At a time when our oceans face mounting pressure from plastic pollution and degradation, art serves as a catalyst for change. Within the REMEDIES program, which is dedicated to eliminating plastic waste and restoring Mediterranean marine ecosystems, art has been woven into the fabric of its public outreach strategy.
Through Impact Hub Athens’ leadership of Work Package 6 (WP6), REMEDIES is combining awareness-raising, civic engagement, and behavioral change with creativity.
One of the most innovative elements is the Artists’ & Researchers’ Residencies, a series of site-specific projects where artists and researchers create original works that bring science to life and spark dialogue in local communities. These residencies transform data into experience, science into emotion, and marine litter into public narrative all while inspiring a cultural shift away from single-use plastics and toward zero-waste living.
1st Residency: From Waste to Wonder at EXIT Festival
The residencies debuted in July 2025 at the iconic EXIT Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, one of REMEDIES’ demo sites. Under the creative direction of Rajmonda Zajmi, a pioneering eco-educator and artist from Albania, the festival hosted an eco-fashion show titled WASTELAND: From Waste to Wonder.
Since 2013, Zajmi has used upcycled fashion to tell stories of environmental responsibility through her initiative Eco Fashion Show Albania™. At EXIT, she presented a runway collection crafted from discarded materials—plastic cups, Nespresso capsules, banners, straws, even Kinder egg packaging. Each piece highlighted the hidden waste in everyday life, transforming it into wearable art that challenges overconsumption and celebrates creativity in reuse.
As Zajmi explains:
“Waste isn’t glamorous, but it tells a story. Instead of letting it end up in landfill, I gave it a second chance and transformed it into pieces of art. What is once discarded can be reimagined, rescued, and turned into wonder.”
2nd Residency: A Living Tapestry of Voices
Alongside Zajmi’s eco-fashion show, another artistic intervention enriched the EXIT Festival residency. Visual artist Turrdl engaged directly with festival visitors, inviting them to share their thoughts and messages about the festival, the ocean, and environmental protection.
Over four days, these reflections were woven together into a large-scale participatory artwork—a living tapestry of community voices on sustainability and ocean preservation. This evolving piece captured the collective spirit of the festival, transforming individual expressions into a shared creative dialogue about responsibility and hope for the planet’s future.
3rd Residency: Art Meets Circular Innovation in Greece
The third residency took place in Greece, where artist Dimitris Marinis collaborated with REMEDIES partner Alchemia Nova Greece. His canvas: the “PLUG-AND-PLAY 2 ZERO-WASTE” container, a pioneering mobile system designed to replace single-use plastics at festivals and events by cleaning and reusing bio-based cups and glass bottles.
Marinis transformed the functional container into a public artwork and cultural landmark, using street art to reflect themes of circulation, transformation, and environmental responsibility. More than infrastructure, the container became a conversation piece, a symbol of how design, innovation, and creativity can merge to inspire new systems of consumption.
Where Art and Sustainability Meet
The REMEDIES residencies demonstrate that solving the plastic crisis is not only about technology and policy it is also about culture, imagination, and shared stories. By blending infrastructure with artistic expression, they invite us all to see waste differently, to reimagine what’s possible, and to take part in the mission to save our planet.