Water Dialogues
Awareness, Action, Advocacy At A Journalist Roundtable
Reporting 'Water Crisis' and SDGs: a Water Journalists Roundtable was a two-day dialogue held in November 2024 at IISER Pune to reflect on reporting focus, gaps, challenges, and opportunities. With a dynamic cohort of 40 journalists bridging diverse backgrounds and domains within public communication media from radio to print and television to social media, the roundtable grew from a space of addressing issues to a forum for knowledge exchange, networking, and collaborations between academia, researchers, media (industry), museums, and other practitioners.
The roundtable was held as part of the Aquamuse project, which seeks to look at storytelling and decentralized museum-making approaches for water awareness, action, and advocacy in three river deltas: the Blue Nile, the Nakambé, and the Ganges/ Sundarbans.
Water is at the very heart of our being, our society, our systems. This omnipresence makes it the heart of social divide and injustice. As the water crisis grows, so will the inequalities. Conflicts and climate change have intensified these challenges, and they will continue to do so. Our public storytellers play a significant role in shaping water narratives. They ask questions such as, Where do the water narratives come from? Where are correlations made and how? Who gives the lens on water? What is the public memory of water, and what is its lived experience? And can water be water for its own sake?
SMC also launched a video series titled Water Waves Weekly as a result of the dialogue and conversations generated through the Water Journalists Roundtable. It features journalists from across India reflecting on water—its challenges, solutions, and stories that matter.
Watch the series on the SMC YouTube channel.
Aquamuse Dialogues
Exploring the Role of Arts, Oceans, and Indigenous People
in Social Change
In this vidcast, Mumbai-based artist Parag Tandel, who is also a Visual Autoethnographer and a member of the Koli community, engages in a dialogue with Sara Ahmed about his art and experiences in interpreting the rich heritage of his community. His work explores the changing relationship between people and the ocean, addressing issues such as plastic pollution, urban infrastructure development, and climate change. Additionally, he is the co-founder of the Tandel Fund of the Archives, an initiative aimed at documenting the cultural practices, music, and arts of his community through participatory practices rooted in oral traditions.
Navigating the Interface: Performance as a Laboratory
In the second vidcast, Radhika Mulay and Dr. Nishad Matange engaged in a discussion about water bodies as living entities, river avulsions, urban riverine systems, and water flows, exploring their connections to the philosophy and practice of performing arts, including dance and music. Drawing on their unique experiences and training, Radhika and Nishad examined the significance of water in various aspects of human activity, approaching it from both academic and artistic viewpoints. Their exploration highlighted the multifaceted role that water played in shaping environments, cultures, and artistic expressions.
Navigating the Interface: Performance as a Laboratory
In the second vidcast, Radhika Mulay and Dr. Nishad Matange engaged in a discussion about water bodies as living entities, river avulsions, urban riverine systems, and water flows, exploring their connections to the philosophy and practice of performing arts, including dance and music. Drawing on their unique experiences and training, Radhika and Nishad examined the significance of water in various aspects of human activity, approaching it from both academic and artistic viewpoints. Their exploration highlighted the multifaceted role that water played in shaping environments, cultures, and artistic expressions.
Aesthetics of Water
Michelle Boyle is an artist and curator based in the rural landscape of Virginia Cavan, Ireland, with a developing studio in Mumbai, India. Her art explores the deep, symbiotic, and ancient connection between humans and water, highlighting our responsibility toward the pressures we place on this vital resource. Drawing on her everyday encounters with people and places, Michelle's work invites viewers into a visual aesthetic that has been described as “sensitive, powerful, and poetic.”
The third vidcast saw Michelle in conversation with Sara Ahmed, where they discussed Michelle's passion and commitment as an artist to raise awareness about the aesthetics of water as a driving force for social change. Michelle and Sara have known each other for over a year and are members of the Global Network of Water Museums, where they have spent hours brainstorming the role of water museums in facilitating a more just and sustainable water future for all.
The Narmada Story! Living Archives For Memory And Accountability
This Aquamuse Dialogue features a conversation between Nandini Oza, curator of the Narmada Oral History Project, and Prof Nagaraj Balasubramanian, Professor of Biology at IISER Pune. It focuses on the relevance of community archives and oral histories for science.
About the Speaker: Nandini Oza is a writer, chronicler, and archivist. She has been documenting and disseminating the oral histories of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, one of the longest-running environmental justice movements in India. She was the President of the Oral History Association of India (2020-22). Her books have been published in Marathi, Hindi, and English.
Aquamuse Dialogues is a series of conversations between artists and scientists on the role of arts and media for water education. These curated conversations are part of the AQUAMUSE project: Facilitating just and sustainable water futures through water museums, digital media, and the arts. Supported by the Dutch Water Partnership Programme at IHE Delft, this two-year-long project brings together partners from three river basins: the Volta River in Burkina Faso, the Blue Nile flowing through Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, and the Ganga / Sundarbans in India.