New Virtual Exhibition: “Once Upon a Dune: Coastal (Hi)Stories”
17.07.2025
We at the Rachel Carson Center are excited to announce the publication of the virtual exhibition “Once Upon a Dune: Coastal (Hi)Stories,” curated by André Kirouac and former Carson fellow Joana Gaspar de Freitas. The exhibition shares plural views on coastal issues and highlights the importance of taking this diversity into account when working toward an ecological future—because beaches are made up of sea and sand but also of people’s expectations and choices.
Borderland. Photograph by Nicholas Allen. CC BY 4.0.
About the Exhibition
In April 2024, at a workshop at the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, specialists from both hemispheres and diverse fields—from the arts and humanities to earth and life sciences—gathered to discuss dunes. Despite different scientific languages, the shared perspectives were complementary, as dunes are shaped by both natural forces and human values and actions. As sea-level rise and erosion threaten coastal livelihoods, vast resources are invested in some regions in preserving dunes as vital ecosystems and natural flood defenses, while in other places they continue to be destroyed by urbanization, tourism, and the use of sand as a raw material. In the face of environmental crises, thoughtful choices must be made. The contributors’ interdisciplinary insights offer a unique vision of dunes as a shared hybrid heritage, demonstrating the potential of establishing a dialogue between the sciences and the humanities in a rational and equitable adaptation to the coastal areas of the future. Each contributor has chosen an image or object that reflects both their emotional and professional connection to dunes—inviting visitors to think about it for themselves.
Citation
Gaspar de Freitas, Joana, André Kirouac, Barbara Palmer Rousseau, Antonio Ortega Santos, Liliana N. Duarte, Nicholas Allen, Margarida Vale de Gato, Steve Mentz, Carlos Pereira da Silva, Raquel Ferreira, Ana Luiza Souza, Miguel Albuquerque, Davis de Paula, M. Luisa Martínez, Celso Aleixo Pinto, and Ruwan Sampath. “Once Upon a Dune: Coastal (Hi)Stories.” Environment & Society Portal, Virtual Exhibitions 2025, no. 1. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. https://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/once-upon-dune/