By day the 70-tonne sailing ship Arka Kinari hosts workshops on environmental sustainability and conversations with local communities. By night the vessel transforms into a stage for a free, exhilarating performance by Grey Filastine (Spain) and Nova Ruth (Indonesia), a multimedia duo who use their extraordinary music and cinematic visuals to help us imagine life after the carbon economy, promote resilience and re-engagement with the sea. In collisions of psychedelic beats, Javanese post-folk and analogue synths with video, design and dance, they express a radically different vision of the possible. 

The ship comes with a fitting name, too. Arka, Latin for vessel, from the verb arcere, meaning “to hold off or defend”. And Kinari, from Sanskrit – a half-human, half-bird musician, guardian of the tree of life.

Launched in 2019 with a voyage across the Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific, Arka Kinari uses humanity’s first global network – the sea – to revive ancient maritime trade-routes. Reversing the colonial spice routes of the past, this ship comes from the east and bears culture and hope as its cargo. See it before it sets sail again.