Art4Water, a program of the Watershed Association, is an initiative that advocates for environmental protection through the lens of art.
Video made by Stellar Video, LLC.
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Art4Water turns to our community’s artists as facilitators of a deeper connection to nature through the medium of visual expression.
Traditionally, artists have served humanity as storytellers and translators of complicated concepts that were limited by the spoken word. We are at a unique moment in human and environmental history, one that requires our innovation and collaboration to heal and rise above the degradation in both our environments and our communities. Art4Water recognizes that our own human health is deeply intertwined with our planet’s health and that we must regenerate our own spirits simultaneously with the regeneration of our natural environments.
David Baker, the Executive Director of The Watershed Association, with his painting inspired by his love for Jacob’s Well.
Art4Water engages and educates both the artists and the art appreciators in a way that is memorable, unique, and feeling-centric. Sharing the threats that face our planet through charts, graphs, and statistics can only influence our behavior to a point. When we experience something, when we truly feel it, we are more likely to understand it, care about it, and alter our behaviors on its behalf.
The Sacred Springs Kite Exhibition is just the beginning of Art4Water! Art4Water is working on growing our offerings to include a diverse suite of opportunities to engage our community’s artists as storytellers of our planet.
“Art shapes culture and changes people and communities. Art tells a universally powerful story that communicates the value of water beyond words.”
Art4Water’s Sacred Springs Kite Exhibition
Celebrating the Great Springs of Texas
Art4Water’s inaugural program, The Sacred Springs Kite Exhibition, a collaboration between The Watershed Association and Terry Zee Lee, features the work of 35+ national and local artists to raise awareness of threatened Texas springs and the vital connection of water to life. Hanging like an oasis in the sky, these 50+ water-inspired art kites bring together diverse communities around the respect for Texas’ great springs–their history, their value, and the threats to their existence. Meet the Exhibition Artists and Kitemakers
“Sacred Springs” recalls the reverence of indigenous people and an enduring mystical connection with the source of life. Water falls as rain from the sky, filters into the ground, and emerges later through cracks and openings to form the great river basins.
The Sacred Springs Kite Exhibition was initially on display at the Austin Central Library from May 2022 – November 2022 and then hosted in San Marcos, Texas from May 2023-October 2023.
A portion of this exhibit can now be found in the Moore Gallery at the Austin Airport.
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The Future of Art4Water
Water creates the most magical parts of our world. This is especially true for the Hill Country. Art4Water seeks art that captures that magic and helps translate the needs of our environment in a felt way.
Art4Water plans to offer nature-based artist residencies, youth programming, retreats, and unique exhibitions that turn to our community’s artists as important leaders in conservation.
If you are interested in hosting this exhibit in your building or office space or if you are an artist interested in participating in Art4Water as an artist, please reach out to info@art4water.com