Author: Dr. Zahidah Zeytoun Millie

Zahidah is an artist, author, researcher, and founder of Mangroves from the Water (MFTW). Her experience developing the campaign over more than a decade across the UAE and Australia formed part of her PhD thesis. Based in Victoria, Australia, she is a multimedia artist who works with the collective's artists to explore the beauty and ecological importance of mangrove landscapes through art, writing, and environmental engagement.

Bringing Mangroves to Life through an Immersive Experience of Art, Movement and Music

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Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) is a long-standing art campaign that connects communities with degraded mangrove forests through art. Presented as an interdisciplinary group exhibition, MFTW brings together a diverse group of multimedia artists to create an immersive art experience. Participants include visual artists, choreographers, dancers, photographers, sound artists, and school students.

The MFTW program is complemented by a series of activities, including workshops, kayaking and sketching in the mangroves, a walk-and-talk with a scientist, and a dance workshop inspired by the mangrove forest.

Please note that every artist who has participated in Mangroves from the Water, whether through a single exhibition or voluntary contribution, has been acknowledged with a dedicated page on the Mangroves from the Water blog and across our social media platforms

The images below shows artist Dr Zahidah Zeytoun Millie, choreographer Jacqui Dreessens, and musician Damir Aliu during the opening of a recent exhibition held in Barwon Heads, Victoria, Australia.

Announcing the Arabic Edition of The Gini Fatouhah: A Tale about Mangroves

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I am delighted to share that the Arabic edition of The Gin Fatouhah: A Tale about Mangroves, together with a new edition of the English version, will soon be published by the Sharjah Institute for Heritage.

I authored the story, while the illustrations were created through a collaborative process, combining Geraldine Chansard’s drawings with my watercolour paintings, inspired by and painted from a kayak in the mangroves.

I look forward to sharing more details about the publication and how you can obtain a copy very soon.

Mangroves from the Water: Our Recent Exhibition

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Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) Exhibition 24 April-3May 2026

Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) is a socially engaged multimedia art project and environmental campaign developed in collaboration with participating international artists and scientists. Initiated in the United Arab Emirates in 2014, the project has evolved over the past twelve years, encouraging new ways of seeing and understanding mangrove environments through multidisciplinary artistic practice and community engagement. The project also formed the foundation of Dr Zahidah Zeytoun Millie’s PhD research in Communication and Creative Arts, completed at Deakin University in 2025.

The most recent exhibition opened on 24 April 2026 at Barwon Heads Arts Hub and was partially supported by the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA). It brought together Zahidah Zeytoun Millie’s watercolour sketches created from a kayak within the mangroves of the Barwon Estuary research site, alongside glass sculptures and acrylic paintings developed through five years of observing a single tree. These works were brought to life through choreography by Jacqui Dreessens and music composed by Demir Aliu. The exhibition also featured immersive works created in collaboration with Jacqui Dreessens and sound artist Pratyay Raha, a PhD candidate at RMIT University, Melbourne, together with a poem recited by Dr Diane Faye. Contributions by Year 5 students from Barwon Heads Primary School further enriched the exhibition. Collectively, these works sought to reconnect local audiences with the beauty and ecological significance of the surrounding mangrove environments.

Selected views of the MFTW exhibition, featuring works by Zahidah Zeytoun Millie and Pratyay Raha

Through artist-led engagement, a guided walk and talk with Jock Mackenzie from MangroveWatch and Rob Bone from the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, together with opening events incorporating artistic performance, the exhibition created opportunities for meaningful dialogue between art, science, and community. Local audiences gathered to learn about the environmental importance of mangroves and their role within local ecosystems.

At its core, Mangroves from the Water seeks to cultivate ecological awareness and foster deeper connections between people and environments that have historically been overlooked, misunderstood, or culturally marginalised.

A view of Seed of Life, cast glass sculptures by Zahidah Zeytoun Millie, based on the form of mangrove propagules.
A selection of photographs by Jacqueline Dreessens documenting Dancing in the Echelons: Finding Heritage in a Mangrove Ecosystem, a dance performance and short film.
Dance performance by Jacqui Dreessens, with music by musician Damir Aliu

Poetry by Dr. Diane Faye