
Previous Exhibition
OCEAN PLASTIC
2016-2017
Tons of plastic debris make their way into our oceans each year. It may be out of sight, but it is not out of our lives. Ocean plastic maims marine life, degrades the waters and shores, and leaches toxins into everything it contacts. Moreover, as these plastics photo-degrade, they enter the food chain. See beautiful and provocative works by local artists that visually portray this situation.
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EXHIBITIONS
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FASHION IN PLASTIC
Located throughout the gallery
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Our inaugural theme, Ocean Plastic, opened with nine spectacular outfits created by local designers. Each outfit is made of plastic and addresses an ocean plastic issue. These designs were featured on the runway during Wilmington Fashion Week on March 30, 2016 and are now on display in the museum.
More information, photos, and videos, click HERE
CSI: ALBATROSS
Located at the front of the main gallery
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The photos and albatross artifacts in this exhibit are provided by nature
photographer, David Liittschwager. Visitors to this interactive exhibition will experience an array of photography and artifacts while investigating who killed our baby Albatross, "Albo."

More information, photos, and videos, click HERE
THE DARK SIDE
Located in the main gallery
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Not only do plastics leach toxic chemicals, they also soak them up. Marine plastics have been found to contain levels of toxins up to one million times the concentration of the surrounding seawater.

More information, photos, and videos, click HERE
GYRES
Located in the main gallery
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A "gyre" is a swirling vortex of circulating ocean current. The surface circulation of our oceans is dominated by gyres that range from hundreds to thousands of miles in diameter. Gyres are created by huge "mountains" of air that have been heated at the equator and then begin descending in a gentle rotation as they approach the poles. The circular winds produce ocean currents, which spiral to create a slight down-welling. Scientists know this atmospheric phenomenon as subtropical highs, and the ocean current it creates as subtropical gyres. Worldwide, there are five major oceanic gyres.

More information, photos, and videos, click HERE
HISTORY OF PLASTIC
Located in the stairwell
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Where does it come from? Where does it go? How long does it last? What did we ever do before we had plastic? This pithy exhibition gives an insightful history of how we got to where we are now.
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
Located on the 2nd floor of the gallery
"What Goes Around Comes Around", a traveling art exhibition, manifested from three years of research on plastics in the marine environment. It serves as a visually expressive conclusion to Bonnie Monteleone's UNCW master's thesis - Plastic Ocean Project.

More information, photos, and videos, click HERE


More information, photos, and videos, click HERE
GUEST ARTISTS
Located throughout the gallery
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Expo 216 is pleased to exhibit a variety of gallery pieces created by local, national, and international artists that expound upon the theme and are for sale throughout the gallery.
More information, photos, and videos, click HERE




