Travelling art exhibit on water justice comes to Western U
An international art exhibit focusing on water justice is coming to Western University this week.
A travelling exhibit called “Confluency” is making its first stop at the John Labatt Visual Arts Centre on campus. The focus is on water justice, an issue linked to climate change and accessibility to clean water.
The exhibit began in South Africa, but Lesley Gittings, assistant professor in the School of Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences at Western, helped coordinate the exhibit and is part of its research team.
“The idea behind the exhibition was to bring together academics, activists, and artists around the key issue of water justice which is an issue all over the world,” said Gittings. “A second objective is to make art accessible and to invite people into the exhibition in interactive ways.”
The exhibit is part of Western’s Riverfest, which is co-organized by the Indigenous Students’ Association, Indigenous Student Centre, and Western’s Sustainability office, which runs from September 9 to October 3.
Londoners are invited to interact with sculptures, videos, poetry, and more aspects within the exhibit.
On Friday, Gittings spoke of an art piece in the gallery that shows a water journey in South Africa as understood by different communities outside Cape Town.
“It's important because Cape Town was the world’s first major city to almost run out of water, so that brought up a lot of thought around issues of drought and water justice because people who were the most protected from the drought were those with the most access to resources,” she explained. “Poorer folks and racialized folks had the least amount of access.”
This is Western’s second year hosting Riverfest, a month-long series of events taking place on campus.
“It’s focused on building connections with the campus community and the river and the natural heritage on campus,” said Jessica Cordes, an engagement coordinator with Western’s Office of Sustainability.
“Our university is situated in the Carolinian life zone, which is one of the most bio-diverse regions in all of Canada. With the Thames River flowing through campus, we think it's important to create places and opportunities for our campus to connect,” said Cordes.
Speaking to the importance of water and accessibility to clean water, Ashley Kewayosh Samuel, student opportunities coordinator with the Indigenous Student Centre said,
“It gives us so much, it gives us our life. We can’t live without clean water, so this is an extension, it shows that all around the world people are doing that work. It's amazing to bring that here,”
Events for Riverfest can be found on the university’s Sustainability Office website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump returns to his campaign facing a warning of jail time if he violates a trial gag order
Donald Trump on Wednesday will use a one-day break from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least one debt expert.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Swarm of bees delays Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles game in Arizona. An 'MVP' beekeeper came to the rescue
Major League Baseball fans had an unexpected buzz on Tuesday after a swarm of bees delayed the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game for around two hours.
Newfoundland fisherman says police broke his leg during protest that delayed budget
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
A 98-year-old in Ukraine walked miles to safety from Russians, with slippers and a cane
A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking almost 10 kilometres (six miles) alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane has been reunited with her family days after they were separated while fleeing to safety.
It's opening day for the $34B Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion
Wednesday marks the official start date of the long-awaited $34-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project.
Will an 'out of sight, out of mind' cellphone policy make a difference in Ontario schools?
Ontario’s cellphone ban in schools has been met with mixed reaction, with some teachers concerned about constant policing of kids and experts applauding the change as necessary for student learning.