot-sam from the world’s various seas. MAO has prepared an accompanying exhibition with a focus on artificial materials and the properties of these materials presented through the selection of plastic items from the museum collections of industrial design. In the field of restoration and conservation plastic presents a major challenges, because it is a relatively new material. Because museums want to preserve historical items, they could use the research and knowledge from ecology and nature-preservation.

Accordingly this exhibition places special emphasis on the education program. Publications, websites, studies, films and projects are presented.

The Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) established in 1972 is one of the leading museums dedicated to architecture and design in Central and Southeast Europe. Over the last years, MAO has become a meeting point, as well as a platform for engagement, confrontation and democratic dialogue on the artistic, ecological, social, economic, political and other sides of architecture and design. MAO aims to strengthen its position by creating quality programmes, continuously developing and adding to the museum's collections, making its contents fully accessible to a diverse public and by opening the museum to different forms of cooperation. The museum serves as a venue for a broad range of exhibitions and events, with a focus on the heritage that MAO keeps in its architecture and design collection. The museum is located in Fužine Castle, Ljubljana's only mansion that has retained its original Renaissance character.

Museum Het Valkhof

Nijmegen, Netherlands
10 December 2016 – 19 February 2017

Watch the exhibition trailer!

Plastics have had a triumphal procession of successes since the 1950s. They are cheap and easy to produce in any desired shape whatsoever. Plastics are used for a wide range of items, from toys and LPs and disposable fries trays to medical devices, as well as hygienic packaging. Where do all those plastic products end up when we don’t need them any more?

From the moment that plastics came into our lives, the seas have gradually started turning into a vast plastic soup. Plastics are not biodegradable. They break down into smaller and smaller particles that ultimately end up in the food chain. That has major consequences for animal and human health.

Out to sea: a reality check
The travelling exhibition called "Out to Sea?" was designed by the Museum für Gestaltung in Zürich. It confronts us with the consequences of using plastics and shows us that we will need a great deal of creativity to tackle the problem.

Liquid mountain: visions of the natural versus the artificial
The second part of ‘Dossier plastic’ is ‘Liquid mountain’. ‘Liquid mountain’ encourages us to look at the issue of plastic waste from a different and broader perspective based on contemporary art. Guest curators Heske ten Cate and Hanne Hagenaars chose the laboratory – the source of the material – as their point of departure. That is where plastics originated and it may also possibly be where creative solutions can be thought up. After all, the problems are caused not so much by the materials themselves as by the actions of humans.
The guest curators invited the artists Anna Bak, Paul Beumer, Karin van Dam and Müge Yilmaz to use their own visions of “the natural versus the artificial” to create a statement in laboratory format.

Museum Het Valkhof houses a major collection of Roman antiquities, old masters, and modern art. It is located at the edge of the historic Valkhof Park, which was once the site of a Roman encampment and, many centuries later, the residence of Charlemagne. Today, you will find an excitingly modern structure for art and archaeology, designed by the renowned architect Ben van Berkel. A grand staircase leads you up to the light and spacious rooms on the exhibition floor. You can choose your own route, meandering past exceptional archaeological finds, seventeenth-century paintings, silverware, and modern paintings. The long glass gallery with its undulating ceiling offers a panoramic view of the grand river landscape beyond. Museum Het Valkhof actively strives to engage the public and regularly organizes new activities based on permanent collections or temporary exhibitions.

Villa Méditerranée

marseille, france
1 March – 23 April 2016

The Mediterranean, which accounts for less than 1% of the world's ocean surface, is an extraordinary reserve of biodiversity. Alas, it is being subjected to enormous pressure from human activity and today contains the highest density of plastic in the world.

Faced with this environmental catastrophe, Villa Méditerranée Avitem wishes to raise awareness by hosting an eight-week exhibition “Out to Sea ? The Plastic Garbage Project” devised by the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich. This firm commitment is one aspect of the Villa Méditerranée's general approach, in which the subjects of sustainable development and the consequences of climate change are regularly debated. Accordingly, throughout the year 2016, the Villa Méditerranée will continue its invitations and events to bring different perspectives to the key environmental issues affecting our region. To accompany this exhibition, the Villa Méditerranée plans to act as a forum for discussion and to give a voice to the researchers, associations, companies and unknowns who work and are committed every day to observing and looking after the quality of our water and ultimately protecting the sea.

The guiding aim of the Villa Méditerranée is to ensure a consistent approach to France's Mediterranean policy and to assert the role of the region of Provence Alpes-Côte d’Azur as a coordinator and agent in this policy. It is one of the key regions for hosting multilateral summits on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation from an economic and urban as well as cultural aspect. Its ambition is to become the place where French actors from development assistance, civil society and more importantly the youth sector, come to meet and work.
Officially opened in April 2013, the Villa Méditerranée joined the Public Interest Group AviTem (the agency for sustainable Mediterranean cities and regions), specialised in issues relating to urban planning and its impacts on the Mediterranean, in January 2015. Among its missions, the Villa Méditerranée is committed to the monitoring and analysis of the main challenges involved in inter-Mediterranean relations: economic and political exchanges, the impact of conflicts and socio-cultural and environmental phenomena.

Workshops, debates and screenings will be on the programme during the exhibition run.

Hong Kong Science Museum

Hong kong
26 November 2015 – 17 February 2016

Watch the exhibition trailer!

"Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project", the latest thematic exhibition at the Hong Kong Science Museum, will be held from 27 November 2015 until 17 February 2016, showcasing works of art using plastic waste to explore how plastic waste is threatening the whole marine ecosystem.
The exhibition aims to arouse public awareness of plastic pollution in the oceans. By combining elements of science and art, this exhibition shows an ecological catastrophe with strong visual impact. The display's centerpiece, comprising a large volume of plastic debris collected from the seas around the world, will capture the attention of visitors. In addition to this installation, there are interactive exhibits and audio-visual programs to introduce the science behind plastic products and the threats presented to the Earth.
Since the start of the 20th century, plastic has been widely used in our everyday lives. However, it is hardly degraded naturally and as such causes tremendous problems for landfill sites. When plastic rubbish gets into the oceans, it ends up forming sea garbage gyres which threaten the marine ecosystem to a large extent.

Symbolizing the ecological catastrophe, the highlight exhibit "A Nightmare at Sea" is an installation consisting of plastic flotsam collected from beach cleaning operations at the North Sea, Hawaii, the Baltic Sea and elsewhere, allowing visitors to understand more about the origins, life cycle and more of plastic products.

The exhibition also features "Plastic in the Sea", which shows the deadly impact of plastic on the seas, animals and human beings, while "Plastic in Everyday Life" introduces the chemical composition, classification and recycling processes of different plastic products and explores ways of minimizing the disposal of plastic items.
To enhance students' environmental awareness of marine pollution in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Science Museum invited students from Project WeCan to take part in beach clean-up activities and make artworks using plastic garbage for display in the exhibition.

Jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Consulate General of Switzerland in Hong Kong, the exhibition is organised by the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Museum für Gestaltung Zurich, and Connecting Spaces Hong Kong - Zurich of the Zurich University of the Arts. The exhibition has been created by the Museum für Gestaltung Zurich, and the sponsor is the Drosos Foundation. The exhibition partners are Project WeCan and UOB Art Academy, and the supporting organisations include the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, the Ocean Recovery Alliance and the Inter-departmental Working Group on Clean Shorelines.

Under the "Appreciate Hong Kong" Campaign, all museums of the LCSD will offer free admission for the entire month of January 2016 in order to encourage more visits to museums, where experiences of creativity, enjoyment and inspiration await.

Utzon Center

aalborg, denmark
25 June – 20 September 2015

Watch Mediating Science to Children: The Learning Laboratory

Utzon Center is an architectural center dedicated to the works of Jorn Utzon and to contemporary architecture and design in general. Utzon Center is built from an original concept by Jorn Utzon and his Son Kim Utzon and was inaugurated in 2008. Utzon Center is besides its exhibition programs also studios for Aalborg University, a conference program, a restaurant, and a design shop.

For several years, Utzon Center has a close collaboration with the local kids science project, Universitarium and Aalborg Municipality every Summer. This year the collaboration has its focus on waste, reuse and sustainability. “Out To Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project” therefore isa great chance to further strengthen this joint focus on environmental problems.

Utzon Center and Industrial Design at Aalborg University have developed a new part of the exhibition focusing on plastic now and in the future and how we from a design and societal perspective can deal with the problems that “Out to Sea?” shows.

The Exhibition is used as a central element in Aalborg Municipality’s focus on waste separation and environmental sustainability. The exhibition is part of the local Sustainability festival in September 2015.

The educational program is developed with Universitarium with hands on workshop environment for visitors during summer holiday and an extensive school program in August and September.

Universalmuseum Joanneum

Graz, austria
17 April – 23 August 2015

Watch Message in a Bottle - Ideas for a plasticfree Future from Visitors for Visitors

An exhibition on the theme of ‘Plastic in the Sea’ in landlocked Austria?

The Universalmuseum Joanneum – founded in 1811 in the spirit of the Enlightenment as Austria’s first public museum – aims to take a stance on social and political themes these days, too.
The Natural History Museum of the Universalmuseum Joanneum presents scientific phenomena in exciting exhibitions, explains the basics of geological, mineralogical and biological science, thereby directing our gaze towards the natural world around us. Moreover, we shall sharpen our focus on the influence of man’s actions on nature and our life bound to it.  For this reason we are especially pleased to be able to show the exhibition out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project in Austria for the first time!
Austria may be landlocked, yet even from here we influence the state of the oceans’ ecosystems: a major portion of the plastic products that we use every day are collected, it is true, partially to be recycled, and partially to be burnt for heat production. Yet thoughtlessly discarded rubbish ends up in the sea eventually via rivers. Likewise, tiny plastic pellets from peeling products or microfibres from fleece jackets are flushed out from our flats directly into the sea over the sewerage system.
With the exhibition Out to Sea? we draw attention to this problem, exactly because in the minds of Styrians it mostly seems very far away. We clarify the problems, causes and effects that characterise plastic waste, putting forward tentative solutions – so that we don’t just come face to face with the huge piles of plastic rubbish swirling in the world’s seas when on holiday.
Within the scope of the exhibition, visitors are informed about the waste separation system operating in Graz, as well as about re-cycling and up-cycling.
By educating the public in a fascinating way, and by maintaining a significant presence in social media, we thus raise awareness across the board.

Fundación Barrié

Vigo, spain
14 November 2014 – 1 March 2015

Watch the making of the exhibition in Vigo

Silently, relentlessly, man’s indiscriminate action has led to the accumulation in our seas and oceans of vast amounts of plastic waste that travel the globe along marine currents, breaking up over time into different sized particles and provoking irreversible changes to both our marine ecosystem and food chain.
Since its creation in 1966, the Fundación Barrié has demonstrated its firm commitment to the conservation of our material and non-material cultural heritage through the promotion and financial support of a wide range of projects.

In "Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project" at the foundation’s premises in Vigo, we have been guided by our concern for future generations’ continued enjoyment of the sea, at a time of social and economic growth in Galicia and where we boast some 1.500 km of shoreline.

In this environmental conservation project, which the Fundación Barrié is presenting in Spain for the first time, we attempt to raise awareness in society, amongst the young in particular, of the pressing need to stop polluting our seas with plastic waste.

Objective
The chief emphases of “Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project” are the tremendous amounts of plastic waste which make their way into the oceans every day, the consequences of the pollution for nature and mankind, and various approaches to solving this global problem. The exhibition will take a critical look at the negative aspects of mass consumption and the misconceptions about availability of resources.

First Confrontation
The great room that serves as atrium of the exhibition at Fundación Barrié is fully occupied by a great mountain of plastic waste: bags, fishing gear, cans, bottles, toys, packaging of all kinds. Everyday objects are suddenly accumulated junk which shows the dark side of mass consumption. However, it only represents a small part of the waste we produce: all this litter is the equivalent of the waste that reaches the sea in just five seconds. Is it really necessary to continue down this path?

The Use of Plastic and its Consequences
The first rooms of the exhibition tell us about the magnitude of the problem posed by the indiscriminate use of plastic. Plastic is a cheap material, easy to produce and highly effective. It may even be aesthetically appealing. But what happens when a plastic object ends its life cycle? Over time, a huge amount of plastic waste was accumulated in the oceans and this causes irreversible changes to both nature and the food chain. More than 6.4 million tons of plastic waste come to our environment each year and, ultimately, to our seas, which are gradually being transformed into a plastic minestrone. Currently, no single square kilometer of sea water that is free of plastic pieces.

Damages to the Environment and Health
The exhibition shows the different ways in which these waste affects living beings. Birds, turtles and other marine animals mistake plastic pieces for food and suffer from serious digestive diseases that could cause their death. Some species of insects lay their eggs in plastic objects that can be transported by currents across great distances to very different ecosystems and can cause ecological imbalances with unpredictable consequences. Plastic items are fragmented into increasingly smaller pieces that reach the food chain: at the end of the process we will find these residues in the food on our plates, with alarming consequences for our health. Seawater degrades plastic objects, but they leave a gloomy footprint because chemical molecules remain and cause sterility between fish and human... There is an endless injury list.

Farsightedness
But “Out to Sea?” also wants to show that this catastrophe is not irreversible: plastic does not have to be inevitably harmful. There are practices to minimize damage and reduce risks. The point is how to make a responsible use of a material with innumerable qualities.

Recycling
Recycling is certainly the first step to implement. Almost all plastics are reusable and the exhibition shows different examples of recycling processes and allows the audience to assess the efficiency of each one. But even in advanced societies with efficient systems of waste management, only a quarter of plastic waste, according to the most optimistic estimates, are recycled.

A reasonable Use
We need, therefore, take a step further and reduce the use of this material to prevent unreasonable use. Plastic bags, for example, have a negligible performance if we take into account its production process: to produce and to distribute one of these bags can last two years, while consumers use them between fifteen and sixty minutes. When a plastic product is made, it would be necessary to think about their life cycle and to adopt measures to prevent this kind of economic and environmental imbalance. The exhibition provides some alternative strategies to think about.

A "Space to Think"
At the end of the exhibition, the Fundación Barrié has created a "Space to Think" in which the general problem of plastic garbage will be linked with the environment of the audience. Located in Galicia, a community with more than 1,500 km of coastline, the city of Vigo is an international leader in oceanographic and marine biology studies. In this space, therefore, we will learn about projects and concrete actions that will link the general problems with the local reality. This web will be part of that Space to Think.

Education
The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive educational program for children, teenagers and adults. Workshops and discussion forums which scientists, designers and environmentalists involved will provide the impetus for a more rational action and sensitize visitors about the challenge of plastic waste.

Design Museum Gent

Gent, belgium
5 July – 12 October 2014

Watch the exhibition trailer

Our vast oceans are indecently filled with tons of plastic garbage. And it does not get better, on the contrary. The exhibition ‘Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project’ created by Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, dissects the different components of this distasteful plastic soup.

Immediately the visitor is confronted by an immense heap of garbage.

He then continues his way via the different ingredients of this minestrone. The composition, application and life span of plastic materials are fed to the mind piece by piece.
Playful but insisting Design museum Gent enriches this instructive tale with a large portion of hopeful design, from recycling via upcycling to ecodesign. The story develops like a spider’s web that reaches beyond the museum walls. The visitor is encouraged to continue his discovery of ecodesign in the streets of Ghent and on the world wide web.

Confrontation
Design museum Gent formulates this exhibition like a confronting question, without imposing a definitive answer. Is a large production really that necessary? Are there alternatives for plastic? Can discarded plastic get a second life? Or is plastic still a suitable material? Controversy in a plastic mould?

An uneasy depiction
Immediately on entering the exhibition the visitor wades through a sea of plastic garbage. Staggering across a network of wooden jetties he discovers different islands where plastics live or revive. The drifter floats on an ever expanding wave, garbage all around him. There is no escape. It promises to be an uncomfortable exhibition, dotted with islands of peace covered in information and objects.

Ecodesign from Belgium
To the Swiss tale about plastic garbage and the different sorts of synthetics Design museum Gent adds his own story lines, presented on islands. In this third part contemporary Belgian designers show the many aspects of ecological plastic design. It spans from production over recycling, upcycling, conservation of plastic furniture to contemporary ecodesign. Every island has its own fitting lighting.

Five Islands
1. On Production island a piece of Tupperware is being followed from the first grain to the last grinding. Tupperware produces high quality plastics for food and recycles his own products into new containers.

2. Once stranded on the first Recycling island a plastic object is reduced to base material for the creation of a new object. The Belgian pioneers of recycling design Rudi Respeel and Bart Baccarne both create playful objects. On a fishing boat the British Studio Swine prepares the ‘Sea Chair’ from plastic soup. The youngbloods Bob Segers and Jonas Blondeel transform traffic signs from the E 19 highway into furniture. On the second Recycling island artist Gino Rizzi shows colourful beauty in a poetic maritime installation of a plastic underwater world.

3. Discarded objects receive a new life in the hands of zealous native designers on Upcycling island. The Ghent designer collective ‘Onbetaalbaar’ (priceless) creates a setting of new design objects especially for this exhibition.

4. Ecodesign can be found on an island a little further to the north in the Plastic Ocean, where design objects produced with a minimum of impact on the environment flourish. Several types of ecodesign are presented. The most exemplary type must be ‘cradle to cradle’ in which a sustainable product design is developed that goes beyond conventional recycling.

5. On arriving on Saved island one discovers the well-known chair ‘Universale’ (1965) that suffers from light and air. The old and new versions of the Panton Chair show clearly that the original plastic was not resistant to everyday use. A new plastic offers a chance of survival.

Quality Time in the Garden
Visitors can relax in the garden after this confronting exhibition. Bart Baccarne’s Bonk-benches, flowerstools and Chatbox are points of refuge for the weary wanderer.

Deutsches Meeresmuseum at Kulturkirche St. Jakobi

Stralsund, germany
20 May – 21 October 2014

The German Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund has dedicated itself to protecting the oceans for over 60 years.  In addition to conducting scientific research, the museum emphasises the need to protect marine ecosystems in various permanent exhibitions. The museum has developed excellent long-term collaborations with all large nature conservation groups, and actively supports the public awareness initiatives of these organizations.

Increasing public awareness concerning plastic debris in the world‘s oceans is of particular importance to the museum. For this reason, the German Oceanographic Museum has designated „Oceans of Waste” as a special theme for the year 2014.

The exhibition „Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project“ by the Drosos Foundation and the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich is currently being shown in the St. Jacob Culture Church in cooperation with the Kreisdiakonischen Werk Stralsund e.V..
Tuesday 20 May 2014, European Maritime Day, marks not only the opening of the exhibition but also the launch of the annual theme under the motto „No More Plastics“. Throughout the coming year, the museum, together with the German Federal Environment Agency, WWF, NABU and archaeomare e.V., will mount public education initiatives concerning marine conservation and threats to the marine ecosystem.
Further exhibits concerning ocean plastics can be viewed in the MEERESMUSEUM in the St. Catherinine‘s Monastery and in the OZEANEUM.  The exhibition „Ghost Nets – Deadly Traps“, sponsored by the Drosos Foundation, documents the fate of abandoned fishing nets and introduces the MARLISCO-Project of the Coastal Union Germany.

Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet Göteborg

Gothenburg, Sweden
22 February – 18 May 2014

Plastic has become a natural part of our everyday life – but with an unnatural place in nature.

What happens when plastic becomes rubbish, ends up in the sea and is washed onto the shores? The international exhibition "Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project" makes its second and final stop in Sweden at the Maritime Museum Aquarium. The exhibition investigates the advantages and disadvantages of plastic and its role for people and in nature.

Plastic at large
Every year more than 6.4 million tons of rubbish ends up in the sea. Along the Bohus Coast alone, one cubic meter of rubbish is washed up every hour of every day of the year. The rubbish is not only unpleasant to look at, every year it also kills and injures thousands of seabirds, fish and mammals that become entangled in or eat plastic rubbish. Wind and ocean currents carry the plastic rubbish far and wide, which makes marine littering both a local and a global problem.
Plastic is a fantastic material which, during the last 100 years, has conquered the world with its many properties. But plastic rubbish has become a ticking environmental bomb. The aim of the exhibition is to highlight the problem, increase knowledge and awareness, as well as encourage change and new attitudes, says Emma Having, Head of Exhibition & Communication.

Plastic rubbish on the plate
The sea is becoming an enormous bowl of plastic soup. Today, not a single square kilometer of seawater is free of plastic particles.  The traditional plastic is not biologically degradable , instead, it decomposes into ever smaller particles that eventually end up in the food chain. In the end, the plastic rubbish lands on our plates, which can result in serious consequences to our health.

An important travelling exhibition
"Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project" is an international travelling exhibition produced by the Museum of Design, Zurich. It will be shown together with locally produced parts at the Maritime Museum Aquarium from 22 February–18 May. The exhibition’s installations, objects and films describe the background to the problem, while the lectures and activities present the current situation and what we can do to find alternative solutions.
The aim is to create change and reduce the amount of marine litter. The exhibition is shown in cooperation with the Clean Coast of Bohuslän Project. It is time to take responsibility for the design, production, consumption, and recycling, says Emma Having.

Clean Coast of Bohuslän is financed by the Västra Götaland Regional Council and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. Keep Sweden Tidy, KIMO Sweden, Gothenburg Municipality Environment Administration and Bohus County Water Board also support the project. The exhibition is produced by the Museum of Design with local additions by the Maritime Museum Aquarium. The project is made possible through the generous support from the Drosos Foundation.

Darb 1718 Contemporary Art and Culture Centre

Cairo, Egypt
19 September – 22 November 2014

Alexandria, Egypt
22 April – 26 May 2015

For the Arab exhibitions, all marine debris was collected with cleanups locally. A special attention was given to the education program.

Darb 1718 Contemporary Art & Culture Center is keen to host the exhibition «Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project» as it fits well with the mission of the organization in promoting social change, sensitizing people and expanding their horizons through the inspiration and education of artists and the broader community.

Egypt suffers greatly from pollution and garbage and since the country has two major seas located on its boundaries (the Red Sea and the Mediterranean), the issue of plastic garbage in the sea in particular is of highest relevance.

Marine life is suffering from garbage resulting from mass tourism on the coast and garbage accumulating from sea currents and flash floods. Even inland, the River Nile is suffocated by garbage due to increased consumerism, Nile Cruises and lack of state action regarding proper garbage disposal. Environmental awareness is generally lacking in Egypt and the exhibition is an effective tool to cultivate such awareness.
Darb 1718’s vision is to create a strong public awareness campaign through the traveling exhibition and its associated activities that will sensitize children and adults to their own usage of plastics and the effects this material has on the environment and, in turn, on themselves. The goal is to inform, motivate, and promote behavioural change through educational, artistic and fun community activities.

IndyACT

beirut, lebanon
27 November 2014 – 28 February 2015

For the Arab exhibitions, all marine debris was collected with cleanups locally. A special attention was given to the education program.

As a global non-political league of independent environmental, social and cultural activists with the aim to achieve an active, healthy, safe, equitable and beautiful planet, IndyAct has adopted the exhibition «Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project» of utmost relevance responding to the organization goals and objectives. The project tackles an emerging and relevant problem from an innovative perspective, which will allow a better understanding of the plastic issue, addressing a large audience while offering motivating and stimulating solutions.
Being an essential founder of the Zero Waste Coalition, Indyact will eventually raise awareness on the plastic waste in the region in a genuine perspective using improvised learning tools and techniques triggering the interest of the general public and engaging the professional in a long dialogue, while inducing change in our society’s perceptions and habits.

The exhibition is to become a learning center where a positive ambiance will generate a positive learning environment though innovated learning techniques being improvised for the visitors of all ages.

With multidisciplinary workshops including arts, design and communication, the exhibition presents a unique learning model engaging the beneficiaries in a lifetime sympathetic learning opportunity.

Regional Relevance
The project presents relevance to Lebanon amid solid waste management crises. It targets a population, still not aware of the existing waste management solutions, and not sensitive to the dramatic effect their reckless lifestyle has on the environment. Lebanon generates about 1.57 Million tons of waste per year, with 14% of this waste being comprised of plastic, which is around 219 800 tons per year. Most of this plastic is being either thrown in open dumps by the sea or land filled. The exhibition will allow spreading certain awareness among Lebanese citizens, to use plastic more responsibly and wisely, in a country desperately in need of less pressure on its environment.

Vision, Goals, and Role in the Society
By targeting the school students and the Lebanese public through the organization of the exhibition, tracing the history and the story of plastics from their disposal to the corrective measures and practices we will be able to:

• Create public awareness about the waste issue in general and more specifically the plastics in our surrounding environment.
• Generate knowledge and sustainable practices for young people and give them momentum and drive to use plastic in a more responsible way.
• Change human behavior and encourage taking actions.
• Promote reducing, reusing and recycling practices.
The genuine and proactive exhibition will eventually engage every visitor or interested public in a positive behavioral change, impacting his surroundings, where many Lebanese are unaware of, specifically in a country with a widespread sense of «laissez-faire».

The Royal Marine Conservation Society of Jordan

amman, jordan
15 November 2014 – 31 January 2015

For the Arab exhibitions, all marine debris was collected with cleanups locally. A special attention was given to the education program.

Littering in the ocean is a growing problem worldwide and has serious impact on the marine habitats and its associated species and in consequences; it has effects on human health and safety, navigation, and the economy as well. However, and since Aqaba coastline is the only maritime gateway in Jordan it faces daily several major problems like the industrial use, port activities, wastewater and traditional human impact, as over fishing, improper diving attitudes; like stepping on coral and feeding fish, and careless anchoring. But a major problem is the garbage and littering occurring at the Gulf of Aqaba.

Despite the relatively small water body at the Gulf of Aqaba, it hosts an extraordinary marine diversity and it’s considered to be an important gateway of regional maritime.

At the exhibition JREDS aims to show in a practical way the linkage between products we daily use, our behavior regarding solid plastic garbage and the growing plastic littering of the world’s oceans in addition to its negative effects. We also aim to stimulate a movement of awareness about the environmental challenges our marine life faces.
We will take the visitor through a journey of a series of interactive, experiential and informative stations that would stimulate and provoke the visitor and lead him to a certain conclusion. Also, the exhibition will hold support events e.g. children’s activities and a forum to reinforce its message to the public. In addition to the exhibition and its requirements, the space will encompass a series of stations, each discussing a certain educational content.
The visitor shall go on a journey ‘through’ the different stations in sequence as part of the exhibition, which will be included to the main «Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project» exhibition tour. Envelopes include: educational playing kids zone (to include toys and interactive games), library, film screening room, shop, cafe, entrance, exit, and experiential secondary exhibition space (to include several artists’ contributions for kids in plastic). There is a possibility to have different routes for each age group. The last station will stimulate and provoke visitors to take action and become more proactive towards the environment.

L'Association des Enseignants des Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre

Casablanca, Morocco
31 October 2014 – 31 January 2015

Tetouan, Morocco
20 February – 20 April 2015

Agadir, Morocco
5 May – 5 July 2015

For the Arab exhibitions, all marine debris was collected with cleanups locally. A special attention was given to the education program.

The reasons behind the decision of AESVT to launch the project entitled "Out to sea? The Plastic Garbage Project" are varied and diverse. We have cited a few below:

The project helps to fill a gap in the knowledge concerning this matter and is a great example of action research.

In fact, the novelty of the theme "plastic waste in the sea" attracts the interest of the AESVT members "science teachers", academic researchers and managers of waste-related issues in general and the impact of plastic waste on the marine environment in particular.
The aim of the project is to raise awareness in terms of specific and complex environmental issues (plastic waste in the sea). It is worth mentioning that a study ("The Moroccans and the sea" carried out by AESVT in 2004) revealed that the majority of the Moroccans are not aware that the sea is a natural heritage with a very rich biodiversity, which is unfortunately threatened by various anthropogenic factors including, primarily, plastic waste, which affects the marine flora and fauna. The project adopts an innovative "multi-transinterdisciplinary" approach in dealing with the complementary relationship between the various fields of education, art, culture, science, etc. This cross-multi-partnership approach has great value and encourages the active involvement of a range of interested parties, and an understanding of the problem from different angles, which could lead to feasible alternatives with "shared responsibility".
The decision to host an exhibition as a teaching tool for this project forges a new way to communicate, raise awareness and educate that has the potential of mobilising a group of players to being instrumental in the issue of "plastic waste in the sea".

Trapholt – Museum of Modern Art, Applied Art, Design and Architecture

kolding, denmark
25 September 2013 – 16 February 2014
 

With its exhibition "Out to Sea?" Trapholt focuses on plastics in the environment and in our daily lives.
The exhibition thematises:

• Our present environmental challenges from plastic in our seas and micro plastics in our food chain.

• Plastic in everyday products and designs.

• The need for new design strategies for processing and handling plastics, the environment, everyday products and designs.

The exhibition features an installation of 12 tons of deteriorating marine litter hauled out of the sea off the shores of Hawaii. But the problem is not confined to the Pacific. Denmark, too, has a problem. There is not a fish in the seas around Denmark which has not been impacted by plastics. And Danish beaches are awash with plastic litter.
The first part of the exhibition welcomes visitors with plastic elements and videos and photos documenting the numerous scientific facts on plastic pollution, the theme of the exhibition.
The second part of the exhibition focuses on plastics as a design material. Here you will be presented with plastics in our well?known design icons as well as in our daily utensils. The focus here is on our use of plastic as consumers.

Finally the exhibition thematises some of the design challenges we face - and some solutions. Zero waste, cradle2cradle principles and up-cycling are introduced as some of the solutions going forward.

Taidehalli TR1

tampere, finland
11 May– 4 August 2013

The exhibition Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project is a thorough overview of the global waste problem and the influence of plastics on our environment, animals and humans. Plastic as a material is involved in many functions of our daily life, affecting the lives of all people across the planet. Therefore, it was important to have the exhibition also in Finland. We must become aware of the problems caused by plastic and realise how we can can bring solutions to these through our actions and choices. We believe the exhibition gives information to people, as well as practical ideas for reducing the amount of plastic waste.

Finnish people are fond of nature and interested in their environment, and we therefore believe the exhibition will draw the attention of the public. Marine pollution is of special importance to Finland, since the Baltic Sea is one of the most heavily polluted seas in the world.

The exhibition in Tampere puts emphasis on the specific problems of the Baltic Sea, for example in the context of our cooperation with theBaltic Sea Action Group. We believe it is important to organise an exhibition on marine pollution in an inland city, for a major part of marine debris comes from inland water catchment areas.
In Finland, consumers are interested in recycling plastic, which can be observed in high recycling rates. In plastic beverage containers, the Finnish 94% recycling rate is top class worldwide. A large proportion of the plastic waste collected in Finland ends up as fuel for energy production. We also have companies in our country that use recycled plastic in product manufacturing, but unfortunately a large part of the plastic waste collected in Finland is still dumped in refuse tips.
TR1 Kunsthalle is happy to have the opportunity to organise the Out to Sea? exhibition this very year when environmental issues are in a key position in the new strategy of the City of Tampere, now under preparation. Solutions to environmental issues has been taken as a central goal in the City of Tampere mayor's programme 2013-2016 and the City of Tampere Environmental Policy 2020 – . Due to the exhibition schedule we are also able to take part in the Green Week (2.-9.6.2013) programme, organised in Tampere every spring, and we offer the public free entrance to the exhibition on World Environment Day, June 5th 2013. This year's theme for the international event is Think, Eat and Save. All of these three are also related to our personal attitude towards plastic as a material.

«Out to Sea?» is a globally importantandtopical exhibition concept.  Environmental issues are theme of the year for the City of Tampere in 2013.
Virpi Nikkari, Chief Curator Tampereen taidemuseo/ TR1 Taidehalli

Museum Vandalorum – Center for Art and Design

värnamo, Sweden
5 October 2013 – 26 January 2014

VANDALORUM is a museum of international contemporary art and design, initiated by artists and inaugurated in April of 2011. The museum is built from an original concept by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, with inspiration from local building traditions and materials. In three large halls, Vandalorum presents around 15 exhibitions a year. In addition to the exhibition program, Vandalorum also runs a large educational program, a conference program, a restaurant and a design shop. The environmental work of Vandalorum permeates all departments of the museum.

There are many reasons why The Plastic Garbage Project is an exhibition of high relevance for Vandalorum.

The project investigates one of the largest environmental issues of our time from the perspective of design, innovation and art.

This gives it a cross-disciplinary force that enables a new understanding of the problem and offers motivating solutions.

Situated in Småland, an area known for its entrepreneurs and manufacturers, Vandalorum is permeated by an enthusiasm and willingness to approach the new and the unknown. Working closely with the Linnaeus University in Växjö/Kalmar and Jönköping University, Vandalorum runs a new interdisciplinary research and educational program at university level in the field of “Creativity in Practice: Making and Mediating”. The goal is to become a dynamic center for research and learning that links art, design, technology, entrepreneurship and communication. Within this process, The Plastic Garbage Project is a highly valuable exhibition. During the exhibition, workshops will be held for students at the collaborating universities.

Since Vandalorum is an area of numerous leading Scandinavian plastic producers, it is of high relevance from a national perspective that the exhibition takes place here, close to the factories and those who have the possibility to move the development forward.

Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

hamburg, germany
18 December 2012 – 1 April 2013

From 18 December 2012 onward, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg will present the exhibition «Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project» produced by the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. Hamburg will be the first venue in the show’s international tour; it will then continue on to Finland and Denmark. The project and the tour are being financed by the Drosos Foundation. The presentation in Hamburg is being made possible with generous support from the project partner Michael Otto Stiftung für Umweltschutz. The show takes a critical look at the consumer and throw-away society. The chief emphases are the tremendous amounts of plastic waste which make their way into the oceans every day, the consequences of the pollution for nature and mankind, and various approaches to solving this global problem. A huge heap of plastic waste found in three oceans forms the show’s centrepiece. Following the new installation of the permanent design exhibition, the MKG will thus turn its focus to the background and consequences of the design and production society and the negative aspects of mass consumption and the supposedly infinite availability of things. The port metropolis Hamburg, whose economic mainstay is maritime trade, is virtually predestined to serve as a venue for this exhibition. What is more, a large proportion of the waste heap on display in the show comes from the popular holiday island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea. Encompassing films, photos, drawings, objects, installations, cartoons and consumer articles, the exhibition provides insight into the plastic problem and inform visitors about numerous facts, circumstances and interrelationships.

The show will be accompanied by an extensive mediation programme for children, teenagers and adults. Workshops and discussion forums with scientists, designers, producers and environmentalists will provide impulses for more enlightened action and sensitize visitors to the topic of plastic.

The Hamburg venue is being sponsored by the Lighthouse Foundation, HAMBUR WASSER, Stadtreinigung Hamburg andthe IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e.V.

Museum für Gestaltung Zürich

zurich, switzerland
4 July – 28 October 2012

The Museum für Gestaltung Zürich carries out projects in the areas of design, visual communication, photography and architecture. As a rule we show exhibitions about the design processes and the use of particularly successful design.

In the exhibition «Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project» we focus for the first time on the end of the history of use. This time our interest is in showing what can happen to used and discarded plastic objects.

The cultural attainments of an epoch are often measured in terms of exceptional achievements that live beyond their own time. Waste, in contrast, provides us with information about everyday life in earlier times. In view of the immense amounts of plastic garbage that we produce daily and the fact that this is, essentially, not biodegradable, future generations will be faced with a substantial and difficult inheritance from our era. And the visible waste is only the tip of a (garbage) iceberg that extends to the depths of the ocean.
As regards the production of waste, too, Western society produces a disproportionately large amount: nowhere in the world is as much consumed as here. Consequently we are to a special degree responsible for the current problem and, logically, for developing solutions to limit it.
As a design museum that is part of a university in which young designers are educated, we have a particular responsibility as regards these questions. As a laboratory, stage and place of education we see it as our task to take a holistic view of design production and to focus on the entire lifecycle of the world of products.

Out to Sea? At the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich
From the very start the exhibition «Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project» was conceived as a travelling exhibition by the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, the first location at which it was shown.
The core of the exhibition was a huge installation of plastic flotsam that could not be presented in its full extent during the later tour. Along with this probably unique amount of plastic debris it was the unique educational program that gave this show its special character. Not only did most of the different events take place in the exhibition itself, the results were also shown there in the form of changing exhibits. Other additional features of the original Zurich exhibition were an impressive installation made of everyday garbage and a comfy information lounge. In general a space was created that not only presented information but also invited people to take part, to reflect and to spend some time.

A huge success
It soon became clear that the exhibition in Zurich was a huge success. On this account the originally planned duration of twelve weeks was extended by a further five weeks at the end of September. When the exhibition finally came to an end on Sunday, 28 October a total of 35'779 visits had been recorded. In all 425 school classes viewed the exhibition and 165 guided tours were booked.
We hope that in this way we have made a lasting contribution to a reasonable and responsible use of the material plastic.

La Mégisserie

Saint Junien, France
7 October – 22 november 2016

Palais Kheireddine

TUNIS, TUNESIA
31 August – 14 October 2018

Museo A come Ambiente MAcA

TURIN, ITALY
14 September 2018 – 13 January 2019

Rozet Cultur Centrum

Arnhem, Netherlands
9 Februar – 10 April 2019

The “Out to Sea? Plastic Garbage Project" exhibition presents a confronting reality of the social consequences of plastic waste. During the last century, plastic has rapidly replaced many materials because it is cheap and easy to use, but it also has many disadvantages: it is difficult to recycle and as standard not biodegradable.

Under the motto "reduce, reuse, recycle", the exhibition explores possible solutions to make the oceans plastic-free – now and in the future. The exhibition "Out to Sea? Plastic Garbage Project" is part of « Arnhem Plasticvrij? », an initiative of the municipality of Arnhem, De Groene Vos, Rozet and Lions Club Arnhem.

National Taiwan Science Education Center

Taipei, Taiwan
20 April – 9 June 2019

The rapid production of man-made materials enhances the convenience of our daily lives. On the other hand, it also changes the relationship between human beings and the natural environment.

Imagine when our home will be covered and eroded by plastic products in 2050, the home of marine life is full of waste. If you and my home will become like this, how should we deal with it?

National Taiwan Science Education Center (NTSEC) has introduced the "OUT TO SEA?" exhibition from Museum of Design, Zürich in Switzerland. This exhibition is a travelling exhibition developed by the Museum für Gestaltung Zurich, which is a leading design and visual communication museum in Switzerland. The exhibition has been travelled to many museums in Germany, Finland, Denmark, Belgium and Sweden, and has received wide publicity with very good comments. There is also a part of the exhibition present the related subject in Taiwan, named "Ocean! My Home".

This special exhibition explores the global issue of sea waste from scientific perspective. It invites the public to look at the evolution of marine garbage pollution hence also review one’s own daily habits.

The ocean is the mother of all creatures, not the huge garbage dumping site of human beings. For the survival and welfare of all lives, the courageous and positive thinking and action is needed in our generation!

Roca Barcelona Gallery

Barcelona, Spain
29 January 2020 – 17 JANUARY 2021

Roca Barcelona Gallery opens this impressive exhibition to raise awareness of the serious problem of plastic waste that floods all the oceans, causing not a single square kilometre of seawater to be free of plastic particles.

Every year, between 8 and 12 million tons of trash from poorly managed waste reach the sea around the five continents, and of these, 15% moves across the surface of the sea, another 15% reaches the coasts and the rest sinks to the bottom of the sea.

The centre of this exhibition displays floating plastic waste from various oceans in an installation where visitors can trace its origins and life cycle. In another section, the background to the problem, the impact they generate and the solutions to this crisis are presented to encourage citizens to take action.

The exhibition, created by the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, the Zurich Design Museum, in association with the Drosos Foundation, has travelled to over 20 cities in Europe and Asia, generating a great impact that is helping to raise awareness.