During the preliminary study period from 2024 to 2025, the network organised site visits to each island, hosted by the partners, with the aim of developing plans for future activities. These visits brought the partners together to develop ideas with invited researchers and artists. The visits were attended by artists from Sweden, Finland and Estonia who work with environmental and climate issues in their practice, as well as local artists.

During the visits, the network has met with local researchers and visited research stations with links to the Baltic Sea. The first visit, hosted by the Baltic Art Centre, took place on Gotland in October 2024. The network then visited Kordon on Hiiumaa in February 2025 and CAA on Seili in April 2025.

The Red Herring network aims to bring the worlds of research and artistic practice together on a Baltic Sea-based platform, developing methods for interdisciplinary collaboration and addressing the concerns and challenges of the islands. We are now seeking funding and collaborations to expand the network in the Baltic Sea region while planning specific projects and activities. Our goal is for Red Herring to develop fieldwork methods that facilitate in-depth dialogue between art and science. A central focus will be demonstrating how these methods can reveal new insights into the interplay between ecological, cultural, geopolitical, and socio-economic changes, history, and potential futures of the sea.