03/05/2020
Water Week at Temple 2020- For Wide Distribution- for Media Inquiries, see below
The Boyer College of Music and Dance and the Center for Sustainable Communities at Temple University are excited to announce that March 20th through 27th will be Water Week at Temple. This series of free events draws together people from multiple disciplines to celebrate World Water Day, which happens every March 22. The United Nations has announced that the theme for this year is “We Cannot Afford to Wait- Everyone has a Role to Play” linking climate change and water issues. The program this year at Temple is open to the public, and also sponsored by Temple Global Studies, the Center for Humanities at Temple, and the Temple Office of Sustainability.
In the spirit of this year’s theme, Temple has put together a broad program linking art, science, and activism about our most important resource.
This week long event started as an unlikely collaboration in 2015 by Merián Soto, a Professor of Dance, and Dr. Fletcher Chmara-Huff a professor of Geography and Urban Studies, to create an evening of art in celebration of the science, and issues related to the precious resource of water. That first year led to the creation of Temple Water Dances, which returns this year on March 20th with a selection of new choreographic works. That performance, entitled Submergence, will take place at 7 PM in the Conwell Hall Black Box Theater.
Since the 2015 performance, there have been 4 additional events, with new choreographic pieces every year about water, tackling issues such as pollution, marine life, the physical and chemical properties of water, and the cultural importance of water for people.
In 2019, the activities moved beyond just performing, into an all-day symposium. While the initial push to do more came from the student directors, Dawn States and Enya-Kalia Jordan, Drs. Soto and Chmara-Huff embraced the idea of not only working with choreographers and dancers, but also a panel of scientists, artists, and activists in conversation about why we need to work together to protect water for all people.
The experience of expanding beyond performing, into other forms of engagement, is why for the 2020 event, Drs. Chmara-Huff and Soto have expanded the offerings into Water Week at Temple. Instead of a single day, there are now activities spread out over 8 days, to engage a variety of people in different modes of artistic expression and format, including dance, poetry, film, visual arts, and even the traditional academic talk.
As Dr. Chmara-Huff notes, “Scientific communication can seem scary for some people. We use specialized words, and lots of math to make our points, but good science education and outreach can use things like dance or music to start a conversation. Scientists are arts loving people too! So by using art as the tool to open conversations about water issues, we really change the tone.”
The 2020 planning team includes Dr. Chmara-Huff as producer, Soto as Artistic Director, and Rachel Repinz and Tyra Blain-Jones as student directors. “Working with students as directors every year is challenging in a good way,” says Dr. Chmara-Huff. “They always come to the table with something new to do that I haven’t necessarily thought of, a new way of engaging, a different approach to what we have done in the past. And then it is my responsibility to make sure it can happen, and that each year is better than the last.”
According to Dr. Chmara-Huff, some of the programming comes from the vision of the contributing artists, some from the students. “I knew a couple people who make film about water issues, so I wanted to add a film component (Monday March 23), but Tyra is the one who suggested we just sit at a table with art supplies in Tyler, and invite water scientists and artists to sit together and make things while talking about water (Wednesday March 25). And that sounded great, instead of lecturing people, I can talk with them and help them make something to wear that reminds them of the importance of water.”
Last year, the artists and activists known as The Water Ways brought their voices and a large format illustration to campus to discuss the impacts of the hydraulic fracture drilling (fracking) industry in the Mid-Atlantic region. This year, they will return on Tuesday March 24, bringing their role playing game to dive deeper into the stories tucked into their illustration.
Also this year, a decision was made to move beyond talking and performing, so the artists have partnered with TTF Watershed to do some stream clean-up work in Tacony Park on March 22nd, which is World Water Day. A bus from campus to the park will be available that morning.
In addition to the specific scheduled performances and talks, the team is working to bring other organizations to campus. Past partners have included Clean Water Action, TTF Watershed, the City of Philadelphia Water Department, and the Temple office of Sustainability.
You can see the full schedule of events below.
For more information, or Media Appearance Inquiries, you may contact the Water Week at Temple Planning Team:
Producer: Dr. Fletcher Chmara-Huff, [email protected]
Artistic Director: Dr. Merián Soto, [email protected]
Directors: Rachel Repinz, [email protected]
Tyra Jones-Blain, [email protected]
Schedule of Events
Friday, March 20
2 PM, Being Water: A workshop with choreographer Marion Ramirez -Conwell Hall Theater 5th Floor
7 PM Submergence: Temple Water Dances Submergence -Conwell Hall Theater 5th Floor
Sunday March 22
10AM Volunteer to clean up Tacony Creek Park with the Artists and Activists Bus will depart from Campus at 9:20 AM. Sign up with the Temple Office of Sustainability via Eventbrite. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ttf-watershed-partnership-volunteer-event-clean-up-tickets-94151450523?aff=utm_source%3Deb_email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dnew_event_email&utm_term=eventurl_text
Monday March 23
Visualizing Water: Cinematic and Visual Works in Progress- CHAT Lounge 4 PM
Tuesday March 24
“Water Ways’ The Fracking Game: a role play game” GIS Studio Gladfelter First Floor 1:30 PM
Wednesday March 25
Jewelry Making with Water Scientists and activists- Tyler Lobby 11-1
Thursday March 26
“Water We Doing Wrong” poetry slam featuring Babel - The Rad Dish Space, Ritter Annex, 7 PM
Friday March 27
Richard Watts (Department of French and Italian Studies, University of Washington) CHAT Climate Speaker Series: “Climate, Water, and the Humanities: Narratives of Reclamation in a Context of Catastrophe” 4 PM
Temple's Office of Sustainability is working with Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership to do a spring clean-up of the Tacony Park to celebrate World Water Day and kickoff World Water Week. The cleanup will be held on March 22nd from 10am to 12pm. A bus will be provided for students traveli...
