Hydromemories is an ongoing interdisciplinary artistic project on the theme of water organised collectively by an international group of artists.  We are working in collaboration with the German non-profit organisation Engineers Without Borders, who through innovative yet simple engineering methods are able to provide much needed low cost solutions to water access in rural communities in Tanzania.

Hydromemories seeks to examine both the current private and industrial wastage of water and the future crisis in its worldwide provision. The guarantee of individual public access to water is understood to be a universal right.

After intensive research over the last 3 years into the social, political and cultural aspects of water, twelve artists from across Europe, Asia and Latin America have presented their own unique perspectives, on the theme of water, creating audio, video, and installation works, together with participatory actions. In 2007 an exhibition was curated in a former swimming pool in Berlin. At this event, a relief action was undertaken in collaboration with the organization Engineers Without Borders (Berlin group) to raise funds that enabled the building of twelve water cisterns in the region of Kagera in Tanzania.

From 5th till 7th October 2007

STADTBAD STEGLITZ, Berlin

Programm of academic talks:

Kurt Saygin, Dipl. Ing., Ingenieure ohne Grenzen e.V.
Water is water? Watersources and their problems.

Marko Faber, Ingenieure ohne Grenzen e.V.
Kagera, in the highlands of Tanzania: A region in
between water shortage and mobile phone reception.

Tilmann Straub Dipl. Ing., Ingenieure ohne Grenzen e.V.
The self cleaning power of water: Sustainable
drinking water production through Embankment
filtration with reference to the example of Berlin.

After the success of the first exhibition in Berlin, the curator team of Bolivia Chacón and Benjamin Villares in association with the Goethe Institute Caracas invited the Hydromemories project to be exhibited at the prestigious Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC) in Caracas, Venezuela, possibly the most well-known and respected contemporary art museum in all of Latin America. The exhibition was included in the frame of “Caracas: City of Water”, a symposium with internationally acclaimed guest speakers and participants organised by Glocal Studio Caracas and the Goethe Institute Caracas. The symposium consisted of 2 days of workshops and a conference discussing solutions to world water problems, at the two largest public universities in Venezuela: Simon Bolivar University and the Unidad Central de Venezuela. The exhibition opened at the start of the symposium on March 14th and ran until June 15th, a total of 3 months. It gained a tremendous response within artistic, educational and journalistic circles (see links). Positive articles have been written in almost all of Venezuela’s art and diverse newsprint media, with the topical and educational value of the exhibition further underscored by the decision of many public and private schools to organize guided tours round the gallery for their pupils. The interventions and performances that were part of Hydromemories, but situated outside the gallery in public space were notable in their departure from a more static installation of public art commonly known in Venezuela. The public response to the construction of a ‘beach’ and the creation of a ‘Wishing Well’ installation at Plaza Altamira and Plaza Castellana, was enthusiastic and respectful. The obvious enjoyment at both being able to interact with, and therefore become part of the artwork, helped facilitate an exchange between the artists and public, which allowed a non-didactic discussion of the context of the works and an opportunity to spread an awareness of the work of the Engineers Without Borders.

In order that Hydromemories engage with a broader audience than that of the art world, it was included in the Water Fair 2009 in at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Berlin in April 2009. Further potential inclusions are an exhibition in Turin, Italy in cooperation with Turin based curator group a.titolo. Alongside the exhibitions, information can also be found on this website which we intend to expand to include an information sharing blog, and updates on the last presentations. We hope it will continue to be widely viewed by interested parties from a variety of disciplines.

Expanding on our core artist group of 7 artists, we are currently seeking to develop Hydromemories through further exhibitions in new locations. In that case, as well as the project’s already existing works until now being included as an ongoing and expanding ‘archive’, we would hope to create an exhibition of new works not only by the ‘core group’, but also (after research in cooperation with local curators) by some new participants from the local context whose works deals with issues related to water. In order to further facilitate a dialogue with the local context, we would intend that a workshop event that would also become a part of the Hydromemories archive for future exhibitions would run over a number of days involving local artists. Further, a broader context to the theme would hopefully be provided through documentary screenings and discussion events. These could involve local figures from the fields of science, geography, politics that might shed light on and lend a local dimension and relevance to water issues. In this way, it is hoped that the art could function as a medium of communication and stimulation that might ultimately generate curiosity about, and draw attention to contemporary and future, local and global problems related to water.

If you are interested and would like more information or to discuss this opportunity, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Cistern building in Tanzania

The project plans to build a number of cisterns in order to secure the provision of water in the region of Kagera, which lies to the west of lake Victoria. The objective of the project is particularly the improvement of the situation for children who traditionally carry out the task of fetching water. Above and beyond that, the goal is also to improve the hygiene conditions for the local population. Through the involvement of the local people in the building and maintenance of the cisterns it is possible to better ensure the long-term sustainability of the project. This project is in partnership with the locally resident Non Governmental Organization MAVUNO. The project is supported through the art project “Hydromemories”