Beyond the Surface

Water is a shared resource that is necessary for all life. Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Greenville, S.C. and Water Chats partners are collaborating to host Beyond the Surface.

This exhibition invites artists to raise awareness, inspire collaborative innovation, and foster dialogue around challenges related to water resources in South Carolina or shared with the Southeastern region. Artists are encouraged to focus on the following key themes:

Water Quality

The exhibition seeks to explore the health of our water resources throughout South Carolina, including ocean, rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, salt marshes and other freshwater and coastal ecosystems. Artists might explore pristine waterways or pollutants that may impact downstream ecosystems and communities. How does water quality influence how humans and/or animals use these ecosystems?

Contaminants of Emerging Concern

As scientific research reveals new and increasingly widespread threats to water resources, such as “forever chemicals”, microplastics, and pharmaceuticals, this exhibition encourages a focus on these often unseen and recently “discovered” contaminants. Artists can consider how these pollutants accumulate in waterways, disrupt aquatic life, or even enter the human body.

Water Resilience, Planning, and Preparedness

With climate change accelerating unpredictable weather patterns, including intensifying hurricanes, floods, and droughts, the exhibition seeks to emphasize the importance of resilience in water management. Artists may reflect on community or ecosystem adaptations, disaster preparedness, or the interplay between nature-based and engineered solutions.

Subtopics for Exploration

Environmental Justice: Water access and contamination issues disproportionately affect already marginalized communities. This exhibition encourages works that address water inequalities and the basic human right to clean, affordable water.

Climate Impacts on Water: The changing climate is directly impacting water resources – altering rain patterns, exacerbating droughts, and increasing the severity of storms and hurricanes. Artists are invited to highlight the relationship between water and climate, and feature options for resilient water management.

Disaster Preparedness: We invite artists to explore the urgent need for more resilient infrastructure and adaptive water management strategies to mitigate future risks. Special attention will be given to works that honor the experiences of those recently affected by Tropical Storm Helene. This sub-theme acknowledges the immediate and ongoing struggles of disaster victims and encourages artistic responses that raise awareness, while offering spaces for remembrance, healing, and the possibilities for a safer, more resilient future.

About Water Chats

Water Chats is a collaborative, stakeholder-driven effort to provide education on South Carolina’s water resources. It is led by a partnership of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, Clemson Cooperative Extension, and the South Carolina Water Resources Center, with guidance from an Advisory Council that includes water resource professionals representing diverse water interests.

The Water Chats program launched with a series of webinars in 2022, published a special issue of the S.C. Journal of Water Resources: Water Chats in 2024, and hosted a second webinar series in 2024.