Barcelona, 24 July 2026
After a 120-nautical-mile passage from Menorca, the PartArt4OW SailingLab reached Barcelona to join the final event of the Wipes Out! Participatory Art Initiative, one of the last major stops before the expedition's arrival in Badalona for the Second PartArt4OW Demo Day.
An Evening Bringing Art and Ocean Science Together
The evening opened with a welcome and a presentation of the artistic contributions of PartArt4OW Scientific Coordinator Chiara Certomà, who introduced the Part Art approach, followed by Chantal Menard's presentation of the Wipes Out! project. The programme continued with an interactive dance performance created to represent, artistically and emotionally, the suffocating effect of white wipes on marine organisms.
A Roundtable on Art, Marine Environments and Civic Engagement
At 21:00, a roundtable brought together Pep Gatell, Ramón Guimaraes, Maria Solé Bundó, Pep Hurtado Díaz, Eve Galimany, Adela Opazo and Rosa Garcia for a wide-ranging conversation on art, marine environments and civic engagement, with active participation from the audience. The discussion placed the Wipes Out! campaign within the broader dialogue that PartArt4OW has been building throughout the SailingLab's Mediterranean voyage, between artistic practice, scientific research and community mobilisation around ocean health.
The Alarm Over Wet Wipes Pollution
The central issue driving the Wipes Out! initiative — the rapidly growing alarm over the deadly ecological consequences of wet wipes discharged into the sea — was presented by Anna Bozzano, whose contribution set out the scale of the problem facing Mediterranean coastal waters.
Looking Ahead: Badalona and the Demo Days
The Barcelona stop is one of the final legs of the SailingLab's 30-day, roughly 900-nautical-mile Mediterranean expedition, which began in Anzio on 20 June. The vessel is now due to move on to Badalona, where the Second PartArt4OW Demo Day will take place on 27-28 July at Fundacion EPICA - La Fura dels Baus, bringing the expedition to a close.
About PartArt4OW
PartArt4OW (Participatory Art for Society Engagement with Ocean and Water) is a Horizon Europe research and innovation project connecting artists, scientists and coastal communities across the Mediterranean through Participatory Art Initiatives (PAIs). The PartArt4OW SailingLab, a 12-metre ocean-going vessel, has spent the summer of 2026 cruising the north-western Mediterranean to document these initiatives and the environmental, cultural and social realities of the coastline.
PartArt4OW is funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101157247. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.