New Exhibit Explores Relationships with stɑl̓əw̓ Watershed

A collaborative research-creation project that addresses climate change at the local scale of the lower Fraser River watershed has resulted in an exhibition titled Upstream/Downriver: Walking the stɑl̓əw̓ Watershed. The new display at Langley Centennial Museum takes audiences on a journey of walking, listening, and learning.

An installation by Erica Grimm and Tracie Stewart uses cedar roots and willow branches suspended from the ceiling to draw a river through the gallery space at Langley Centennial Museum.

Artists Alysha Creighton, Erica Grimm, and Joshua Hale have combined video, sound, installation and drawing to connect viewers to the realities of climate impacts in our region. Their works also give voice to the river, pointing the way to how we may reimagine our relationship with the land and learn to walk in a good way on this territory we call home.

Commonly referred to as the Fraser River, stɑl̓əw̓ is the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ word for “big river.” The artists and Project Siyá:m Patricia Victor walked and listened to experts about the stɑl̓əw̓ and how climate change is affecting the region, including Sesmelot (Fern Gabriel), Kwantlen Language Keeper, Andrew Victor, Chief of Xwchíyò:m Nation, and Annelyn Victor, Xwchíyò:m Youth. Their voices joined with other experts in the areas of geology, biology, math, poetry, urban geography and philosophy, including Heesoon Bai, Katharine Bubel, David Clements, Tim Cooper, David Jordan, Maxwell Ofosuhene, Sam Pimentel, and Bruce Shelvey to create a soundscape for the exhibition experience. The sounds of the river are carefully blended with their words. 

“The importance of holding these voices as equal was our aim,” Artist, Erica Grimm reflects. “But all of these voices agreed that climate change is serious, human caused, and the time to act is now.” 

Grimm’s work maps the bloodline of the stɑl̓əw̓, tracing lost tributaries and the coming flood lines of the lower Fraser River watershed. Another piece by Grimm and Tracie Stewart suspends bandaged cedar roots and willow branches from the museum’s ceiling, drawing a river through the gallery space. Alysha Creighton’s video work immerses viewers in the river, seeking to dissolve boundaries between human and environment. Joshua Hale’s work explores the potential effects of climate change on the region, imagining multiple possible futures; red string connects his pieces like an evidence board, frantically trying to find solutions, while the way forward for humanity remains unclear. 

Upstream/Downriver: Walking the stɑl̓əw̓ Watershed is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The exhibit is open at Langley Centennial Museum until February 6, 2022. For more information, please contact 604-532-3536 or lcmbookings@tol.ca.