curatorial statement

This second installment in the second year of Works on Water’s three year triennial turns to future imaginings. The second cohort of WoWhaus Resident artists’ and Tending the Edge artists’ projects call attention to the waters that connect us and lead us towards an equitable future with care.

As in the first iteration of our Triennial in July of this year, all of these works, which call attention to marginalized ecological community members, scales of time, and measures and methods of care compelled by the waters of our city, reflect Works on Water's core beliefs about Water Art. What does it mean to work on, in and with waters, as collaborators and kin? In our October 31 Triennial, debut our Tending the Edge broadside, highlighting the work of our contributors in raising awareness of our important and impending waterfront issues during the mayoral election cycle. 

The projects listed below will be on October 31 from noon - 6:15. Most of the projects will be sited within the front and back yards of the Works on Water house in Nolan Park. The artists featured in the exhibition are John Atkinson, Electric Djinn, Amy Wetsch, KC Trommer, Elizabeth Velazquez, Cody Herrmann, Dennis Redmoon Darkeem, Ella Mahoney, Clarinda Mac Low, Nancy Nowacek, Dylan Gauthier, Sarah Cameron Sunde and Nathan Kensinger, sTo Len, Ray Jordan Achan, and Maya Ciarrocchi.

Also join us on October 29 at 4:30pm for a special preview event screening of documentation from Jukwaa Arts' Bahari Huru festival on the coast of Kenya. More info can be found here.

The Works on Water Triennial 2020 - 2022

Works on Water’s 2nd triennial began in 2020, and acknowledging the pandemic, the exhibition has become durational: a three year show. Tending the Edge, a continuation of Walking the Edge (2020), opened the 2021 triennial summer. It featured 15 artist performances and interventions in response to the lens of the next Comprehensive Waterfront Plan. artist works invited NYC mayoral candidates and New Yorkers alike to see themselves as island inhabitants and flex their power to affect change.

The 2021 Triennial Summer concludes with a day-long exhibitions at the WoWHaus on Governors Island, showcasing installations, performances and public engagements from the Works on Water 2021 artists-in-residence and Tending the Edge artists.

MAP OF TRIENNIAL PROJECTS

1. Ray Achan Jordan

2. John Atkinson

3. Maya Ciarrocchi

4. Dennis Redmoon Darkeem

5. Electric Djinn

6. Dylan Gauthier

7. Cody Ann Herrmann

8. Clarinda Mac Low 

9. Ella Mahoney 

10. sTo Len

11. Nancy Nowacek

12. Sarah Cameron Sunde and Nathan Kensinger

13. KC Trommer

14. Amy Wetsch

15. Elizabeth Velazquez

TRIENNIAL ARTIST PROJECTS

Program:

12:00pm - 6:15 pm: Exhibition of Artworks + Open Studios in and around the WoWhaus 

12:30: Virtual opening of Here is an Island by Dylan Gauthier

1:00pm: Sinking Shore Conversation with Clarinda Mac Low and Carolyn Hall

2:00pm Elizabeth Velazquez Artist Talk

3:00pm Performance: Drawn Ashore with Amy Wetsch, Ronit Levin Delgado, and music by John Atkinson at the water’s edge

4:00pm Sinking Shore Conversation with Clarinda Mac Low and Carolyn Hall

5:30pm Performance: Liminal Bodies | Part I with Electric Djinn. Co-produced with Mallika Chandaria, Choreography and Dance by Nicolas Fiery & Sofía Forero, Additional Dancers: Maya Balam Meyong, Noa Chaney, Reché Nelson.

VISTOR INFORMATION

• The WoWHaus is at House 5B in Nolan Park on Governors Island 

• We will limit the number of people in the WoWhaus at any given time to 25, and ask that folks wear masks when indoors.   

• It is a requirement of NYC that all visitors to the WoWHaus must show proof of COVID vaccination and wear a mask if entering the house.

• Information about getting to Governors Island can be found here. Please note that you need to make a ferry reservation in advance for getting to the island (no reservation needed for your return trip).  

• Please note that the WoWHaus is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible but most of the work will be sited outdoors and we would love to help make accommodations so everyone can experience this work. Please be in touch if you need assistance or have any questions: info@worksonwater.org