 Department of seaweed Julia Lohman strips of yellow seaweed float on undulating water Seaweed is one of the few organisms with which a positive ecological impact can be generated with increased production the bamboo of the ocean Sometimes soft brown kelp the algae the Okinawa node and the Trinalis made of Can grow up to 30 centimeters wide and six meters long in just one year. It's unrolled in the lab I discovered kelp 11 years ago with the fresh eyes of a foreigner when I was an artist in residence in Japan I could hardly believe that no craft had developed around this resource that has been intertwined with Japanese culture for thousands of years But kelp was framed so much as food no other use seemed thinkable. It served in dishes Yes, we can eat algae, but we can also use it as fertilizer and turn it into bioplastic biofuel dyes veneer and textiles While it grows it cleans the ocean of harmful excess nutrients such as agricultural runoffs and fish farm feces Growing it can help reduce damage to marine ecosystems But only if we make sure we understand the ecological and social impacts of our actions and develop practices That forefront sustainability so as not to cause any harm seaweed sculptures move in stop motion We founded the Department of seaweed a transdisciplinary platform for the exploration of seaweed as a sustainable resource for making We integrate knowledge from scientific and artistic fields across levels of complexity that reach from molecules to materials science and symbols objects interactions and services and policy advice Design in our view can be the tool to make connections between separate domains of knowledge and engage actors Not just the human ones within complex intertwined systems Design here is to be understood as a liberal art that links science and society ecology and economy Theory and practice seaweed is collected. I'm sending you these thoughts from Christina back in Sweden One of the oldest marine stations for education and research in the world We are here with a group of design students from Alto University to integrate algae and other marine aquaculture within the local community This is why I cannot be with you today She smiles at us We urgently have to rethink everything we do how we feed ourselves what materials we produce and consume How we build exhibitions and how we travel and collaborate to achieve a future worth living in Let's use our design skills to that end Thank you very much Alto University