Invitation to Experience ‘Mangroves from the Water’ Exhibition
Discover the hidden beauty of mangroves through a 360-degree immersive film experience and art installations, part of Zahidah Zeytoun Millie’s PhD research submission. This project delves into the intersection of artistic practice and environmental advocacy.
The first part of the exhibition will be held daily at the Project Space Gallery, Deakin Waterfront Campus, from 11th to 20th September, with viewing hours from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Please refer to the poster for additional details.
The second part of the exhibition features an immersive film experience, which will be screened at the Nyaal Precinct, Waurn Ponds Deakin campus, on 19th and 20th September, with sessions from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Mangroves from the Water film was made possible with the kind support of Aubrey Comben (camera operator, editor), sound artist Hamish Dobie, and Deakin University.
To view this solo multimedia art exhibition, please visit my website: www.zahidahart.com.
Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) is the title for my presentation at the Australasian Mangroves and Saltmarshes (AMSN) Conference held at the University of Adeliade, 14 to 17 November 2023. My PhD study research at Deakin University is of the same title, Mangroves from the Water.
The 16 November presentation was successful as it was the sole speech explaining a different set of knowledge about the mangroves; from an artivist who situates philosophical and artistic embodied knowledge with the mangroves. I was able to bridge art and science in this conference. Being the sole artist in this conference encourages me to stress the importance of having more artists, writers, musicians and activists (artivists) to be involved in the annual AMSN conferences.
Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) is excited to announce the In Love with Mangroves exhibition at the Médiathèque de Janville library in Beauce, France. The exhibition is curated by the artist Geraldine Chansard and Pauline Dupin. The exhibition is from September to December 2023.
We are happy to announce the art and mangroves campaign Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) is going to present at the upcoming conference in Adelaide: The Annual Australasian Mangrove and Saltmarsh Network Conference – Living Coasts, 14 to 17 November 2023.
The founder of MFTW and a PhD candidate at Deakin University, Zahidah Zeytoun Millie, is going to present at this important conference in Adelaide. We note that the AMSN conference occurs just before the Climate Summit in Dubai (Cop28), 30 November to 12 December.
MFTW are proudly the pioneers in the UAE for mangroves and saltmarsh preservation. We are very excited to present and talk about our over a decade experience and knowledge in in the field in the UAE and Victoria, Australia, and meet scientists and like-minded artists and activists in the field.
For more details on the AMSN Conference, open this link: AMSN living Coasts.
For more details about the upcoming climate summit in Dubai, open this link:
Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) is happy to announce the in-progress publication of our first illustrated story about the mangroves and saltmarshes, The Gini Fatouhah. The story is based on the fabled Gini Fatouh, a much-loved Emirati folk tale featured in Dr Abdulaziz Almusallam’s Al Wahri (2022, الواري).
Our aim with this story is to highlight the beauty of the mangroves and their importance to the environment. The story of a young gini provides a message of the importance of being close to nature. The story also contributes to the updating of heritage stories to celebrate the role of females and environmentalists in the UAE, all of whom are playing an important role in protecting nature.
Zahidah Zeytoun Millie authors the story and the illustrations are a result of a collaboration with the artist Géraldine Chansard. Our illustration process involves Géraldine characterising the story within Zahidah’s own water colour sketches that she has painted from a kayak among the mangroves of Umm Al Quwain. Géraldine designs the layout of the book.
We would like to thank and acknowledge the great support that MFTW research and art exhibition projects have received from the Sharjah Institute for Heritage since 2017, especially for publishing our first short story the Gini Fatouhah in 2023.
Our deep gratitude goes to the Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, Dr Abdulaziz Almusallam, for his vision in linking art, heritage and the environment. We also acknowledge the support of the publishing director Dr Mini Abdelkader and all the staff at the Institute for their patience and continuous support for the benefit of the environment. This connection of heritage storytelling and contemporary environmental stories is an important reference point for cultural identity and popular memory, as Dr Abdulaziz writes in his introduction to the Mangroves Festival 2017 catalogue:
The mangrove tree has a lot of encompassed forms of expression in the community’s memory and it has produced values, customs, traditions, experiences and popular ethics, artistic creations and experiences of traditions, which add to the totality, the depth, and richness of heritage.
إن ارتباط شجر القرم بحياة الإماراتين قديمًا، وتفاعلهم معه، وتشكيله جزءً كبرًا من هويتهم الثقافية والاجتماعية يجعل من ضرورة المحافظة عى تراث هذه الشجرة أمرًا من الأهمية، لنر الوعي حول أهميتها وضرورة الحفاظ عليها، لمكانتها وموقعها المهم في الراث الثقافي الإماراتي والملهم في نفس الوقت، لذلك فهي تعتر عنرا أساسيًا في الموروث الثقافي والتقاليد الفلكورية للتجمعات السكانية في الدولة.
Faithfully,
Zahidah Zeytoun Millie
Founder & Curator at Mangroves from the Water (MFTW)
It has taken over two centuries for non-Indigenous people to truly recognise the value of mangroves. Similarly, the aesthetic allure of mangrove forests and the appreciation of mangrove-inspired art have evolved only gradually.
Since the launch of Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) in 2013, the initiative has endeavoured to spotlight the beauty and ecological importance of mangroves through multidisciplinary art exhibitions. These exhibitions not only showcase the diverse artistry inspired by mangroves but also aim to foster global awareness and protection of these vital ecosystems. MFTW promotes art that emerges from deep ecological intimacy, encouraging artists to engage directly with mangroves—often by kayaking through them—thereby nurturing a profound and reflective connection with this unique environment.
Over the years, Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) has inspired many artists to explore the mangroves through kayaking, fostering engagement, raising awareness, and stimulating art creation from these immersive experiences. In a recent radio interview in February, artist Jacqui Dreessens shared that MFTW had introduced her to the mangroves, a previously unknown area of Geelong (The Sustainable Hour, 2023).
Now, is the time for art collectors to contribute to building a nascent mangroves art market in southern Victoria, which I believe will raise awareness of mangroves among a Victorian audience. In principle when we love a tree, nostalgic memories arise, often compelling us to collect art that represents this connection.
We are pleased to announce that gallery director Karen Spreadborough has embraced the idea of hosting and curating an exhibition focused on mangroves and wetlands at her spacious gallery, The Hive, aptly located near the Barwon River mangroves. The exhibition, Flow – Stories from the Wetlands, is featuring works from 25 artists, is currently open at The Hive Ocean Grove Gallery and will run until June 30, 2024.
For information on the Flow- Stories from the Wetlands exhibition and the Hive gallery please visit these two websites:
We’d like to congratulate the writer and film director Pauline Dupin, and also Rakhi Sawalani who acted the main character ‘the Girl’.
Rakhi Sawalani and Pauline Dupin
We also acknowledge Geraldine Chansard, the film executive and the creator of Woman from the Mangroves, the sculpture featured in the film.
Geraldine Chansard and Pauline Dupin
On this occasion we’d also like to thank the Sharjah Institute for Heritage and the Chairman Dr Abd Aziz Al Musallam for their continuous support to the mangroves and our art campaign, Mangroves from the Water (MFTW). We thank the Institute for publishing extra issues of a special edition of Marawed magazine that focuses on the mangroves as part of Emirati Heritage.
To follow up the news about the winning film, please open these links:
Announcement for two workshops by one of MFTW’s inspiring artists, Jacqui Dreessens.
Kayak, Mangroves, Poetry
Do you like kayaking? Ever written poetry? Have you ever seen the mangrove forest on Wadawurrung Country between Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove? Come and witness first hand this incredible ecosystem that clears the water and puts oxygen in the air for all of us Beings to breathe. So hardy and yet so fragile. A different World awaits from the Water.
This is Part A of an exciting afternoon/evening: 4pm-6pm. Where the River meets the Sea – Kayak, Mangroves, Poetry
The short film ‘the Girl who Fell in Love with the Mangroves’ is to be podcasted by the Dubai Culture Authority during the ‘Al Marmoom – Film in the Desert’ festival on 10 December, 10:00pm to 12:00 pm.
Rakhi, founder of the Desert Art Collective, will represent the filmmaker Pauline Dupin and the artist Geraldine Chansard of the ‘Mangroves from the Water’ group.
Mangroves from the Water (MFTW) 