Rebuilding relationships with fluvial systems

Rebuilding relationships with fluvial systems – S+T+ARTS artists Theresa Schubert and Joshua G. Stein exhibition at Cittadelarte in the framework of the S+T+ARTS4Water project

The exhibition S+T+ARTS4Water. Rebuilding relationships with fluvial systems presents the final projects of artists Theresa Schubert and Joshua G. Stein, the result of their residency within the S+T+ARTS4Water project (2021-2022), which by combining art, technology and science aims at addressing one of the most urgent challenges of our time: a sustainable use of water. The aim of the project is to raise awareness about the sustainable use of water resources in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.

Exchanges with local experts helped identify the two regional challenges driving the artists’ research: Joshua G. Stein explored “Exploring people’s relationships with rivers and streams”, while Theresa Schubert focused on “Fluvial systems as indicators of climate change and its impact”
With the support of a diverse network of contributors including researchers, professionals and local experts, the two artists have produced two artworks that intersect artistic research with scientific and technological research, in order to critically explore key issues related to the management of fluvial systems.

Theresa Schubert
Glacier trilogy (in progress)

During the residency, Theresa Schubert explored the presence of glaciers as the starting points of fluvial systems. They are extremely important not only as storage of water, but also as ‘memory’ of the Earth’s past and indicators of climate change. Ice contains information about climate from thousands of years ago, radiation, pollution, organic materials – and much of this information will be lost due to the ongoing climate change. The three works presented delve into glaciers from a different perspective, using various media and technologies, to stimulate an emotional engagement of the public with these issues.

Joshua G. Stein

Dissolution | Reconstitution: Sediment as Cultural Heritage

The Sediment as Cultural Heritage project reimagines Italy’s western Po Valley as a territory whose hydrology is both directed by and composed of anthropogenic activities—saturated with the positive and negative aspects of human culture and development. The sediment mobilized by the area’s waterways becomes the common medium to conceptualize a vast system operating both spatially and temporally at a territorial scale.

More info at: https://www.cittadellarte.it/en/attivita/arte-al-centro-2022