Women and Water Rights

I stopped by the Nash Gallery at the University of Minnesota to see Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration which looks to "examine how the inclusion of women in management of local and global water resources improves social, economic and environmental results," according to the U of M website.

Tonight there were several speakers, including Marilyn Cuneo, from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Liz Dodson from Women's Caucus for Art, Clarence Morgan, a U of M professor, and Diane Katsiaficas, another U of M professor and co-coordinator of the exhibit.

Also at the opening was a Native American Ritual by the Keepers of the Water. Lisa Bellanger, also known as Bizhiwens, said of the ceremony: "We do not come to perform this as a play, but to share our ceremony with you."

The pieces in the exhibit are varied, from a sculpture of a canoe to a video of an urban farming project. I noticed there were a number of textile pieces, including Barbara Riegel Bend's Women and the Watershed, a scupture made of fiber and other elements, which symbolized the important role that women play in the life source, used women as a metaphor for the life blood of the watershed. In Bend's sculpture, which is a figure of a woman holding many people in her embrace, depicts a river with zippers.

Another piece that I was drawn to was Kimber Olson's Point Zero, a triptych quilt calling for awareness of the decline of artic ice. Like Bend's piece, I was interested in the use of textiles to create a statement. I've never been drawn to any kind of textile work myself, but I realize that it is traditionally known as a womans' art form. I feel that the use of that kind of art form added to the message of the whole exhibit, which was to empower women in the struggle for water rights.

Sandy Spieler, Artistic Director of Heart of the Beast, also has a piece in the exhibit, called Cabinet of Water Curiosities, which is a series of boxes with messages like "A Watershed Runs Through You" on the outside, and depictions of the life water brings on the inside. Spieler is really the brainchild of the water awareness movement in Minneapolis. The issue has been addressed at Heart of the Beast, but she has also gained support of the Mayor as well, and was very influencial in the Public Water fountain project.