This month marks 5 years of the Coral City Camera, our ongoing live stream of Miami’s underwater world! To celebrate this milestone, have a listen to an NPR All Things Considered segment with Colin.

Thank You to everyone who has watched, chatted, and shown support over the years!

Update 7/4/25: check out an interview on the CCC with Popular Science @ https://www.popsci.com/environment/miami-coral-reef-livestream/

Our soundtrack ‘Anthozoa’ off the just-released Topo Chico x Terrestrial Funk Sabores Sounds EP is now available to stream and download on all platforms. Have a listen:

We are proud to release the limited edition Reef x Coral Morphologic Homeys, a Coral Morph-inspired cushioned slipper that celebrates the warmth and color of the coral reef during the winter months, when ocean time is limited.

Available in blue / neon green in men’s and tan / white in unisex, every sale benefits the Coral City Foundation’s efforts to upkeep the Coral City Camera and support ongoing CCF restoration projects. A perfect slipper to kick back and tune in to the CCC, the Coral Morph Homeys redefine the concept of the home shoe while making a meaningful impact. Read more about the collaboration here.

Shop the Reef x Coral Morphologic Homeys @ https://www.reef.com/products/mens-slippers-cushion-homey-blue-coral?variant=45318821281947

The Reef x Coral Morphologic Homey in blue / neon green.

The Reef x Coral Morphologic Homey in tan / white.

Our album Coral Morphologic 2 is now available in physical formats (vinyl / CD / cassette) from Miami’s Terrestrial Funk. The vinyl LP includes a foldout poster featuring album artwork by Robert Beatty. Pick up a copy @ https://terrestrialfunk.com/products/coral-morphologic-coral-morphologic-2-tf011presale

We are proud to announce the forthcoming physical release of our album Coral Morphologic 2 via Miami’s best, Terrestrial Funk. To celebrate, have a listen to ‘Meridiem Suite’, a 3-song section from the album.

Secure your copy of Coral Morphologic 2 @ https://terrestrialfunk.com/products/coral-morphologic-coral-morphologic-2-tf011presale

We are “Coral Morphologically dreaming” with ‘Rewilding,’ a new song from legendary musician Thurston Moore. Listen to ‘Rewilding’ below and stay tuned for Moore’s new album Flow Critical Lucidity, out via Daydream Library Series.

We are thrilled share we’ve contributed coral fluorescence cinematography to the ‘Out of the Ashes’ episode of Netflix’s nature documentary Life on Our Planet, produced by Steven Spielberg and narrated by Morgan Freeman. Life on Our Planet premieres Wednesday, October 25 on Netflix.

Aqua Garden Flow, our audiovisual collaboration with Laraaji and Robert Beatty first presented live in concert this past May at the Miami Beach Bandshell, is here to stream! Watch the official film free @ https://vimeo.com/showcase/aquagardenflow

Natasha Tonić x Coral Morphologic Coral City collection runway show at Paraiso Miami Swim Week 2023.

We are proud to have debuted a new swimwear collaboration with Natasha Tonić at Paraiso Miami Swim Week 2023. Watch the full runway show live from the Paraiso fashion tent, which ran on Sunday, June 11, 2023.

Since their first collection in 2017, Natasha Tonić has led the swimwear industry towards an organic future by utilizing hemp fabrics because microplastics from nylon and other petroleum-based synthetic fabrics are an increasing concern to ocean health. With the Coral City collection, NT takes the commitment to sustainability one step further by planting one coral for every swimsuit purchased. Pieces in the collection feature coral designs inspired by our coral photography and the Coral City Camera.

Corals will be planted to the reefs of Bali by Indonesian non-profit Ocean Gardener, who have developed a restoration technique that uses organic ropes and wooden stakes to restore damaged reefs without the use of plastics.

Shop the Coral City collection @ https://natashatonic.com/collections/coral-city

A supercut of the show.

Swimwear design by Natasha Tonić ~ Video and prints by Coral Morphologic ~ Soundtrack by Kimi Recor ~ Jewelry by Tiffany Kunz ~ Hair by Kevin Murphy ~ Makeup by New York Makeup Academy ~ Production by Paraiso Miami Beach and Funkshion. Full show credits here.

On Sunday, May 21st, the live audiovisual experience that was Aqua Garden Flow gently pulsed in and out of the historic Miami Beach Bandshell like a jellyfish on the tide. Laraaji and Arji OceAnanda‘s shimmering, joyous score of the film we created with Robert Beatty navigated mangrove stands, seagrass beds, and labyrinths of coral caves to arrive at a journey’s end shared by hundreds—one that felt like the beginning of a new era for Coral Morphologic.

We wish heartfelt thanks to Laraaji, Arji, Robert, and the team at the Rhythm Foundation / Miami Beach Bandshell for an amazing creative collaboration, immersive production, and fit venue for us all to witness Aqua Garden Flow come to life.

Post-Aqua Garden Flow bliss. Laraaji, Colin Foord, Robert Beatty, J.D. McKay, and Arji OceAnanda.

Watch the live performance of Aqua Garden Flow above.

We and Rhythm Foundation are proud to announce Aqua Garden Flow, a special live audiovisual performance from legendary ambient musician Laraaji accompanied by Coral Morphologic films with animations by Robert Beatty, on Sunday, May 21st, 2023 at the Miami Beach Bandshell. Laraaji, joined by Arji OceAnanda, will perform Aqua Garden Flow, a new piece of music composed to the films of Coral Morphologic. This landmark performance is the inaugural installment in a new series of live audiovisual ambient collaborations from the Miami Beach Bandshell and Coral Morphologic as part of the Bandshell Laboratories initiative. Join us for an unforgettable, transcendent experience of healing music and film.

Purchase tickets to Aqua Garden Flow @ https://link.dice.fm/ka349b2f5bbf

Watch the full Projections of a Coral City program above.

The sun has set on Projections of a Coral City, our largest installation to date, and we are thankful for everyone who made this monumental work possible. From the Knight Foundation’s continued support of our mission, to the collaborative spirit of the Arsht Center, to the hundreds of thousands of people who witnessed this installation: we are eternally grateful.

Projections of a Coral City was the 15-year culmination of our goal to create a new mythology for the city of Miami — one that tells the story of past, present, and future sea-level rise and fall and the ouroboros of architectural development — of the ancient coral reef tract’s calcium carbonate structures and its re-use millennia later in concrete skyscrapers of present day. We hope that Projections of a Coral City shed light on the sea-level rise projections referenced in the project’s title, and how the City’s buildings and infrastructure might be reclaimed by coral as an artificial reef should humanity not act to prevent and mitigate the effects of climate change, to which Miami is among the most vulnerable cities on Earth.

Special Thanks to the Knight Foundation, whose generous support made POACC possible; the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, who graciously hosted the event; the dream team of creatives that helped us bring POACC to life; and Light Harvest / A3 Visual for the absolutely stunning projection display.

Please see the Projections of a Coral City website for full info and production credits @ https://projectionsofacoralcity.com/

Read coverage of Projections of a Coral City from the Miami Herald.

Coral Morphologic: J.D. McKay & Shadow (left) / Colin Foord & Kardtigan (right).

Today, October 6th, marks 15 years of Coral Morphologic! Here’s us celebrating @ CM HQ with the lab cats. Thank You to everyone who has shown us love and support over the years: you know who you are and we love you too!

ABC WPLG Local 10 anchor / reporter Louis Aguirre donned a wetsuit, mask, and snorkel to visit the Coral City Camera with Colin the day after the University of Miami’s Rescue a Reef program transplanted endangered elkhorn corals alongside the staghorn corals they transplanted last year. Watch the feature above / read the story @ https://tinyurl.com/ynaxu428

Rescue a Reef explains what they hope to achieve in this exciting new chapter in Coral City:

‘One year ago, the Rescue a  Reef team from the University of Miami outplanted colonies of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) at the Coral City Camera to create a public-facing restoration site and better understand how corals adapt to urban environments. We were thrilled with their success! To expand on this small-scale experiment, we outplanted twenty-five colonies of elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) at the CCC and will monitor their growth, productivity, and resilience over the next year! The new corals consisted of five different genotypes that were put through heat stress testing by UM and the Shedd Aquarium, and included some of the most successful in the face of rising temperatures. This experiment was designed to be a springboard for expanded research and explore novel ways to garden and restore corals in urban environments. Along with a greater understanding of our Coral City, we hope that having a public-facing coral restoration site will help communities make a stronger connection with corals and give them more incentives to fight to protect them!’

Update 4/22/24: ABC WPLG Local 10 has named Colin a ‘Don’t Trash Our Treasure’ most treasured citizen for his work with the Coral City Camera.

As reported in the Miami New Times, in June 2022, a combination of heavy rains and an ancient crumbling seawall in the process of reinforcement along Star Island’s southwest corner resulted in its collapse. The collapse was discovered by our colleagues at NOAA who arrived there by boat to study the nature and resilience of the urban corals in North Biscayne Bay. This is in addition to sites on the north and south side of the MacArthur Causeway and the east end of PortMiami near the Coral City Camera. Brain corals from these sites were analyzed and published ‘Molecular Mechanisms of Coral Persistence Within Highly Urbanized Locations in PortMiami’ in 2021, the first paper of its kind to offer an explanation for the success of these corals compared to their offshore counterparts. 

Coral Morphologic first began exploring these urban habitats after documenting an unusual Acropora sp. inside Government Cut in 2009 which totally upended the idea of what an ‘ideal’ habitat was for these endangered stony corals. We subsequently started exploring areas deeper in North Biscayne Bay and found surprisingly robust populations of reef building corals. When a historic cold snap in January 2010 left them unphased (while the Florida Keys nearshore corals were all but wiped out), we began to suspect that the corals in these habitats were truly special, and scientifically valuable for research. 

Colin first observed the Star Island seawall on Feb 14th 2013 when Gloria Estefan’s son Nayib asked him to document the marine life living along their riprap seawall (she was so happy to learn how healthy it was!). He was amazed by the life on these rocks, and how many more fish there were around them then on the neighboring seawall that lacked riprap. But upon closer inspection there were several very large Orbicella faveolata encrusted directly on it and multiple large brain corals at the base of it. This seawall at 40 Star Island Drive was likely the oldest seawall in Miami, possibly dating back to its development in the 1920s. 

When the SCTLD (Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease) outbreak took off in 2015 we observed that these urban corals seemed to be more resistant to it, and would often survive with partial mortality. With these anecdotal observations, Dr. Ian Enochs of NOAA reached out to us about setting up a formal investigation to see how these corals might differ from their offshore counterparts.

In early 2020 with the launch of the Coral City Camera, the CURES (Coral Urban Research Experimental Site) nursery was set up within view at the east end of Port Miami where research continues to this day (and now serves as an experimental research site for Rescue a Reef to ‘stress adapt’ their corals to help find more resilient strains that will be useful in the restoration of Miami’s nearshore reefs). 

After NOAA and the University of Miami performed the rescue of the corals at 40 Star Island in July, they repatriated a number of them to an offshore ‘Spawning Hub’ on Rainbow Reef where they will be able to spawn with other members of their species and hopefully provide some other their resilient genetics and microbiome to the next generation. Fifteen colonies and fragments of corals were also brought to the Coral City Camera site at PortMiami where they were cemented down by UM scientists. Several weeks later, all these transplanted corals have survived and appear to be settling in nicely to their new urban coral community.

Update 11/2/22: Watch a follow-up feature on the seawall collapse and coral rescue with ABC WPLG Local 10 anchor / reporter Louis Aguirre:

We are excited to present Illuminating Coral, an eight-episode educational course created with our longtime collaborator John McSwain during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The course, made exclusively with Parley for the Oceans, dives into the lives’ of coral, sheds light on their vital role in our global ecosystem, and offers solutions on how humans and coral can live in symbiosis both now and in the future. Watch Illuminating Coral in full via the Parley Ocean School @ https://edu.parley.tv/course/illuminating-coral/

AP News has released a CM interview with updates on our latest film work, speaking appearances, and Coral City Camera milestones. Read @ https://apnews.com/article/climate-science-miami-corals-coral-reefs-37240aae96c867bec34c104c722cc82f

Coral Morphologic in the laboratory / studio, 2022. Photographs by Lynne Sladky.

Read additional pieces from CBS Miami and NBC Miami.

Miami aka Coral City.

Coral Morphologic will be proudly representing Miami’s underwater denizens at the inaugural Aspen Ideas: Climate conference, May 9-12 with a nightly showing of our film Coral City Fluorotour on the New World Center’s wallcast and speaking on the panel ‘The Ocean is a Climate Superhero.’

The morning of Wednesday, May 11th Colin will join Swati Thiyagarajan and Barton Seaver in conversation on how the ocean is poised to be a hero in the fight against climate change, with natural systems that help undo the damage human activity has caused.

Wallcast showings of Coral City Fluorotour follow the evening speaking sessions, beginning at 8pm, and are free and open to the public. For more information, programming, and to obtain passes, please visit www.aspenideasclimate.org

A still from Coral City Fluorotour. Fluorescent staghorn coral at the Coral City Camera site.

Our album Coral Morphologic 1 is now available in physical formats (vinyl / CD / cassette) from Miami’s Terrestrial Funk. The vinyl LP includes a foldout poster featuring album artwork by Robert Beatty. Pick up a copy @ https://terrestrialfunk.com/products/coral-morphologic-coral-morphologic-1-tf008

We are excited to be included in ‘Un lago de jade verde‘ – the inaugural exhibition by the Institute for Postnatural Studies. Our film Natural History Redux will be on display as part of the show from October 14, 2021 – March 13, 2022. The exhibition is located on the 5th floor of the CentroCentro cultural center in Madrid, Spain.

“A Green Jade Lake is envisioned as an experiential journey that invites the visitor to wander through its different rooms and landscapes and to reflect on the idea of nature in the contemporary moment. In a situation of ecological fragility, we need to rethink the relationships and flows that are established between humans, ecosystems and their environments, and to take into consideration the new complexities that exist between the natural and the artificial.

Taking the image of a forest as its starting point, as the threshold beyond which categories become entwined, the exhibition includes experience, fiction, artistic work and research to allow us to explore new ways in which we can interact with the planet. Addressing different subjects such as coexistence, botany, territorial policies or the aesthetics associated with the representation of nature, the exhibition is understood as a constellation that creates open and transformative universes.

This exhibition proposes a new contemporary approach to nature in which all audiences, all bodies and all voices can participate.”

Artists: Coral Morphologic, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, Fabian Knecht, Geocinema, Gerard Ortín Castellví, Jana Winderer, Jessica Sarah Rinland, Jonathas de Andrade, Lola Zoido, Maria Nolla, Mauricio Freyre, Michael Wang, Mónica Mays, Tomás Díaz Cedeño, Ursula Biemann, +

Update 1/13/22: View and download the ‘Un lago de jade verde’ exhibition book @ https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/Un_lago_de_jade_verde.pdf

We are proud to unveil the Volcom x Coral Morphologic collection, a men’s / women’s clothing line featuring our flower anemone and brain coral photography blended with classic Volcom design. The collection explores the interface of land and sea, or surf zone, and is focused on surf and swimwear. With global coral reef habitats on the brink of ecological collapse, this collaboration was born out of a mutual desire to promote the restoration of coral reefs around the world.

The garments feature Eco True production, Volcom’s ongoing effort of turning sustainability commitments into actions with responsible manufacturing practices, better fiber sourcing, assessing impacts, and meaningful give backs. In addition to organic cotton and water-saving digital printing, the collection features Econyl®, a regenerated nylon yarn made from discarded fishing nets and other post consumer waste.

Shop the collection @ https://web.archive.org/web/20220509055324/https://www.volcom.com/collections/coral-morph

We are psyched to share BBC Outlook has released an audio interview on the origins of Coral Morphologic and the long road to our latest project, the Coral City Camera. Listen @ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08lqyzy and watch a feature on the CCC below.

Update 1/31/21: listen to an updated version of the BBC Outlook interview @ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszf12 and read articles featuring the CCC from the Miami Herald, Pitchfork, NBC 6 South Florida, WLRN South Florida, and Miami New Times.

We are proud to announce the official launch of the Coral City Camera, an underwater camera streaming live from our joint urban coral research site with NOAA’s AOML Coral Program. Watch the CCC live at coralcitycamera.com, and for a soundtrack to accompany the view, listen to the Coral City Camera mix series.

We kicked off the launch with a party at Pérez Art Museum on the Miami waterfront. Romulo Del Castillo provided the Miami jams following a panel discussion led by National Geographic explorer Alizé Carrère featuring Colin, NOAA scientist Dr. Ian Enochs, and Miami Beach’s environment & sustainability director Elizabeth Wheaton.

Massive Thanks to our CCC collaborators Bridge Initiative and Bas Fisher Invitational, NOAA’s AOML Coral Program, Reuben Molinares, who created the CCC website with art by Brian Butler, and the myriad of supporters who made this project a reality.

The CCC floating on Biscayne Bay – 2.6.20.

Update 6/1/20: The CCC is now screening at the Miami International Airport as part of the Miami International Airport Moving Images (MIAmi) video installation series, located near gate J7:

Update 10/16/20: The CCC is now screening at the HistoryMiami Museum.

Update 12/9/20: The CCC has been named ‘Best Public Art’ in Miami New Times’ Best of Miami 2020 issue.

Update 12/1/21: The CCC is now screening at University of Miami’s Lowe Art Museum:

Join us Thursday, February 6th as we launch the Coral City Camera, our publicly accessible 360-degree livestream of a thriving, urban coral reef premiering at Pérez Art Museum Miami from a floating billboard in Biscayne Bay, produced by Bridge Initiative & Bas Fisher Invitational. Admission is free and open to the public as part of PAMM’s First Free Thursdays series.

In conjunction with the floating livestream, National Geographic Explorer Alizé Carrère will moderate a panel discussion featuring NOAA scientist Dr. Ian Enochs, Coral Morphologic’s Colin Foord, and Miami Beach’s environment & sustainability director Elizabeth Wheaton. The night continues on the terrace with a DJ set by Romulo Del Castillo. See you there, Miami!

Over the past several years we’ve been working toward the installation of an underwater camera in Biscayne Bay as a component of our research into Miami’s coral ecosystems. Recently, with the support of Bas Fisher Invitational & Bridge Initiative under National Endowment for the Arts & Knight Foundation grants, we installed a 360° live stream underwater camera at our collaborative research site with NOAA’s AOML Coral Program. In addition to providing valuable scientific data, the live stream will be available free to the public as an educational tool and source of wonderment. The Coral City Camera live stream will be officially available to watch in February, with a preview at Design Miami/ December 3-8. Check out the video above to see how the camera was installed with View Into the Blue.

We are happy to report the new adidas flagship store in London features a Coral Morphologic video installation. Follow this link for the adidas_LDN location on Oxford Street and watch a tour of the store here.

We are thrilled to share a mini-documentary Instagram produced on our work. Watch above or via the app.

Pick up the 10th issue of FLOOD Magazine featuring a cover story on Animal Collective wherein they detail their history and our collaboration Tangerine Reef. Read the article here.

We are thrilled to share we’ll be curating ‘An Evening with Coral Morphologic‘ at the historic Tower Theater Miami on April 30th. In addition to inaugurating Tower’s new lobby projection system with a CM audiovisual installation, we’ll be showing a film program in the theater consisting of Miami’s first official Tangerine Reef screening, John McSwain’s CM documentary Coral City, and a Q & A session with CM, McSwain, and Brian Weitz of Animal Collective moderated by Miami-based writer and photographer Monica Uszerowicz.

The event is free and open to the public but we kindly ask patrons to RSVP at this link. The audiovisual installation/ happy hour runs 5-7pm, and the film program/ Q & A runs 7-9pm. We will have a version of the poster above for sale at the event, designed by Rob Carmichael of SEEN Studio.

Update 5/1/19: Our audiovisual installation in the theater’s lobby will run till early December – if you are in the area feel free to stop in and check it out.