Art Exhibit Examines Water in the Southwest
Feb. 1, 2021
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Tó éí ííńá át'é – Water is Life, in the Diné, or Navajo language. This truth is known to the Diné and throughout Arizona. A recent art exhibition, Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest, explores the complexities and challenges of water in the face of climate change, informed by cultural and scientific inquiry. In early 2019, a group of Arizona-based artists took part in a week-long water “boot-camp” organized through a collaboration between the Flagstaff Arts Council, Coconino Plateau Watershed Partnership, Northern Arizona University, and the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter. According to exhibition materials, the artists, together with water experts and exhibition curator Julie Comnick, traced water from Northern Arizona down to the Central Valley, gaining “insight into our intricate relationship with water in our natural, cultural, and political landscapes.” From this experience, in the fall of 2020, the artists created works of art installed as an exhibition at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a film documentary was produced to offer an opportunity for the wider community to see the artwork and hear the voices of the artists, scientists, and community leaders who joined efforts to create the exhibition. The exhibit has now moved to the Amerind Museum in Dragoon, AZ, where it will open February 2 and run through January 16, 2022. Photo: Josh BIggs