When Waters Speak: new interdisciplinary collaboration

Poster for When Water Speaks: Valuing Water Through Science and Art. Background is a photo of a lake in front of mountains.

We are delighted that a TORCH project from 2014 has continued to impact on new work from one of its organisers, Dr Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey

Two webinars, the first of which will be held on World Water Day (22 March), will discuss the impact of climate change on water and rivers and explore how science and art can come together to value water and encourage action.

Dr Ponchione-Bailey’s own ventures into uniting science and art include two recent pieces made with the Orchestra of St John’s and pecq, which you can view below.

On the trajectory of her exploration, Dr Ponchione-Bailey writes:

‘The 2014 conference, Art, Science & the Thirsty World, cast together academics in the arts and the sciences to invesitgate interdisciplinary practice through collaborative presentations and performances. It facilitated dialogue between researchers and practitioners in the arts, sciences and engineering and sought to foster creative, innovative and trans-disciplinary discussions about water scarcity solutions.

We partnered with Eriberto Eulisse, now founding director of the Global Network of Water Museums (UNESCO), to present conference outcomes in the form of a video installation and panel discussion at AQUAE Venezia 2015 in the Arsenale di Venezia for the exhibition ‘Visualising Water Worlds’ sponsored by EXPO Venice and EXPO Milano.

When Waters Speak builds on this collaboration to promote international dialogue on the intersection of the arts and sciences in response to increasing water insecurity and climate change.

The webinars will feature two new music videos I released this year with the Orchestra of St John’s, Earth Flow and Reaching Water, as part of my own ongoing exploration of how orchestras can leverage their unique resources to address the climate crisis. These works are the first two in a series of new electro-orchestral compositions composed by Oxford’s own ‘psych pop band’ pecq in response to water science research, with videography by Ross Harrison. The screenings will provide a point of departure for the interdisciplinary discussions.’

To join the When Waters Speak webinars on 22 March and 28 May 2021, and to find out more, visit the Water Museums website.

Learn more about Art, Science, and the Thirsty World.

Earth Flow

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9b4-uVIj5Mw

Reaching Water