An exhibition to collectively address bodies of water as fellow beings on this Earth and to cultivate care for watersheds.
The Dear Body of Water initiative invites people everywhere to write postcard-sized love letters to recognize beloved rivers, oceans, aquifers, creeks, ponds, and other bodies of water.
Georgetown University’s Dear Body of Water exhibition will "grow the flow" by incorporating visual and written artwork by Georgetown students to collectively address bodies of water as fellow beings on this Earth.
Following the project's prompts, student art may explore questions such as:
- How does water melt into our histories, memories, dreams, griefs, hopes, and presence?
- What bodies of water are overlooked or neglected?
- More than water rights, how can we consider the rights of water?
Water is treated as an economic resource, yet it is animate and animating. The act of collectively addressing bodies of water as living beings (as in, Dear Body of Water) hopes to reframe water in the climate crisis by focusing not on floods, droughts, rising sea levels, or retreating rivers, but instead on the love and respect we have for our waterways. Through this love, we can begin to show our care for water by making changes to protect it and to improve our earth.
Join us as we address the bodies of water and watersheds that replenish our lives—across the planet—to grow a global chorus. Wherever we are, the chance to hear personal perspectives about bodies of water helps connect us to our planet’s lifeblood: water.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS, Oct. 18 - Jan. 15
The Library is partnering with GREEN (Georgetown Renewable Energy and Environment Network) to collect works of art, poems, and love letters to bodies of water for our upcoming exhibition.
Click here to submit!
Dear Body of Water is a poetic water-harvesting project founded and facilitated by Gretchen Ernster Henderson in partnership with the University of Arizona Poetry Center, Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University, and the National Coalition of Poets for Science. Learn more at: dearbodyofwater.poetsforscience.org.