About

‘Our marine world is a precious gift. A gift from nature that sustains all life on this planet.’

– Valerie Taylor AM

Vision

CollaborOCEANS brings creatives together from all industries as a collective, inspiring action to protect the natural beauty of all our marine life, reefs and oceans.

Mission

We aim to elevate collective marine conservation through artistic inspiration and creative advocacy.

What is CollaborOCEANS?

Our blue planet holds a treasure of magnificently diverse marine life. CollaborOCEANS is raising awareness with our inspirational creative collective who are passionate about ocean conservation. CollaborOCEANS Patrons and Ambassadors drive efforts for ocean action, working together to harness the power of art to enact change. We are ‘better together!’

Our belief is that through art, when people fall in love with the natural world, they are inspired to make positive change.

History

Founded in 2019 in Malibu CA, USA, CollaborOCEANS is an Australian based, globally operating creatives business with a focus on promoting ocean conservation, beauty and action with exhibitions, special campaigns and events both in Sydney and Los Angeles.
In 2020, the first exhibition – EMPOWERING – was held in one of the many stunning bays of Mosman in Sydney. Since then, CollaborOCEANS has forged ahead to curate a world-class art show called Kingdom of Coral, projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House for World Ocean Day 2021 and exhibited at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.

The team at CollaborOCEANS is connected to incredibly talented individuals and organisations who are passionate about marine life and ocean conservation. Globally recognised marine conservationist Valerie Taylor AM became our Exhibition Patron in 2020, followed by the addition of our Youth Patron, Olympic diver Sam Fricker, and Science Patron, Prof. Chris Turney. We are proud of our Ambassadors who come from a diverse range of industries – including multi-award winning marine photographer Charlotte Piho, LA based Australian cubism artist James Peter Henry, ethical and sustainable children’s educational swimwear founder Courtney Purcell, internationally acclaimed multi-award winning ocean and nature photographer Craig Parry, and 2022 Archibald Prize Winner Sydney-based Koori artist Blak Douglas.

We look forward to continued collaboration with all of our Patrons, Ambassadors and Creatives, and to make room for many more.

World Ocean Day 2021 CollaborOCEANS ‘Kingdom of Coral’ Exhibition on the ‘Sails of the Sydney Opera House

Pioneering marine conservationist and global icon, Valerie Taylor AM, known more for her work in front of the camera than behind a paint brush, led the lighting up of the ‘Sails’ of the Opera House in a joint exhibition of her watercolour works with abstract artist Timothy Johnston. Their desire to showcase a range of artists brought together creatives from across the world to collaborate on the ‘Sails’. Valerie unveiled her painting talents with her whimsical marine illustrations depicting an adventurous mermaid named Melody who is an underwater marine life guardian. A fitting message for our times as the exhibition lit up Sydney harbour.

Collaboration with Courtney Purcell Founder of Sea Glory Swim.

In 2021 CollaborOCEANS’s Founder, Timothy Johnston, joined forces with the Founder of Sea Glory Swim, Courtney Purcell, to bring Valerie Taylor’s ‘Melody the Mermaid’ artworks to life on swimwear. The ethical and sustainable swimwear collection for mothers and children features Valerie’s stunning illustrations from her children’s book that is based on many of her own real life ocean adventures. The collection – ‘Valerie’ – is gorgeous and can be seen at  www.seagloryswim.com

Swim 4A Fish ©

Established in 2021 by Timothy Johnston, Swim 4A Fish is a home-grown initiative encouraging schools and communities to join together for the recovery of endangered marine species. Swim 4A Fish encourages widespread community action to directly support healthy marine biodiversity and species conservation.

Swim 4A Fish is a CollaborOCEANS initiative for World Ocean Day, operating in conjunction with Youth Ocean Carnival. It invites communities to host their own events, where a group of passionate people can come together to raise funds directly for a particular endangered species or marine area.

In 2021, 20 volunteer swimmers from the ‘Bold and the Beautiful Swim Squad’ in Manly NSW took up the challenge and swam for the world-first shark recovery program for the Australian Leopard Shark alongside the highly effective and world renowned environmental organisation Conservation International.