Power(s) of Water at the Museum of Science – Boston

“Encounters” is an immersive mixed reality experience. Participants enter the room equipped with a virtual reality headset and earphones. During their virtual exploration, they discover different worlds, generate characters through their own movements and interact with them. A monitor will allow the rest of the audience to see what the participants are doing in the virtual world.

Like a musical work, “Encounters” is composed in four movements: The Crowd, The Birds, The Colossus and the Epilogue. As they explore and interact with each other, spectators gradually saturate the worlds they successively discover. At first, they generate characters who turn away, then greedy birds who poison themselves, and finally transport ships that multiply. Each movement, or chapter, is punctuated by an interlude of rain, recalling both the birth of life on earth and the imminent, destructive rise of the waters.

The epilogue is then the scene of a unique encounter with a character, a virtual otherness of the spectators, another like themselves. A dialogue is established to glimpse another possible world.

“The aim of Encounters is to rediscover the thread of a simple, seemingly naïve idea, that of concerted collective action, emanating from dialogue and, above all, from listening. The disasters of the first three chapters of Encounters are those of non-hearing, pushed to the point of caricature, that is no longer ashamed of itself, no longer pretending and, beyond lying, arrogates to itself the right to indifference.”

Writer, director, architect and artist Mathieu Pradat creates immersive experiences that make us think about our relationship with space. Resident at M.I.T. in 2021, winner of the Taiwan XR residency and the Villa Albertine in 2022, his virtual reality experiences and films have been selected and awarded at numerous festivals, including Venice Virtual – La Mostra de Venise, the Geneva International Film Festival, the Frankfurt Biennale, and the Rotunda of the Locarno Film Festival. Mathieu Pradat is also the founder and director of La Prairie Productions.

Time slots:
9:45-10:45am
10:45-11:45am
11:45-12:45pm
12:45-1:45pm
1:45-2:45pm
2:45-3:45pm
3:45-4:45pm

Image credit: Encounters, from SoWhen?

A program of experimental films and video art for children from the age of 3, their families and all curious audiences, curated by the artist Marie-Pierre Bonniol.

From rainwater to woodland water, from plankton to drawn fish, from transporter bridges to family activities by the lake, this programme explores creativity through water, also as a matter for dreams with filmmakers from Boston, France and Germany (Harun Farocki, Patrick Bokanowski, Linnéa Haviland, Albert Merino, Faith Johnson, Giulia Grossman, Dorothée Billard and Florence Cha Cayron).

Rain scream laugh clap, Linnéa Haviland (United-Kingdom, 2020, 2’)
Bedtime stories: Bridges, Harun Farocki (Germany, 1977, 3’)
Les Baigneurs, Albert Merino (France, 2010, 3’50)
Au bord du lac, Patrick Bokanowski (France, 1994, 6’)
Terrestrial, Faith Johnson (United States, 2022, 5’)
Dérive, Giulia Grossman (France, 2023, 3’30)
Fishfile, Dorothée Billard (Germany, 2023, 5’22)
O sohno do sol, Florence Cha Cayron (Belgium, 2017, 4’57)

Length: 45 minutes
Program in presence of the artist and curator Marie-Pierre Bonniol

Marie-Pierre Bonniol (1978, Marseille) is an artist and curator. She graduated in Visual Arts, Aesthetics and Sciences of Arts from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She lives in Berlin and works internationally.

Image credit: Albert Merino, still image from the video Les Baigneurs (France, 2010, 3’50)

A drawing workshop for children (7-12 years old) and their families around an Imaginary Water Film Festival, with imaginary posters, and storyboards of potential films to be done!

Length: 2 hours. Limited capacity.
On a proposal of the artist and curator Marie-Pierre Bonniol

Marie-Pierre Bonniol (1978, Marseille) is an artist and curator. She graduated in Visual Arts, Aesthetics and Sciences of Arts from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She lives in Berlin and works internationally.

Image credit: Florence Cha Cayron, still image from the video O sohno do sol (Belgium, 2017, 4’57)

The New England Water Management Environmental Sustainability Issues Panel invites experts to come together to discuss sustainability initiatives in water resource management.

In partnership with Veolia, a global leader in water and waste management, this event will focus on current challenges and innovative solutions for effective and responsible water management in the region.In addition, an interactive question-and-answer session will enable the public to interact directly with specialists and ask questions about the specific issues they face. The aim is to foster constructive dialogue and gather diverse perspectives to improve environmental sustainability and ensure a resilient future for water resources in New England.

Featuring:

Caroline Ummenhofer, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Caroline Ummenhofer received a Joint Honours B.Sc. in Marine Biology and Physical Oceanography from Bangor University, UK, and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of New South Wales, Australia, specializing in climate modeling. In 2012, she took up a faculty position in the Physical Oceanography Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA. She won several awards, including the Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation by the Australian Museum, and the James B. Macelwane Medal by the American Geophysical Union. Her research focuses on the ocean’s role for the water cycle, extreme events, such as droughts and floods, and their impact on human and natural systems, including marine heatwaves. Her applied research bridges the gap between ocean and climate dynamics and its impacts on end users. As such, she aims to provide practical outcomes of use to stakeholders and the broader public. She has participated in art-science collaborations and museum exhibits to showcase scientific findings on topics about climate change in the Indian Ocean region, marine heatwaves, and the oceanic water cycle.

David Salvador, Veolia
As a project Manager III for Veolia in Brockton, Massachusetts, David believes that waste water treatment is vital to public health and the protection of our waterways. He accomplishes this goal through the management of a 20.5 MGD Wastewater Plant serving the city of Brockton Massachusetts with a population of 100, 000 residents. Mr. Salvador holds several licenses including: Massachusetts Wastewater Grade VII Rhode Island Wastewater Grade IV, Associated Board of Certification Wastewater Grade IV, NEWEA Grade II Lab Certification,NEWEA Collections Grade IV, Massachusetts Drinking Water Distribution Grade IV and Massachusetts Drinking Water Treatment Grade I.

Shafiqul Islam, Tufts University
Distinguished professor of Engineering and a professor of water diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston, USA, he is the founding Director of the Water Diplomacy Program. Dr. Islam’s expertise spans engineering diplomacy, water and climate challenges, negotiation and consensus building, and sustainable development. His principled pragmatic approach emphasizes developing actionable knowledge through a synthesis of theory and practice. He aims to designsolutions that are scientifically feasible, socially acceptable, ethically sound, and politically viable.

Moderated by:

Sabrina Shankman, The Boston Globe
Sabrine Shankman covers the climate crisis for the Boston Globe. She joined the newspaper in 2021 after reporting for eight years at Inside Climate News, where she covered the arctic. Prior to that, she helped produce shows for PBS/Frontline and reported for ProPublica. She has reported on polar bear attacks from a helicopter, stayed in man-camps on Alaska’s North Slope and tracked the path of a terrorist through India and Denmark. At the Globe, her work helps readers understand climate change-fueled extreme weather events, the emerging science and policy of climate change, and the work being done at the state and regional level to address the crisis. Her work has won national recognition, including from the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Headliner Awards, and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. She got her start as a crime reporter at the Taunton Daily Gazette, and has a masters in journalism from U.C. Berkeley.

Image credit: Water Capabilities, from Veolia North America

Stamps on Leporello, a repertoire of shapes related to a water, divided into different colors. The public is greeted with a blank sheet of paper, and walks through the work table by table, the composition expanding with each color. Printing and graphic composition are at the heart of the activity. The stamp frames are handmade and varied.

Length: 1 hour. Limited capacity.
Suitable for children aged 4 to 8.
On a proposal of the artist and illustrator Elisa Géhin.

A renowned illustrator of children’s books, Elisa Géhin works in full color, playing with shapes, gravity and ordinary objects. In addition to her many published books, she has extensive experience in hosting workshops on themes ranging from the environment to architecture. Silk-screen printing, collages, paintings and stamp engravings are just some of the mediums she uses to pass on her art to youngsters.

Image credit: Elisa Géhin.

On a roll of paper unrolled for the duration of the workshop, like a tapestry, the public passes by to try out the pencils and their bright colors. They are then invited to test the plasticity of the tool by adding water. Puddles and drips follow the drawing. The liveliness of the hues is put to the test water and its transparency.

Length: 1 hour. Limited capacity.
Suitable for children aged 4 to 8.
On a proposal of the artist and illustrator Elisa Géhin.

A renowned illustrator of children’s books, Elisa Géhin works in full color, playing with shapes, gravity and ordinary objects. In addition to her many published books, she has extensive experience in hosting workshops on themes ranging from the environment to architecture. Silk-screen printing, collages, paintings and stamp engravings are just some of the mediums she uses to pass on her art to youngsters.

Image credit: Elisa Géhin.

Water Mindscapes presents films by seven female directors (Sue Murad, Sam Fields, Sabrina Ratté, Ute Aurand, Lana Z Caplan, Marie-Pierre Bonniol, Laura Rius Aran) about water in its relationship to imaginary worlds, whether amorous, erotic, powerful, anxious or hypnotic.

A person knits to the rhythm of the tide on Georges Island in Boston Bay. Radical architecture confronts the landscape on a desert island. Water becomes mirror and reflection in a Berlin swimming pool. A seaside vacation is adorned with crystallizations and reflections. Ferry schedules transform time and space on an Italian lake. Water passes through all its shapes and forms via recording and projection devices. Ice melts and our earth turns.

This program, aimed at an adult audience, showcases a diverse selection of experimental short films delving into the theme of water through various artistic perspectives. Each piece in the program contributes a unique viewpoint, collectively providing a rich tapestry of how water can be interpreted and represented in the realm of experimental cinema.

The films are projected onto a five-story-high domed screen in the Mugar Omni Theater, in Boston’s Museum of Science. This theater uses state-of-the-art technology to offer an exceptional sensorial experience, plunging spectators into the very core of the films, creating a sensation of immersion.

Meditations on the Tide, Sue Murad and Sam Fields (United-States, 2012, 11′)
UNDREAM, Sabrina Ratté (Canada, 2018, 7’)
Schweigend ins gespräch Vertieft, Ute Aurand (Germany, 1980, 7’20)
Medusa and The Abyss, Felicity Palma (Italy, 2016, 11’)
Errata, Lana Z Caplan (United-States/Italy, 2017, 20’30)
Wasser, Marie-Pierre Bonniol (Germany/France, 2021, 22’35)
Eco, eco (Echo, echo), Laura Rius Aran (Spain, 2023, 4’)

Length: 2h including discussion with the filmmaker and programme curator Marie-Pierre Bonniol.
The programme contains nudity and is suitable for adults only.

Image credit: Marie-Pierre Bonniol, still image from the Wasser (France/Germany, 2021, 22’35)