Leading Organisation

Baltic Sea Cultural Centre (BSCC)

Duration

6 months, starting the 1st of September 2025

Location

Brzeźno, a coastal district of Gdańsk, Poland, located on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea within the Gulf of Gdańsk—one of Europe’s most ecologically at-risk marine regions

In Gdańsk’s post-industrial Brzeźno district, Seatizen-Bio Murals invites citizens to turn marine waste into biomaterial-based public art. Through art-science labs and community co-painting, the project addresses biodiversity loss, marine pollution, and the disappearance of red algae species like Furcellaria lumbricalis.

Using materials like shellcrete (oyster shell + seaweed binder), biocement, and recycled glass, murals are created on the walls of seaside buildings. Each design is inspired by the stories of “Widlik,” a fictional red algae character who helps translate scientific facts into community wisdom.

The project’s community strategy is deeply inclusive:

• Senior citizens, children, people with disabilities, and local gardeners all participate
• Workshops combine storytelling, biomaterial exploration, and place-based ecology
• School partnerships and local exhibitions spread ocean literacy beyond the art itself

Coordinated by a team experienced in sustainable materials, environmental storytelling, and community architecture, the project aims to:

• Make ocean literacy tangible and local
• Activate overlooked public spaces
• Inspire replication of biomaterial murals in coastal cities across the Baltic

Expected Impacts:

• Artistic: Pioneering public artworks that blend material innovation with ecological storytelling
• Environmental: Reduction of marine waste through reuse and awareness
• Community: Strengthening intergenerational and cross-ability creative collaboration
• Cultural: Revival of traditional algae knowledge and aesthetic connection to marine life
• Policy Influence: Demonstrating how biomaterials can support sustainable urban design

Main Contact Person

Blanka Byrwa <blankabyrwa@gmail.com>

Biomaterials Specialist and Technology Lead. She is responsible for sustainable materials research and translating marine science into tangible public art through innovative biomaterials like shellcrete