organised by Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council and Living Waters Museum, in cooperation with The Global Network of Water Museums
Explore community-based museum-making practices at the newest member in WAMU-NET's network, the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council Museum, and the latest collaborative exhibition from the Living Waters Museum, Goa Water Stories.
Speakers from across different organizations dive deep into how storytelling, digital media, and the arts play a crucial role in water justice and environmental conservation.
Event flow:
Welcome /introduction to the event – Sara Ahmed, Living Waters Museum, event moderator
Opening Music by Olive (Kankawa Nagarra) Knight, a Walmatjarri Elder, award-winning international blues and gospel singer-songwriter, teacher, mentor, human rights advocate and political activist
Opening remarks: Eriberto Eulisse (Director of WAMU-NET)
Launch: Living Water Heritage Museum, Martuwarra Fitzroy Council, Australia
Lachie Carracher, project manager for the Living Water Heritage digital museum. Lachie is an internationally award-winning photographer and digital storyteller – museum intro and walk-through.
Professor Anne Poelina, Nyikina Warrwa elder, international award-winning community leader, human rights advocate, filmmaker, and academic.
Anne is the Chair & Senior Research Fellow, Indigenous Knowledges, Nulungu Institute, Research University of Notre Dame, Adjunct Professor, College of Indigenous Education Futures, Arts & Society, Charles Darwin University, Darwin.
Anne was the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) inaugural First Nations appointment to its independent Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences (2022).
Visiting Fellow, Water Justice Hub at The Australian National University, Canberra.
Inaugural Chair of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council (2018). Co-winner of the Women Taking Climate Action Award, awarded by the Zonta Club of Melbourne on Yarra and the Zonta International District 23 Zonta Says NOW team (2023). Awarded Kailisa Budevi Earth and Environment Award, International Women’s Day (2022), in recognition of her global standing.
Mark Coles Smith, a proud Nyikina man. With a gift for storytelling, he works across several performing arts genres as an actor, writer, producer, and sound designer. Mark was a key creative for the Living Water Heritage project.
Launch: Goa Water Stories, Living Waters Museum, India
Sara Ahmed, founder of the Living Waters Museum and Adjunct Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Pune.
With over 30 years of applied research experience on water, livelihoods, and social equity,
Sara has been actively engaged in teaching and mentoring young development professionals in India,
managing large and complex regional research portfolios on water, food security, and climate change in Asia, and advising a range of development organizations and water networks globally.
Rhea D'Souza: a trained architect, art educator, and conservator, Rhea is currently pursuing her MSc in Conservation at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
She specializes in renovation, restoration, and the repurposing of materials in architectural projects.
As an art conservator, her focus is on paintings, polychrome statues, gilded artifacts, and murals.
Rhea is also an art educator and mentors the Visual Arts Program at the Bookworm Children’s Library, Goa.
‘Nhoa: The Goa River Draw’ project with Bookworm is a rich manifestation of her interest in rivers and the various ways in which we can document and communicate our living heritage.
Ruchika Tiku: a former artist and music professional, Ruchika's interests lies in the music of indigenous and tribal communities. She recently completed her Masters in Environmental Sciences from Goa University where her research focused on the traditional knowledge of the Dhangar community - indigenous pastoralists - and how ecology, livelihood, and culture are all interconnected.
Mira-Bai Simon: Let’s Talk About Water
Q&A: Moderated by Sara Ahmed followed by closing remarks