Join us for the opening reception of Water – an exhibition featuring work by Rebecca Beachy, Jennifer Buyck, Eugenia Cheng, Virginia Hanusik, Candace Hunter, Anna Johnson, Roland Knowlden, JeeYeun Lee, Jin Lee, Meredith Leich, Pierre-Alexandre Savriacouty, Tria Smith, and Ines Sommer.
At 7 PM, there will be a performance "Surface Tension" by Anna Johnson.
Presented as a partner project of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Water uses the Chicago River as an entryway to discuss the interconnectedness and relational importance of water upon the City and its people. From pre-settler colonialism to present day, the availability of water has impacted the City of Chicago’s formation, rise, and current environmental concerns. The exhibition begins with a contemporary view of the Chicago River through the video of artist/architect Jennifer Buyck walking along the entire river. The exhibition also looks to Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River to correlate universal costs of exploitation, commodification, control, and renewal of waterways. Water’s impact and importance is much more than just economical and environmental. Water—essential to life—is a shared resource that connects all.
Water is presented throughout 6018North, with each floor housing four thematic sections: Now; Then; We the People – What Have We Done?; and Imagination. Through videos and photographs, Now depicts the present conditions of the Chicago River and Mississippi River. Then offers archives and historical documents of Chicago’s waterways. We the People – What Have We Done? explores the anthropogenic effects on water. Imagination features both representational and abstract approaches to water’s metaphoric quality. The sections We the People – What Have We Done? and Imagination contend with the dueling view of water as harsh reality (a reflection of climate insecurity) vs. abstract metaphor of possibility (of fluidity and adaptability). This dualism is what hydrofeminist Astrida Neimanis asks us to move beyond: “for us humans, the flow and flush of waters sustain our own bodies, but also connect them to other bodies, to other worlds beyond our human selves.” The exhibition, accompanying public programs, and convenings aim to reveal how waterways can be re-examined, better understood, and re-imagined, so that we can become better stewards of water and all that it connects.
A central component of the exhibition is a water parole donnée, parole rendu – an exchange of water stories in Chicago, by Chicagoans. Through a series of community storytelling engagements, people across Chicago collect water samples and tell the story of their water. Scientists, activists, and historians respond to the water and stories. The collection is presented chandelier-like, in 6018North’s stairway connecting the themes of the exhibition.
Water is a partner program of the 2023 Chicago Architecture Biennial. This exhibition is a collaboration between artist/architect Jennifer Buyck, curator Tricia Van Eck, 6018North, and the Villa Albertine. Water is ongoing research in sustainable strategies for a 2024 exhibition as a part of Art Design Chicago, an initiative of the Terra Foundation for American Art investigating and elevating Chicago’s rich visual art and design histories and creative communities. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency through an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events. 6018North projects are partially supported by an anonymous donor advised fund at The Chicago Community Foundation, a CityArts Innovation Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, a Gen Ops Plus Grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Field Foundation of Illinois, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, IL Humanities, Illinois Arts Council Agency Youth Employment Grants, Joyce Foundation, The MacArthur Funds for Culture, Equity, and the Arts at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, and individual donations.
The image is a still from "Chicago par ses rivières / Chicago by its rivers" by Jennifer Buyck, 2023.