Recommended: Water Bar

Another highlight from the 'Once and Future' river symposium I attended and posted about last week, was to hear Shanai Matteson, of Works Progress Studio, talk about a project she and her partner Colin Kloecker (with other collaborators) created called Water Bar. Now - don't judge it by my own crude sketch here - they have beautiful images that capture the project at their website: www.water-bar.org

Since I wasn't sure about rights to reference their images, I made this sketch impression of the project, which actually helped me think about what the project means to me as a connection to the source of my own tap water: the Mississippi River.

I'd visited the mobile Water Bar at Work's Progress's River City Revue one summer, where the tap waters of local municipalities were served  up by water resource experts who poured a "flight" of samples for comparison. The expert bar tenders shed light on the flavors and the reasons behind the surprisingly noticeable differences from the different taps, but it was the participant's own experience of taste that was the focus. Can you tell the difference? Which one do you like best? What does it remind you of?

At the symposium, Shanai talked about some aspects of the project, which you can also see discussed on the website, especially themes of bringing awareness to the interconnected systems and people that bring us tap water. It seemed to me, that she and the website, tended to focus on the social-interactive aspects of the creation and final experience of the project - the "conversations and connections." I can see why, since this aspect is so innovative and well executed.

But another aspect of the project I think is also strong is the direct interaction with the water itself.
While drinking the water could be seen as a vehicle or prop to enable the social, technical, and ecological conversation - the conversation also enables the experience of the water. The whole premise of the tasting flight, the storied waters, and the evaluation card for writing notes, would probably elicit "deep tasting," whether all the same waters were poured or not, as participants stretch their sensory perception to try to ingest the interconnection.

Or at least, that is how I remember my own experience. While I want my water treated and clean,  I jump at the chance to have it weave me back into the world too. I want to see the river's waves in the cup, and maybe even a fish.