One Water Artist-in-Residence Program

The One Water Artist-in-Residence reflects the long-term commitment of the US Water Alliance to integrate arts and culture into all aspects of our work. We believe that partnering with artists and using creative interventions will advance and accelerate our ability to achieve a sustainable water future for all.

Using Arts and Culture to foster organizational growth

The Artist-in-Residence is an annual position for a socially engaged artist at the Alliance. While each residency will be unique according to the interest and skills of the artist, over time this program will help the Alliance develop new knowledge, ideas, and approaches to problem-solving and engagement. The residency provides a working artist with an opportunity to contribute to some of the most innovative water solutions happening in America by working in close partnership with the Alliance’s staff and national network.

Benny Starr
Artist-in-Residence 2020-2021

Born in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, Benny Starr is constantly going against the grain while paying homage to the legends that came before him and crafting bodies of work that require your time and full attention. His most recent body of work, A Water Album, recorded live with his fellow bandmates The Four20s, at Charleston Music Hall, was released on Juneteenth 2019. Through a partnership with Native Son and his work with The Acres of Ancestry, Benny released Restoration: A Concert Film in November 2020. The film explores southern Black agrarian stories of self-determination, land ownership, and folk wit; amplifies ongoing struggles for restorative land justice in this country including the Black Farmers’ Appeal: Cancel Pigford Debt Campaign. In addition to serving as the US Water Alliance’s One Water Artist-in-Residence, Benny is collaborating with PolicyLink to develop a curriculum on partnerships for change through radical art and cultural engagement, as well as advising on arts strategies for the Water, Equity, and Climate Resilience Caucus.

Artist Reflections

Integrating arts and cultural strategies is new for the Alliance and the water sector. To help advance sector learning, Benny documented some of his conversations, dialogues, and learnings in real-time through monthly reflections, which can be found below. This is an opportunity for him to share his insights and emerging questions with the Alliance staff and the broader water sector. We welcome feedback and dialogue sparked by these reflections.
Learn more about storytelling, culture, and One Water

Reflections from Benny Starr

Summer 2021

Benny Starr writes on Juneteenth, the power of art and liberation, and his documentary, "Restoration: A Concert Film," which is being featured in national film festivals.

Earth Day 2021

Benny Starr discusses his "An Earth Day Score" playlist through a guest blog post for the Kresge Foundation to help us reflect on the connection between arts, music, and environmental protection.
Headshot of man in Grist feature yellow background

Spring 2021

Read Benny Starr’s reflection on being a 2021 Grist 50 Fixer and the power of art and water as we reimagine the way we live and connect with each other.

Winter 2021

US Water Alliance team member Sara Allen and Benny Starr sit down for a virtual coffee to discuss his background, artistic inspirations, and new beginnings at the Alliance.
Man on path black hat and black shirt outside

Fall 2020

Benny Starr reflects on a day without water and imagines a more equitable water future through a combination of commentary and musical performance.