Artists from Good Bank Gallery in McLaren Vale are collaborating with The Wild South on a series of events called TOXIC SURF (Mid Coast) as part of South Australia's Nature Festival. The program includes workshops, exhibitions, a lantern parade, film screenings, and a choir performance, all aimed at addressing the ecological crisis caused by the harmful algal bloom Karenia Mikimotoi along the state's coastline. Community members can participate in ocean lantern-making workshops, a roving lantern performance, a community art exhibition, and an art and eco-resilience workshop, with contributions from local artists, Ngarrindjeri elders, and environmental groups.
This initiative matters because it transforms an environmental disaster into a platform for community healing, mourning, and collective action. By combining art, Indigenous storytelling, and grassroots environmental efforts, the project fosters hope and connection in the face of ecological grief. It also highlights the role of art in engaging communities with pressing environmental issues, encouraging participation in coastal clean-ups, seagrass planting, and scientific research, while using the Nature Festival as a catalyst for broader conversation and change.