Ocean Virtual Art Residency
The Ocean Virtual Art Residency program, in collaboration with MANGO, empowers artists to embark on a journey of developing new projects centered around the residency's thematic focus: OCEAN. This residency aims to provide dedicated time and space for artists interested in ocean science, whether emerging or established, and to cultivate a collaborative community where like-minded artists can connect and create together.
The OVAR residency creates a welcoming, empowering, and challenging virtual space for artists. Over 5 weeks, participants met weekly to discuss ideas, critique concepts, and share resources and knowledge, fostering mutual support and project enhancement.
We are thrilled to showcase the projects developed by each artist during the residency. Through the power of art and the brilliance of these artists, prepare to be transported, inspired, and spurred to ignite your passion for our Ocean and their future.
Why a map?
We intentionally chose to present the participating artists using a map format. This decision was driven by our desire to visually highlight the global interconnectedness symbolized by our oceans. By mapping the artists, we aim to emphasize how, regardless of location, we all share a deep love and concern for our planet's waters. This spatial representation underscores our planet's interconnectedness and the collective efforts of artists to draw inspiration from the ocean and, through their work, inspire others.
Ocean Virtual Art Residency has been endorsed as an Ocean Decade activity. This means that our virtual exhibition will be shared on the Ocean Decade Network, allowing the wonderful work created by the artists to reach a wider audience.
Ocean V Virtual Exhibition
We recommend viewing the map on a desktop. If you would like to see the map bigger, just click on the top right square. Every artist is placed on the map with a colored marker. When you click on the marker, you will see a window to the left of your screen with the name of the artist, their piece, the artist’s statement about their work, and a link to their website. Please click on the images so you can see the full image or video. If the artist has several pieces in the exhibition, you can scroll through them using the arrows.
Please use this FORM to give feedback and your thoughts to the artists.
Participating Artists
Connie Lee Lynch is a crochet designer, teacher, and mixed media fiber artist who finds endless inspiration in the colors, textures, and rhythms of the everyday world around her. From tiny wildflowers pushing through the cracks of a sidewalk to the shifting hues of the ocean’s horizon, she is always looking for details to work into her next creation. As a military spouse, she moves with her family every few years and each new place leaves an imprint on her work.
With over a decade of experience teaching crochet both in person and online, Connie’s goal is simple: to cultivate joy. She encourages others to embrace creativity with curiosity, exploring stitches, texture, and colors in their own way. Her mixed media and fiber art extend this exploration even further, blending techniques and materials to tell stories of movement, memory, and place.
Pilar López Duque is a plastic artist based in León (Spain), dedicated to abstract painting since 2021. Her work is built from concept and technique, with the purpose of creating atmospheres that invite you to stop the rush and generate an intimate dialogue with the viewer. Inspired by nature, emotions and literature, her work seeks to provoke experiences that activate reflection and inner conversation.
Her creative process is hybrid and experimental, combining traditional methods with contemporary approaches. Promotes artistic experiences with adults and children, exploring how art can channel diverse sensitivities and abilities.
Since 2021 she has participated in more than 70 exhibitions in Spain and Europe. She has received the AEPE Abstract Painting Prize (2022) and has been selected for the Reina Sofía Prize (2023 and 2025). It is part of the Laborarte and Public Art Collectives.
JW Lynn is a creative reuse and emerging visionary artist currently creating in Dallas, Texas. Oftentimes mystical and a little odd, her work explores the whimsical, macabre, and spiritual world of perception, identity, and impermanence. Her focus is creating new, upcycled art using 90% or more prefabricated materials considered to be discarded, non-functional, and/or beyond repair, revitalizing them within the art and thus lessening their environmental impact by keeping them out of landfills. JW has been a SCUBA diver since 2010 and earned her instructor certification in 2024. She incorporates the joy of being immersed in the underwater environment in every class she facilitates.