The APB collaborates with the MARE Competition exhibition in Alcudiamar
06/08/2024
The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) is collaborating with the Audiovisual Contest for the Conservation of the Balearic Sea, MARE, which carries on with its project of immersing the public in the marine environment through a street exhibition featuring images of the sea that surrounds us.
“Significar” (Meaning), as the exhibition is called, seeks to bring citizens closer to the richness, beauty and fragility of the Balearic Sea through a dialogue between the image and the word, which is open to multiple interpretations, as many as the number of people who visit the exhibition.
This exhibition is inspired by the different meanings of words to establish a game between the viewers and the winning images of the 2023 edition of MARE, and aims to contribute to the conservation of the Balearic Sea through humour, wordplay and dialogue between words and photography.
The opening ceremony of MARE's itinerant exhibition took place today on the promenade of the Port of Alcúdia, with Mar Vera and Ignacio Ramos, Head of Expansion and Sustainable Development and Head of Communication and Marketing at Alcudiamar, respectively. The exhibition launch was also attended by the Director of the APB, Toni Ginard, the Deputy Mayor of Alcúdia Town Council, Juan Luis González, as well as the coordinator of MARE, Amador Garcias.
“The exhibition prompts us to take another look at our environment,” the organisers explained. After starting in Palma, the exhibition is returning from Menorca to Mallorca. By the end of August, it will have travelled to Formentera and Ibiza, thus completing its tour of all the Balearic Islands.
The exhibition that can be visited on the seafront promenade in the Port of Alcudia, until 27 August. The exhibition will be held for the first time in the north of Mallorca, thanks to the support of Alcudiamar, which reinforces its commitment to sustainability and respect for the environment, as well as that of the APB.
According to Mar Vera, “Alcudiamar is proud to be the first port to host the “Significar” exhibition of the MARE Competition, which confirms our commitment to the conservation of the Balearic Sea and water quality, which was one of the honourable mentions selected for the last edition of the competition”.
Toni Ginard, director of the APB, said, “although the men and women who work in the ports are people who live on land, the sea is obviously an essential part of our way of life, not only because of our work, but also because of the united commitment. MARE represents a wonderful initiative that transforms into a artistic expression a feeling that unites all of us, as Mediterraneans, who seek to conserve our marine environment, which is such a precious asset”.
The Deputy Mayor of Alcúdia Town Council, Juan Luis González, apologised for the absence of Josefina Linares, Mayoress of the municipality, due to her busy agenda, and added that he and the rest of the council are pleased to support initiatives such as MARE. “Through images we aim to raise awareness of the need to promote the maintenance of the Mediterranean Sea and to raise awareness of the reality and conservation of this common good,” he said.
“Today, we welcome residents and visitors to the north of Mallorca to immerse themselves in our environment's incredible biodiversity through the MARE exhibition. It not only highlights how beautiful the Balearic Sea is, it is also a reminder of the importance of our active participation in its conservation,” explained Amador Garcias, Coordinator of MARE.
Besides the exhibition, educational marine photography workshops will be held over the next two weeks. These activities will be targeted at the children taking part in the “Viu la Mar” educational programme organised by the sailing school Wind Pirates, based in Alcudiamar, during the summer. There will be two different types of workshops. Two workshops will be held for children between 5 and 9 years old, in which they will interact directly with the images that form part of the exhibition, and two more workshops for those between 10 and 14 years old, who will be introduced to nautical photography through their different water activities.
A collaborative initiative open to additional support
MARE is a collaborative Balearic initiative open to support and donations from other institutions and companies that want to help make the beauty of the Balearic Sea visible and work to conserve it.
It is supported financially by the Fundació Marilles, and with the collaboration of Menorca Reserva de la Biosfera, EivissaPreservation, Mallorca Preservation Foundation, Menorca Preservation, Save the Med, Iniciatives Mediterrànies, Fòrum Marí d'Eivissa i Formentera, MedGardens, Arrels Marines, Mar de Fons, GOB Menorca, True World, and many more.
“MARE is funded by the Marillas Foundation and is backed by many organisations and professionals in the field of photography. We are only at the beginning of a long journey and we need more support to bring the beauty of the sea to the Balearic public and beyond our borders,” adds Garcias.