SEA SHEPHERD
In July, my wife and I were invited to a silent art auction in Riverside benefiting Sea Shepherd – an organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of the world’s oceans. The “Sea No Evil” event at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium featured art and a DJ set by Shepard Fairey, an appearance by actress Michelle Rodriguez (“Lost,” “Avatar,” “Machete”) and an acoustic performance by Matt Costa.
We danced and had a few too many drinks under the moonlit desert palms, and bid on some incredible pieces of urban art. I had the great privilege of interviewing and writing about Fairey and Costa in previous issues of Artworks Magazine, so it was great catching up with them. We even got Costa to play “Astair” during a solid set mixing classics like “Sunshine” and “Cold December” with songs off his upcoming album, Mobile Chateau.
The party was epic, but the cause was much more profound. Captain Paul Watson, founding director of the Greenpeace Foundation, gave an impassioned speech about the reality of our seven seas, and the organization’s aggressive campaign to end the bloody seal hunt in Canada, dolphin slaughter in Japan and illegal shark finning in the Galapagos. Rodriguez spoke about her upcoming voyage to Antarctica to help protect whales that are being illegally poached near the South Pole.
Money raised from the auction of art by Bobby Hundreds, Jun Cha, Max242, Munk One, Neko, Retna, Jeff Soto, Skullphone, Deph and others raised tens of thousands of dollars for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, as the nonprofit continues its noble pledge to ensure the survival of ocean species for future generations. Cheers!
Written by: Ben Bamsey
