Contribution short abstract:

The river Spree is experiencing increasing pressure due to climate change and the legacy of hydraulic infrastructure. I reflect on multimodal collaborations between my ethnographic research, artistic interventions and modes of communication, for new spaces to think about this changing waterscape.

Contribution long abstract:

Terrestrial water resources are under increasing pressure from climate change, and human-water interactions are being challenged to avoid arid landscapes. For centuries, the river Spree's waterways in Berlin-Brandenburg have been controlled by engineering structures such as drainage, canalisation and sluice systems. However, hydrological and political uncertainties about how to respond to rapid (planetary) environmental change are undermining confidence in this regulation of hydraulic infrastructure. Recent droughts in the region have heightened the sense of imminent aridity and are influencing discussions about sustainable water management along the River Spree. The water level of the river has been influenced by former mining sites upstream in the Lusatia region. Following the closure of these mines, the lack of mine water will result in a decline in water supply and changes in water quality. Local debates are currently addressing changes in technical structures, often excluding other approaches and the everyday realities of residents, while bound to anthropogenic striving for progress. However, novel approaches and dialogues are currently under discussion. In this paper, I reflect on multimodal collaborations between my ethnographic research, artistic interventions with water sounds and evolving modes of communication, which aim to open new spaces to think about a changing waterscape. I draw on examples such as the multimodal installation 'Conversations with the Spree' working with people in the Spreewald and Berlin, sound artists and science communication, to listen anew and create public dialogues about and with the river in times of crisis.