The TIDAL ArtS project – carried out in Portugal by the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI), a Técnico’s Affiliated Research Unit – was funded with €2 million. The project aims to inspire and transform waterscapes through the arts and sciences It is scheduled to start in mid-2024 and has a duration of 3 years.

The TIDAL ArtS project will create artistic and scientific residencies in an interdisciplinary spirit, bringing together artists and researchers. The aim is to raise awareness of the challenges faced by the ocean and other bodies of water and to inspire the mobilisation of creative and circular actions for their protection and restoration. The residences will be installed in locations such as the Sete Cidades Lagoon in the Azores, an island in the Danube River in Budapest, the Turku archipelago in the Baltic Sea and the Venice Lagoon.

“We are excited to be part of the TIDAL ArtS project and contribute to the important work of fostering empathy for aquatic ecosystems in need of protection”, said Mariana Pestana, Invited Assistant Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and researcher at the Interactive Technologies Institute. “Our expertise in architecture, biology and interactive technologies will be used to create a support framework for artists to engage with the local context and learn about the complexities of the human and non-human communities found in each location”, she adds.

The TIDAL ArtS project is a collaborative effort between the coordinator Submariner Network for Blue Growth (Germany), Instituto Superior Técnico, University College Cork (Ireland), Pro Progressione (Hungary), German Marine Research Consortium (Germany), Aalto University (Finland), Spanish National Research Council (Spain), Digital Training Institute (Ireland) and Culture Action Europe (Belgium). The project aims to promote sustainable coastal cities by 2030 and ensure links between the European and global dimensions of TIDAL ArtS, promoting the project’s results internationally.