2026 Highlights

Kim Rizio is Big Blue & You’s resident artist and we welcomed her back this year as our festival artist coordinator. She also created a sculpture installation called “Tangled in the Tides.”

Our Youth Resident Artist, Maredy Narea, is a Studio Arts student at FIU and created a live mural at Art by the Sea, sharing her ocean-inspired vision while celebrating youth leadership through art.

Beth Bru led a live painting art activation and festival attendees created their own work of art using the theme that Beth created.

Paint Your Own Sea Creature with Sharon Berebichez! This was an interactive art activation where kids chose a precut wooden sea creature and brought it to life with their own colors and creativity.

Experience Water Is Life with Luis Valle, a creative, hands-on activity focused on the importance of clean water. Kids drew, colored, and cut out their own little fish, adding their name before placing it onto a vibrant community ocean mural.

Print your Own Ocean Patch with Lauren Reilly from Living Studio. Guests selected a fabric patch and an ocean-inspired stamp to design their own custom sew-on patch.

Attendees created their own baby turtle out of model magic, complete with a nest photo to give your new baby turtle a home.

How to Be a Shark Scientist! with MISS was an interactive shark science experience where participants stepped into the role of real field researchers. Attendees chose a shark species, collected data by taking measurements and fin samples, and tagged their shark - just like scientists do in the field.

We learned about South Florida ecosystems including Biscayne Bay and the important of water quality through hands-on water quality testing with Miami Waterkeeper.

Attendees created a colorful bottle cap art piece, tested their reef knowledge in a life-sized “Guess Who” game, and explored microplastics under the microscope with MarineLab.

Mighty Mangroves was a hands-on wave model activity where participants created their own mini “hurricane” to see how mangroves protect our coastline and support healthy marine environments. Learn more!

Participants explored how coral reefs are built by creating their own “paper reef” using colorful coral shapes inspired by real reef species with Ocean Rescue Alliance International.

We explored sea turtle nesting biology and ecology with hands-on learning and an interactive Turtle Trivia game with the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program, part of Nova Southeastern University.

We explored a Biscayne Bay’s Living Classroom with Blue Scholars Initiative and solved a riddle to identify a specific animal found in the seagrass, mangrove, and coral reef ecosystems, learning about habitats of Biscayne Bay and the ocean.

Our youth emcee Soleil River Nation is a talented 11-year-old actor, singer, musician, and model. She also performed original songs, all centered on caring for our planet and protecting our ocean. Learn more!

We moved and grooved with Love Hope, the ultimate vibe curator and bearer of love, hope, music, and community. We featured two spectacular DJs including OWANI and DJ Anama.

The National Water Dancers performed, giving festival attendees the experience of dance, sound, and storytelling. This performance featured three dancers, a spoken-word artist, and a musician creating amplified water sounds.

Breath and Splash Swim School offered free swim lessons to Art by the Sea, teaching essential water safety and building confidence. Learn more!

Festival attendees were offered free paddleboarding courtesy of iPaddle Miami and experienced the beauty of the ocean up close.

Kids got ocean-themed face painting courtesy of @miamifacepainting. Perfect for kids (and kids at heart).

Creative Stage Productions turned Art by the Sea into a dance-party parade with stilt walkers and drummers weaving through the crowd.

Marly Q led a gentle mindfulness and stretching session to kick off the festival.

We tapped into the power of play and embraced our inner mermaid with our Mocha Mermaid photobooth complete with real-life mermaids.

We got cozy in the reading corner plus did some art! Attendees painted their own fabric square inspired by ocean life and the environmental impact of fast fashion. All donated creations were featured in the Miami-Dade Public Library System’s 2026 “Climate of Art: The Price of Fast Fashion” exhibition.

We dove into the world of sharks with Carlee Jackson as she read from her book A Day in the Life: Sharks! Perfect for young ocean enthusiasts and shark fans of all ages.

Meet 9-year-old Emiliana Fuger, whose debut book Anatomy Under the Sea: The Adventures of Luna the Loggerhead takes readers on an underwater adventure! Emiliana also did a book reading in the cozy reading corner.

Compost For Life brought hands-on sustainability to Art by the Sea with a seed planting and compost activity.

We got crafty with Reducing Our Waste – How to Recycle Right with Dream in Green. In this hands-on activity, participants transformed toilet paper rolls into colorful octopus creations while learning the right way to sort and recycle their trash.

Green Haven Project joined us for a hands-on gardening experience where participants got their hands in the soil and took home fresh vegetables while learning how to grow their own food.

We did a hands-on exploration of marine conservation by transforming recycled plastics, fabrics, and cardboard into a collaborative "community reef" masterpiece.

We enjoyed some sweet snacks from Snow Queens.

Attendees tested their knowledge with an engaging trivia game. Plus, we released a rehabilitated bird back into the wild right on the beach.