iWorld
Goa dives deep with immersive seaweed forest installation at Museum of Goa
MUMBAI: Goa is making waves without leaving dry land. From 24 to 30 January, the Museum of Goa will host Step into the Sea, a multi-disciplinary immersive installation that brings Goa’s little-known seaweed forests out of the water and into public view.
The installation offers audiences a rare chance to encounter one of the world’s oldest marine ecosystems. India is home to more than 800 known seaweed species, many forming dense underwater forests along its coast. In Goa, Sargassum seaweed forests bloom seasonally between November and March, quietly sustaining marine biodiversity while remaining largely invisible to everyday life.
Step into the Sea aims to change that. Conceptualised by The Good Ocean and Jolchhobi Collective, the project marks the first visual documentation of India’s seaweed forests. Using underwater cinematography, spatial soundscapes, projection mapping, live performance and narrative design, the installation recreates the sensation of swimming through a living seaweed forest off the Goan coast.
“Seaweed forests are among our oldest living ecosystems, yet they rarely enter public conversation,” says marine conservationist and The Good Ocean founder Gabriella D’Cruz. “This installation invites people to experience them not as abstract science, but as living systems that support our coastline and our wellbeing.”
The underwater visuals are led by filmmaker and cinematographer Nefertiti Titli of Jolchhobi Collective, with sound design by Pruthu Parab (Echologue) and immersive technology by creative technologist Priyanka Yadav (Poyo). Together, the team blends ecology with sensory storytelling, encouraging audiences to slow down and reconnect with the ocean as a living presence.
The installation opens on Friday, 24 January, with a ticketed live solo performance by Sushmit Sen, former lead guitarist of Indian Ocean. This marks the first public unveiling of the work, with tickets available on District.
From 25 to 30 January, Step into the Sea will be open to the public free of charge. The week will also feature free sessions including The Story of Seaweed, a series of storytelling events offering insight into the research, ecology and creative thinking behind the project.
By placing the ocean inside a museum, Step into the Sea bridges contemporary art, environmental research and public engagement making marine stories accessible well beyond academic or specialist spaces.
Step into the Sea runs at the Museum of Goa from 25 to 30 January 2026, 10 am to 6 pm. Entry is free.
iWorld
Instagram Edits marks one year with 130 plus new features
Launched April 22, 2025, app adds teleprompter, ideas hub, weekly updates
MUMBAI: From rough cuts to smart edits, Instagram’s in-house creator tool has quietly been polishing its own story, one feature at a time. Instagram Edits, launched on April 22, 2025, has completed a year in the market with more than 130 features added since debut, reflecting a steady push to evolve into an all-in-one content creation platform.
Developed by Meta in collaboration with creators, the app was initially rolled out with a basic toolkit, with product development continuing post-launch through weekly updates shaped by user feedback. According to Brett Westervelt, who leads the Edits team, the approach has been iterative build, test, refine, repeat.
Over the past 12 months, the platform has focused on simplifying core editing tasks such as trimming, captioning, and audio-visual adjustments. Among the additions is an in-app teleprompter, designed to help users record content more seamlessly, alongside tools for script reading and voiceovers.
But Edits is no longer just about cutting clips. The app has expanded into the ideation phase with an “Ideas” hub, allowing users to store references such as saved reels, audio clips, and notes. It also offers personalised recommendations, comment insights, and automated prompts to help creators plan content more efficiently.
On the community front, the platform has introduced creator-led templates and educational tools, enabling users to explore and adapt project files to learn editing techniques. The next phase is expected to deepen this ecosystem, with more advanced templates and collaborative sharing features in the pipeline.
Looking ahead, Meta plans to roll out enhancements including bilingual captioning, advanced colour grading, and speed control tools, alongside greater customisation options that allow users to tailor workflows and interface layouts.
As short-form video continues to dominate digital consumption, Edits appears to be positioning itself not just as a tool, but as a creator companion, one that’s learning, quite literally, on the job.
