The Art Explora Foundation positioned its itinerant festival at Nice Port in coordination with the United Nations Ocean Conference this June to highlight the intersection of art and environmental advocacy. France Today reported that the event featured Danish artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen’s Psychosphere, an immersive digital installation posing questions about whether life originated in the volcanic ocean depths. The foundation designed the program to raise awareness on ocean protection through a blend of contemporary works and educational experiences. According to the publication, the initiative also incorporated a virtual reality component exploring threats to coral reefs alongside performances that included singing by refugee women rescued at sea by the Ocean Viking vessel.
A 47-meter-long catamaran rising 55 meters high serves as the world’s first floating museum at the core of the festival, the Art Explora Foundation stated in project descriptions. Designed by architects Axel de Beaufort and Guillaume Verdier and built at the Perini Navi shipyard in Italy, the vessel relies on solar and wind power to host up to 3,000 visitors daily for free onboard exhibitions. France Today noted that the catamaran had previously called at Cannes and Marseille before arriving in Nice, with subsequent stops scheduled for Rijeka in Croatia, Athens in Greece and Limassol in Cyprus as the Mediterranean tour extends through 2027.
The festival extends beyond the boat to quayside pavilions and city venues where it presents photography from the Under The Pole scientific expeditions alongside workshops and performances. Data published by the Art Explora Foundation shows the first Mediterranean season across 14 ports drew more than 400,000 visitors before the program shifted focus to Atlantic ports beginning in Le Havre in October 2026 with an ocean-themed season. Organizers have partnered with institutions including the Louvre Museum, IRCAM at the Centre Pompidou and Ubisoft to develop immersive sound journeys and virtual reconstructions of historic Mediterranean cities such as Alexandria, Athens and Venice.
Frederic Jousset, president of the Art Explora Foundation, described mobility and artistic creation as powerful tools that help challenge perceptions and develop new relationships with the world. The foundation’s materials state that each port call involves collaboration with local curators, cultural bodies and educational groups to tailor programming that fosters intercultural dialogue. Subsequent coverage in regional outlets confirmed that the free admission policy has broadened participation beyond traditional museum audiences.
Psychosphere remains on view in Copenhagen’s Cisternerne until November 2025, according to details shared with France Today. The Nice docking aligned the artwork’s themes directly with UNOC discussions on global marine conservation, creating a platform where digital art intersected with policy debates. Foundation figures indicate that similar thematic alignments have strengthened the festival’s role in both cultural and environmental conversations across its route.
The project traces its origins to a commitment to counter the elitism often associated with art institutions by delivering experiences directly to port communities. France Today observed that the floating museum’s design facilitates this mobility while maintaining high production standards for its exhibitions and installations. As the second season unfolds in Atlantic ports, the foundation continues to expand its network of partnerships to sustain the dialogue between art, science and public engagement.
