November 10, 2021
Watch the recording here.
As our climate changes, the water sector recognizes that business as usual is insufficient to ensure a sustainable water future for all. Water utilities are looking for new ideas and partners to reimagine their approaches to water planning and management, while authentically connecting with the communities they serve. Some have started to collaborate with artists and culture bearers to do so.
In 2020, the US Water Alliance launched the Water, Arts, and Culture Accelerator. This initiative established municipal water agency and local arts partnerships in Little Rock, AR; Madison, WI; Philadelphia, PA; and Tucson, AZ. By bringing water utilities and artists together, localities can accelerate action on climate change in the water sector, boost long-term strategies and investments in between extreme events, and help utilities and vulnerable communities address climate trauma to find common ground solutions. These teams have learned from one another and worked together, harnessing artistic interventions to better address water and climate challenges. Teams co-designed pilot projects rooted in community-centered approaches and processes.
This webinar will take participants on a journey to activate creative flooding communication and solutions in Philadelphia’s Germantown community, as well as the development of Tucson’s Chubasco Channel, a community-sourced experience of the shifting monsoons. Stories feature what challenge teams sought to address, the partnership they built, and recent progress on their projects.
Moderators:
Alexis Frasz, Co-Director, Helicon Collaborative
Katy Lackey, Senior Program Manager, US Water Alliance
Speakers:
Maura Jarvis, Community Outreach Specialist, Philadelphia Water Department
Alex! Jimenez, Artist, Print-maker, Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Tucson
Trapeta Mayson, Poet, Teaching Artist, Community Organizer, City of Philadelphia 2020-2021 Poet Laureate
Kelly Wiehe, Project Manager, Public Information and Conservation Office, Tucson Water
