Sponsored in part by Northwest Maritime Center and Dovetail Workwear, the Future of Maritime tent at this year’s Wooden Boat Festival will showcase the inspiring movements taking place to connect and transform the lives of people connected to the blue parts of our planet. Capturing the essence of regionalization and transformative efforts of humans and their relationship to water and boats, the public is invited to step into an immersive multi-organization effort to shape our understanding of what the Future of Maritime is and could be.
NWMC’s commitment to anti-racism and inclusion is braided throughout the entirety of the Festival, but this area will be addressing these collective themes directly:
- maritime & marine science education, building awareness & exploration of career pathways, sense of place, nurturing aspirations across under-represented communities, water-based programming, STEM, barriers to access, addressing inequities in maritime, inclusion, gender & racial representation, climate change, ocean & water justice, advancing workforce development, diversifying industry impact, & human relationships to water & boats
Designed through a phytoplankton-to-supertankers lens, the following organizations will line the entirety of the tent as educational vendors to encourage thoughtful connections to this collective work:
- Northwest Maritime Center Programs
- Maritime High School
- SEASTR
- Sea Potential
- UNOLS – University of National Oceanographic Laboratory Systems
- Maritime Inclusion Partners
- Working Waterfront Coalition of Whatcom County
- Bellingham Seafeast
- Port of Seattle
- WISTA – Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association
Visitors can expect an array of captivating activities and visual exhibits that break the mold of who and what maritime is including:
- Regional map of Maritime Education entities
- Round tables at the center of the tent to encourage community conversations on the creation and evolution of these initiatives
- Rolling footage of youth and adults in programs around the region
- Artwork reflecting Black commercial fishers curated by Seattle Henry Museum artist Nina Chanel Abney
- An interactive art mural for the public to write onto the phrase “the future of maritime is…” to display at Seattle’s first Maritime High School
- Dovetail Workwear Show on Saturday, September 9 at 4 PM
Lastly, we will be inviting existing Black, Brown, and Indigenous mariners and program participants to add their names to a list as future content creators managed by NWMC staff to inspire the next generation—an effort that grows in the region for people of all ages to see themselves represented. Additionally, professional portraits of these folks will be offered for their own use by Filipina photographer, Jess Barnard—an outdoor/adventure/sports photographer based in Seattle, WA with a primary focus and commitment to diversity, inclusion, and value in representation. See more of her work at jessbarnardcreative.com. Portraits will be offered from 11 AM–2 PM each day of Festival, or you can sign up if you cannot make it within that time frame.