SpectorDance’s 2nd Annual Monterey Oceans Arts Festival!

Mark Your Calendar for SpectorDance’s 2^nd Annual Monterey Oceans Arts Festival!

“Through creativity and the arts, we invite the whole community to join us in raising their shared voices for ocean health and the future of our planet.”

Fran Spector Atkins, Founder of Monterey Ocean Arts Festival and Director of SpectorDance

Festival At a Glance

When: Saturday, April 9, 2022 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm

Where: Monterey Museum of Art, 559 Pacific St, Monterey, CA 93940

Cost: Free Admission

Goal: To utilize the power of art to inspire the next generation of ocean stewards.

What: 2^nd Annual Monterey Ocean Arts Festival (MOAF):

Enjoy this family-friendly event to learn about ocean science through art.
See ocean-themed visual and performing art created by selected Monterey County artists, ages 10-25 years old.
Learn about outstanding local ocean science organizations.
Participate in creating ocean-themed art activities for all ages.
Hear keynote remarks by renowned renown ocean advocates: Dr. John Holdren (Harvard University) and Julie Packard (Monterey Bay Aquarium)

Thank you to our Major Sponsors: Arts Council for Monterey County, First Night Monterey, Harden Foundation, Holdren + Lietzke Architecture, Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation, Monterey Museum of Art, Rotary Club of Monterey, Roger Stewart, Yellow Brick Road Benefit Shop

Are you a young artist? There is still time to apply to participate in MOAF. Young Artists Applications are due on March 10, 2022, and can be accessed here: www.SpectorDance.org/MOAF

More information about the Monterey Ocean Arts Festival

SpectorDance is thrilled to partner with the Monterey Museum of Art to present the second Monterey Ocean Arts Festival (MOAF) which will feature ocean-themed visual and performing arts from artists aged 10-25 years old. The event goals are to harness the power of creativity to promote understanding of ocean science and to inspire a deeper commitment to ocean stewardship.

The first MOAF took place in 2019 at SpectorDance in Marina. The concept was borne from SpectorDance’s project Ocean Trilogy, a performance and engagement program based on a 10-year collaboration with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Here is a link to a 2-minute video about the first Monterey Ocean Arts Festival: https://vimeo.com/351456057

SpectorDance’s original vision was for Monterey Ocean Arts Festival to be an annual event that would grow and attract both young and professional artists in all genres from around the globe. With Covid, they were not able to present MOAF in 2020 or 2021. Now in 2022, they are more committed than ever to their vision.

Spector Atkins adds, “We see this festival evolving into an international celebration of the power of artists to create and present ocean themed art that is socially relevant and makes a difference. We are thrilled that this year, Monterey Ocean Arts Festival will take place at the Monterey Museum of Art. The event will be a celebration of the power of the arts to teach, inspire, and generate positive change in the world. Through multiple entry points, the festival will foster thought, conversation, and action, and stimulate participants to connect with their social and environmental impact through artistic expression.

She explains, “The Monterey Ocean Arts Festival exemplifies SpectorDance’s mission, “Creating & Presenting dance that makes a difference” and vision, “a world where everyone is connected, informed, & inspired through the beauty & power of dance.” MOAF is new. MOAF is growing. MOAF is a collective inviting you to participate. MOAF is joyous and optimistic. Together we can create beauty and change. Join us to raise our shared voices for ocean health and climate action.”

Keynote Remarks

Dr. John Holdren was President Obama’s chief Science Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2009 to 2017. Dr. Holdren is currently a research professor at Harvard University, and was formerly the Director of the Woods Hole Research Center and the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard. Among his numerous honors are the MacArthur Genius Prize (1981) and most recently the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal (2022).

Julie Packard is the executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which she helped found in the late 1970’s. She is an international leader in the field of ocean science conservation, and a leading voice for science-based policy reform in support of a healthy ocean.

The Monterey Ocean Arts Festival will feature visual art from students of:

CSUMB
Greenfield Arts Center
Youth Arts Collective
Los Arboles Middle School
And more.

Performing Arts from students of:

Dennis Murphy School of Music
Greenfield Arts Center
North Monterey High
Palenke Arts
SpectorDance Youth Company
Youth Music Monterey
And more.

Science Information Tables and Art Activities led by:

Camp Sea Lab
COAST & Western Flyer Foundation
Elkhorn Slough
Pacific Grove Natural History Museum
Save the Whales
And more.

The MOAF Steering Committee includes: Fran Spector Atkins Founder and Event and Performing Arts Coordinator, Amy Byington Marketing and Administration, Karen Cook Composting and Recycling Coordinator, Darcie Fohrman President of Youth Arts Collective and Advisor, Marnie Glazier Theater Arts Coordinator, Rosie Gutierrez Event and Visual Art Coordinator from Monterey Museum of Art, Alexis Han-Holdren Administration from SpectorDance, Annie Holdren, Ph.D. Environmental Science Coordinator, Rob Klevan Music Coordinator, Ellen Martin Director of First Night Monterey and Visual Art Coordinator, Kat Morgan Community Development Coordinator, Roxanne O’Weger Event and Visual Art Coordinator from Monterey Museum of Art