About

CURATORIAL STATEMENT

We are artists and practitioners who work with water as site and material in response to the urgency of a changing climate, increasing urban density, and a burgeoning public awareness of ecological concerns. Their works connect to current economic, political, and global issues, and are in conversation with the traditions of Land Art, Public Art, and Performance Art, among others.

Water is a challenging medium—a formidable force—and it is inherently collaborative and cross-disciplinary. Water invites curiosity and passion but working with water also requires respect, rigor and expertise. The works and events within the triennial are built to ignite audience imagination and invite each individual to be a change agent through shared creativity, knowledge, and contemplation of the past, present, and future of water in New York City.

For the artists in Works on Water, it is a core value to offer their work as inviting the audience to become civically engaged citizens, rather than consumer or spectator. This social practice helps raise awareness and lead to solutions around significant environmental issues. We hope that your involvement with Works on Water leads you, our guest, to reconsider water, in all of its contexts.

We  welcome to you to participate in this essential, ongoing, and cross-disciplinary dialogue as an individual, as a member of our community and as a global citizen.

– Emily Blumenfeld, Carolyn Hall, sTo Len, Clarinda Mac Low, Eve Mosher, Nancy Nowacek, Nicki Pombier, Maya Shah, and Sarah Cameron Sunde