Exhibition continues!! Goulandris Museum of Natural History in Athens, Greece~

On the 5th year of Drifters Project’s presence and action in Kefalonia, we were given a major exhibition at the Goulandris Museum of Natural History in Athens, Greece~!  The exhibition opened in May 2015, and has just been extended for a second time through May 2016!  The museum is a vast, classical Victorian natural history museum of extensive specimens and fantastic dioramas, founded by the visionary Mrs. Goulandris, botanical illustrator of the flora of Greece, and has a massive contemporary addition that houses the Gaia Center, a vast space dedicated…

Postcard from the Brink ~ Belize in Crisis

Dropping into Belize City, the once capital of the tiny island nation of Belize, you feel strangely a little like being in Venice where vaporetti, or water taxis, are the primary mode of transport. So too for Belize, except there are also plenty of cars on the mainland, but none at all on the 2 miniature islands or cayes that were my home and worksite for the next 15 days. Another similarity is the general feeling of decrepitude, not as obvious in Venice unless you look closely, visit regularly or…

The Plastic GYRE Symposium: Artists, Scientists and Activists Respond

March 26-27 /  Atlanta / GSU + CDC Museum In an unprecedented gathering, 35+ of the top national and local scientists, artists, activists and industry leaders present 2 full days of the newest scientific discoveries and creative disruption to the plastic pollution crisis~ Drifters Project, in collaboration with the CDC Museum, GSU, and Plastic Pollution Coalition, host this major event with in-depth panel sessions, films, presentations, popup exhibition and GYRE :  The Plastic Ocean exhibition currently on view at the CDC Museum! FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC SCHEDULE OF EVENTS…

Oceanic Society Artist-In-Nature Residency!~ Bali to Komodo

2014 marked the start of a new adventure:  I am the official Artist-In-Naure with Oceanic Society!  Founded in 1969, Oceanic Society is the oldest ocean conservation non-profit in America, focused on using the experience of travel in nature as a tool to deepen the connections between people and the natural world.  Their progressive leadership has introduced two initiatives in 2014: to address plastic pollution and to promote art as a conservation tool.  My first trip as Artist-In-Residence was co-leading the 10-day Bali to Komodo expedition on the live-aboard schooner Sea Safari VII with naturalist and Oceanic’s…

The Mirror of Armila

I was honored to be invited by Carl Safina to write for his National Geographic’s NewsWatch page, published here, about my experiences in Armila, Panama with the beautiful Guna women artists there.  Here is my original text: THE MIRROR OF ARMILA, Pam Longobardi 6/17/14 There are no mirrors in Armila.  As a culture, the Guna are less concerned with themselves than they are with their families, friends and community.  When you live in Armila, you see yourself only as a reflection in the faces of the beautiful smiling people of this town. …

Plastic Free Island – in ACTION!~

  Our newest film teaser for PLASTIC FREE ISLAND documentary film coming in Fall 2014: Plastic Free Island in ACTION~!! A time-lapse capsule of the 2 week action on Kefalonia:  the Plastic Free Island core team, its friends, sponsors, outreach coordinators and hundreds of engaged citizens with 10s of thousands of pieces of plastic removed from 7 coastal zone sites of caves and beaches of the island!  There were educational programs for university students, citizens and children’s workshops covering forensic plastic removal, loggerhead sea turtle conservation and single-use disposable plastic…

Meeting aboard GREENPEACE Rainbow Warrior!!~

The universe works in mysterious ways:  GREENPEACE Rainbow Warrior III sails, purely by wind power using no petroleum, into Argostoli port on Kefalonia the day of our opening at the Ionion Center.  GREENPEACE Greece Defense Coordinator Dimitris Ibrahim issues Drifters Project Founder Pam Longobardi and Plastic Pollution Coalition CEO Dianna Cohen a special invitation to meet onboard to discuss our project:  they are here to protest the proposed drilling of the Ionian Sea and we join forces to protest and create positive action on the oil and plastic disaster.  …

Plastic Free Island Kefalonia PRESS + MEDIA!~

Ionian Press, July 13 “The Plastic Free Island in Argostoli Square in a Lovely Manifestation” Ionian Channel TV, July 9 (aired) ‘Program: Plastic Free Island’ InKefalonia, July 8 (featured article with photos/videos) efimerida Kefalonia July 8 “No Straws for Koutavos” Kefalonia Press, July 13  ‘REPORT “KEFALONIA-MODEL:  PLASTIC FREE ISLAND”’ Kefalonia News, July 19 ‘Plastic Free Island, an innovative program that brings Kefalonia on the world stage …’ Kefalonitis, youtube, July 8 Kefalonia Press, July 8 efmerida Kefalonia, July 4, “Mission Accomplished Against Plastic Pollution- Journal Kefalonia“ Portoni.gr, July 5  “Meeting between the Vice Mayor Mr. Kekatos of Tourism Kefalonia and Drifter’s Project Pam Longobardi…

Drifters Project Kefalonia / PLASTIC FREE ISLAND

About In 2014, we want to help Kefalonia become a Plastic Free Island. Plastic objects are the cultural archaeology of our time. They are a portrait of global late-capitalist consumer society, mirroring our desires, wishes, hubris and ingenuity. These are objects with unintended consequences. In an ongoing collaboration with the Ionion Center for Art and Culture, Drifters Project has been cleaning beaches and sea caves all around the incredible island of Kefalonia. In 2011, we collaborated with a sea turtle rescue project; in 2012, we cleaned a giant sea cave…