World Ocean Day Gyotaku Workshop

Sunday, June 8 | 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Join us in recognition of World Ocean Day with a creative and hands-on Gyotaku (Japanese fish printing) workshop. This community event is part of the Metchosin Ocean Art initiative and offers a meaningful way to connect with ocean ecology through art.

This workshop is led by artist Dyan Marie, marking the start of the day’s self-directed Metchosin Ocean Art Walk from the Metchosin Arts and Cultural Centre (MACCA) to the ocean at Witty’s Beach.

Gyotaku is an intimate, tactile art form involving direct engagement with a fish, octopus, or seaweed. Participants will each learn and create an original Gyotaku print. They will handle the specimen, prepare its form, apply sumi ink, and press washi paper to its surface—creating a sensory experience beyond visual observation. Originally developed by Japanese fishers to record their catches, Gyotaku has evolved into a widely practiced art that blends scientific observation with expressive image-making. Each print is both a record and a tribute—preserving the creature’s form while reflecting the complex relationships between marine life, human activity, and ecological systems.

No registration or Free. By donation. $30 donation recommended

Website civicstudies.ca/ocean-art/