Paper short abstract:

Through arts-based and experiential/embodied research methods, relations with water can emerge; emergence of a diversity of relations around water can provide space for more just environmental engagements.

Paper long abstract:

Many social scientists highlight the inherently relational aspects of water, challenging us to reimagine the ways in which water governance, access, interventions and knowledges are approached, especially when developing policy and influencing practice. Central to these works is the importance of relationships that develop around water, and how, all too often, this is ignored in policy making or technological ‘solutions’ surrounding water concerns. This paper outlines varied methods and practices we have undertaken to explore relations and practices around water that center the body, expression and wellbeing. These methods work to understand the different ways in which people make use of, value and innovate around water, often shedding light on some social networks employed in accessing water, as well as those developing in relation to water sources. Our methods work to reposition every-day citizens’ understandings of water values and evaluations, adding diversity to contemporary debates and theorizations regarding the conformation of environmental subjectivities and the articulation of diverse forms of knowledge and expertise in an era of climate change-driven uncertainty. We suggest that methods focused on embodied experience and artistic cooperation can tell different kinds of human-water stories. These methods we suggest create space for reflecting on and engaging with other ways of relating to water, with potential for more just environmental engagements that consider diverse water knowledges, aside from those imposed by technocrats, decision-makers, and policy implementers. We provide case studies where our efforts have weathered numerous challenges, highlighting our shifts in practice and approach relevant to different contexts.