Salish Symphony
An immersive installation at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art brings the underwater world of bull kelp to life.
By Seattle Mag October 14, 2025
Step inside the glass atrium of the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, and you’ll find yourself surrounded by the sea.
Kelp Reverberations, which opened in late September, transforms the space into an underwater world—one that hums, sways, and glows with the life of the Salish Sea.
A collaboration between a group of artists and scientists familiar with the ecology of local kelp forests, the exhibition combines images, sound, sculpture, and data mapping to bring attention to the presence and decline of bull kelp in the San Juan Islands.
Bay Area artist and author Josie Iselin fills the atrium with floating cyanotype banners—deep blue prints created using sunlight and seaweed specimens that capture the intricate beauty of underwater life. A soundscape by designer Ken Pearce and Canadian composer Jonathan Kawchuk surrounds visitors with the subtle hum of the ocean, while Puget Sound artist Betsy Peabody contributes sculptural works made from locally gathered bull kelp.
Mapping and data from the Samish Indian Nation reveal how kelp beds around the islands have changed over time, linking the installation’s beauty to an urgent environmental story.
Kelp Reverberations is presented in collaboration with Above/Below, the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, and Washington Sea Grant, and is on display through Dec. 1.
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