Voices of Water

Jay Drinkall and Emilie Glazer

Held on 31 May and 6 September 2025, ‘Voices of the River‘ and ‘Voices of Water‘ formed a two-part programme of workshops on artistic practices and the growing Rights of Nature movement, bringing together perspectives across artists’ practice, community organising, law and science. The programme builds on HTRC:T’s ‘Waterways‘ symposium which explored how water binds us across histories and futures, and evolves out of TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary’s ongoing engagement with the Rights of Nature movement and the Confluence of European Water Bodies network, of which the River Ouse is also part.

In the following reports, commissioned writers reflect on each day of the event.

Jay Drinkall reflects on Rights of Nature frameworks and the role of artists within this following the successful local launch of the Charter of Rights for the River Ouse in Sussex, the first time that a council has formally supported a river charter of this kind in the UK. ‘Voices of the River‘ unfolded as a workshop centred around artistic contributions and held at the Linklater Pavilion in Lewes on 31 May 2025, facilitated by Love Our Ouse, a community initiative that worked towards the Ouse Charter with local stakeholders.

Emilie Glazer expands on the dialogue established at ‘Voices of the River‘, tracing connections between efforts towards the legal recognition of water bodies across contexts and scales, from local charters to transnational movements. Held in the East Room at Tate Modern on 6 September 2025, ‘Voices of Water‘ investigated how to meaningfully include and represent the voices of bodies of water in human assemblies through a transnational, non-anthropocentric lens.

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