Interworven Waters
Art, Nature, and Community Conservation in East Africa
This event is the result of a collaboration between Annika Schlemm, a doctoral researcher within the Marie Curie training network ‘InventWater’, and IUC JOOUST, with funding from VUB Global Minds. It brings together art and science at Lake Victoria.
PILAR (VUB)
The programme begins with a symposium (14:00–16:30) focusing on environmental challenges in the basin, including deforestation, wetland degradation, and water quality concerns. Speakers from academic institutions, grassroots organisations, and networks of artists and activists will then share participatory responses — such as artivism, citizen science, and environmental education — that are opening up new ways of engaging with these issues, both locally and in broader contexts. Tea breaks will be provided during the symposium.
At 16:30, a short documentary film will be screened, featuring voices from across the region — government representatives, NGOs, artists, and farmers — reflecting on their relationship with land and water, and the collective efforts underway to protect and restore them.
The exhibition opens at 17:00, presenting photography and artworks created through participatory workshops in Kenya and Uganda. These pieces, created in collaboration with communities and shared with care, will be returned to them after the exhibition. Rather than finished statements, they offer glimpses into ongoing conversations — exploring how people connect with nature and express care for the environments they live in.
