Stories carried by old waters
In our collaborative art process with senior ladies, we explore the themes offered by the Danube, exploring the qualities and situations we share with the river. Together, we put what we have learned and our curiosity into synchronic forms.
Being made out of water means belonging somewhere. By drinking a glass of tap water, we are not only connected to the network of sewers that run through Budapest, but also to the thousands of square kilometres of the Danube catchment area – with all its history and inhabitants. We share the next sip with 81 million people and billions of non-human neighbours, the journey of water that nourishes our cells is just a stop in a cycle that crosses geographic boundaries, national borders, landscapes and states of matter.
But the role of the bodies of water that surround us goes beyond biology, they seep into our culture, our songs, our celebrations, they infuse our image of community, they permeate our rituals. What happens when we become aware of this belonging? What can we learn from rivers and from discovering our own water-ness?