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WWF calls on New Zealanders across the country to dive into their creative side and put their Ocean:Views in the picture

The official start of summer arrived on time yesterday (1 December) in Wellington, as crowds of people flocked to the waterfront – and were surprised to find a giant gilt-edged picture frame capturing the sea view. WWF-New Zealand installed the giant frame to mark the launch of its new competition, Ocean:Views, calling for people to submit creative works celebrating New Zealand’s oceans and New Zealanders’ unique connection to our seas at wwf.org.nz/oceans.

“Ocean:Views calls for New Zealanders to get creative and put their ocean view in the frame. And at the launch on the first day of summer, people have taken that literally – we’ve had lots of passers by having their photo taken inside the frame, with the star of the show being the amazing ocean view,”  said WWF-New Zealand Communication Manager, Erinn Piller.

The competition calls for creative works in any of the four categories – music, creative writing, short film, and visual art (including, but not limited to, photography, illustration, graphic design and multimedia) – celebrating New Zealand’s oceans and reflecting on New Zealanders’ unique connection to them.  WWF says the Ocean:Views frame will be popping up in surprising locations around the country to inspire people to get involved and enter the competition at wwf.org.nz/oceans.

Rebecca Bird, WWF’s marine programme manager explained what the competition is about: “New Zealanders love spending time on, near or by the ocean, in summer we head out with surf boards, fishing rods or boats in our thousands.  If we’re lucky enough to see a pod of Maui’s dolphins or witness a soaring albatross, it’s an exhilarating experience and part of our great Kiwi passion for spending time at the beach or on the water. We are launching Ocean:Views to celebrate New Zealand’s unique and diverse oceans, and our special connection with them,” she said.

The grand prize is a trip for two to the Pacific Islands to witness ocean wildlife from whales to seabirds and turtles that travel through New Zealand’s vast oceans on their epic migrations.

“For generations, our oceans have inspired us, helped define who we are as a nation – and they remain a vital part of New Zealand life today,” said WWF-New Zealand’s Marine Programme Manager, Rebecca Bird.

The winners of the competition will be announced at a special celebratory event on World Oceans Day (8 June 2011), before the short-listed and winning works are exhibited throughout the country. Some of New Zealand’s leading creative talents are judging the Ocean:Views competition, to be announced over the coming weeks.

The competition launches the first day of summer – 1 December – with a public event from 4pm at Wellington’s waterfront near Te Papa Tongarewa, when WWF is installing a giant picture frame looking out to sea.  WWF is inviting members of the public to take part in creating a chalk artwork designed to inspire New Zealanders to enter the competition and share their own Ocean:View.

Along with our familiar rocky shores and iconic beaches, New Zealand’s oceans cover a vast area of staggering natural diversity, from the remote subtropical Kermadec Islands in the north, to icy subantarctic waters in the south. Scientists estimate they have found and named only a fraction of the species that live in our seas.

“The mystery and vastness of our oceans have long been a source of creative inspiration for New Zealanders, from writers such as Maurice Shadbolt to contemporary artists like Stephen Templer,” said WWF’s Rebecca Bird.

“Every submission to Ocean:Views will be a complete piece of work in itself, but it’s going to be very exciting to put together all the pieces to create a completely unique reflection of how we, as a nation, view our oceans – our national story of why our oceans and our people are inseparable. We hope Ocean:Views inspires New Zealanders to think about our oceans, and the opportunity we all have to protect marine life so future generations can enjoy what we have today,” said WWF’s Rebecca Bird.

Ocean:Views is free to enter, and open to all New Zealanders or New Zealand residents. Download a competition entry kit and submit your entry online at: wwf.org.nz/oceans. The competition closes for entries in April 2011.

WWF-New Zealand’s creative partner is Ocean Design.  The competition is supported by many people and organisations including Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum, the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Natural History New Zealand (NHNZ), Auckland Zoo, and Kelly Tarltons.

Image: (C) Bob Zuur/WWF

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