The Water Commons: Living Legacies of Utah Waterways
9:00am-4:15pm
This symposium works to coordinate efforts to preserve the waterways that are the basis of life, health, and prosperity for all life in Utah.
Gather with local water scholars, stewards, and artists to learn about ongoing projects, discover practices of stewardship from stakeholders across the state, and participate in fostering networks for further collaboration.
We will share strategies of sustainability and water management as well as oral history and art projects to document and preserve stories and histories of the Colorado River, the Bear River, Great Salt Lake, and Utah Lake.
Free and open to public and academic audiences.
Welcome / 9:00am
Scott Black
Professor of English and Director, Tanner Humanities Center, University of Utah
Danielle Endres
Professor of Communication and Director, Environmental Humanities Program, University of Utah
Water Stories / 9:15am–10:15am
Lisa Bickmore
Utah Poet Laureate
Leia Larsen
Water and Land Use Reporter, The Salt Lake Tribune
Paisley Rekdal
Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing and Director, American West Center, Saline Stories, University of Utah
nan seymour
Poet, Making Waves Artist Collaborative
Water Rights / 10:30am–11:30am
Duane Moss
BayHorse Foundation, Ute Indian Tribe
Jack Schmidt
Janet Quinney Lawson Chair and Director of the Center for Colorado River Studies, Utah State University
Mark Stratford
Legal Advisor to the State Engineer, Utah Division of Water Rights
Break, art exhibition, and organization outreach
/ 11:30am–12:30pm
Water Community / 12:30pm–1:30pm
Joshua Graham
Assistant Professor of Art and Art History, University of Utah
Teri Harman
Masters candidate in Environmental Humanities, University of Utah
Daniel Hernandez
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Utah Valley University
Gavin Noyes
Arts, Advocacy, and Healing Program Coordinator, Indigenous Led
Water Policy / 1:45pm–2:45pm
Brigham Daniels
Professor of Law and Co-Director, Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment, University of Utah
Beth Parker
Assistant Professor of Law and Wallace Stegner Research Fellow, University of Utah
Marian Rice
Associate Director, Peak Water Sustainability Engine, University of Utah
Greg Smoak
Professor of History, University of Utah
Water Healing / 3:00pm–4:15pm
Brad Parry
Tribal Council Vice Chairman for Natural Resources, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation
PBS short film: The Wild Hope: Reclaiming the Bear River
Participating organizations
- Conserve Utah Valley
- Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster University
- Indigenous Led
- Making Waves Artist Collaborative
- PEAK Water, University of Utah
- Stegner Center Great Salt Lake Project, University of Utah
- University of Utah Press
Participating artists
Alisha Anderson, artist and teacher
alishaanderson.org / IG: @_a_anderson
Tiana Birrell, artist
tianabirrell.com
Teri Harman, writer and photographer
teriharman.com / IG: @teriharman
Travis Lovell, photographer
travislovell.com
Esther Mathieu, artist
ehlmathieu.com
Whitney Naomi, painter
IG: @whitneynaomi.fineart
Mara Scallon, artist and writer
marascallon.art
Hannah Wertz, painter
IG: @hannahwertzstudio
Co-hosted with Environmental Humanities and the American West Center, and the School of Environment, Society and Sustainability.
In collaboration with:
- Humanities Institute, Arizona State University
- Center for Humanities & the Arts, University of Colorado Boulder
- Blake Center for Engaged Humanities, Colorado State University
- Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research, University of Wyoming
- Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes
For updates and announcements, join our mailing list.
Featured image: Utah Lake, view from southwestern shores, by Teri Harman
The Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah supports academic research, public engagement, and educational programming in the humanities. Views expressed in events and programming do not represent the official views of the Center or University.
