A part of The Ways of Water: Art, Activism, and Ecologies Symposium held on October 7-8, 2022, Converging Currents was an interactive workshop that brought together practitioners, community members, organizers, scholars, and creators across disciplines and media who center water at the heart of their work.
Both the workshop and the larger symposium were centered around the reality that water is nourishing and life-sustaining, but has also been commodified, polluted, and politicized. Converging Currents asked participants; how do we recognize and address the many ongoing and intertwined environmental injustices surrounding water? And how does our own relationship with water inform our approach?
Approximately 40 participants came together for 2 hours to share their experiences, ideas, and perspectives. The event drew community members from Ann Arbor to Detroit to Flint; scholars from colleges like the University of Michigan Flint and the University of Michigan Ann Arbor; and professionals from a wide variety of disciples. The participants were artists, geographers, biochemists, students, museum and library staff, activists, environmental professionals, volunteer coordinators, curators and more.
Through hands-on-activities and facilitated conversations, Converging Currents built capacity for new collaborations across seemingly divergent approaches and interrogated what cultural institutions like museums, libraries, and galleries can do to support environmental justice movements.
The Converging Currents Organizers would like to share their deep gratitude for everyone who spoke candidly about difficult topics and challenges that are personal and political. We would also like to acknowledge that these conversations are part of the important environmental justice work being done across the state of Michigan, the nation, and the world. The ideas, philosophies, and calls-to-action on this site are the work of the participants including:
Jade Marks, Justin Schell, Srimoyee Mitra, Jennifer Friess, Lisa Borgsdorf, Jennifer Junkermeier-Khan, Morgan P. Vickers, Osman Khan, Senghor Reid, María Arquero de Alarcón, Amber Hasan, Shea Cobb, Big Juicy, Daniel Brown, Cedric Taylor, David Porter, Lisa Lapeyrouse, Ash Arder, Nikesh Dahal, Erica Gardner, Krista Sheneman, Pratap Rughani, Nayyirah Shariff, Melissa Mays, Jim Leija, Jason Frenzel, Erin Gallay, Stephanie Smith, Rozalinda Borcila, Doug Fogelson, Chris Audain, Abhishek Narula, So Eun "Sophia" Moon, Grace Dirig, Olivia Williams, Leah Crosby, Nicole Persad, Ikalanni Jahi, Stephanie Prechter, Dougy Plott, Rosie Friend
Converging Currents Organizers
Jennifer Junkermeier-Khan, Jade Marks, Srimoyee Mitra, and Justin Schell
Partners + Sponsors
The Ways of Water: Art, Activism, and Ecologies Symposium was co-presented by Stamps Gallery and UMMA, in partnership with the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History and the University of Michigan Library; co-sponsored by U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, U-M Joseph A. Labadie Collection; and supported by the U-M Office of the Vice President for Research and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
The Ways of Water: Art, Activism, and Ecologies Symposium is organized by Lisa Borgsdorf, Jennifer Friess, Jennifer Junkermeier-Khan, and Srimoyee Mitra. Thanks to the following who have helped with the symposium including: Isabella de la Mora, Kate Donoghue, Gillian Donoghue, Mira Hughes, Nicholas Lamarca, Lauren McHale Mills, Joseph Rohrer, Grace Sirman, Chloe Schans, Nina Walker, and Benjamin Woodworth.