SEA KIN is the art-meets-science showcase of Seabirds to Seascapes,  an exciting 4-year program working to protect, rehabilitate and sustainably manage New South Wales’s natural marine ecosystems. SEA KIN reimagines family, extending kinship to include the precious marine creatures with whom we share Sydney Harbour. Developed in collaboration with artists Jennifer Turpin and Sophie Raymond, marine scientists from the Seabirds to Seascapes Program and a school of hatchling humans who wrote, voiced, and modelled the artworks, our exhibition invites you to discover our Sea Kin.

SEA KIN is now open at the Australian National Maritime Museum

ENTRY is FREE

Through a collection of family portraits and tales from the sea, the exhibition invites us to reconnect with species who, like us, experience times of flourishing, challenge, and loss. More than a story of survival, SEA KIN encourages us to open our hearts to a non-human family whose wellbeing is deeply entwined with our own. By cultivating empathy and delight, the artworks reframe the monitoring and restoration of Sydney Harbour as acts of familial love and shared care.

SEA KIN asks us to step beyond a human-centred perspective and imagine the harbour through the eyes, gills and fronds of our marine neighbours. We held a series of workshops in which children could place themselves within the lived experiences of our marine relatives, while grappling with the ethical complexities of speaking for – and feeling with – other species.

Blending scientific inquiry with creative exploration, the workshops fostered an informed empathy: a deep understanding of, and connection to, each marine relative. Through writing and voicing the characters, participants discovered the power of storytelling to generate care and deep understanding. Working with materials from each creature’s habitat, the children created tactile forms and typefaces that enabled them to more fully relate to, and even embody, their non-human kin. This hands-on engagement deepened their awareness of the fragile ecosystems these creatures inhabit, and the challenges they face.

THE MAKING OF SEA KIN