CURRENTS

Site-specific artworks delve into the history and ecology of the structure and its environs, reanimating the subterranean space around the former John B. Kelly Pool to address environmental and historical themes highlighting water, the river, and the site itself.

The exhibition is co-curated by Elaine Crivelli, Leslie Kaufman and Marsha Moss. works to promote contemporary sculpture and expand public awareness of the role and value of sculpture through exhibitions, public forums, and educational outreach.

Participating Artists: Joy Feasley and Paul Swenbeck, Julianna Foster, Carolyn Healy and John Phillips, Nadia Hironaka and Matthew Suib, Eugene Lew, Martha McDonald, and Taji Ra’oof Nahl.

Info: Calculating Banneker: The Work of Water.
An Installation Activation in Four Movements.
Experience a transformative fusion of history, ecology, and sound at the historic Fairmount Water Works. Calculating Banneker: The Work of Water is a structured improvisational production that breathes life into the legacy of Benjamin Banneker through a site-specific "Installation Activation."
In this specialized staging, the players embody the collective intelligence of the hive. As bees, the ensemble navigates a landscape of three distinct vignettes, highlighting the vital, delicate intersection between environmental stewardship and survival. One pivotal movement focuses on the fundamental necessity of clean water for the colony—a resource as essential to the bee as it is to the human spirit of innovation. Merging the precision of Banneker’s calculations with the rhythmic life cycle of the apiary, the audience is invited to witness the communal pulse of continuity and care.

Info: Calculating Banneker: The Work of Water
An Installation Activation in Four Movements.
Experience a transformative fusion of history, ecology, and sound at the historic Fairmount Water Works. Calculating Banneker: The Work of Water is a structured improvisational production that breathes life into the legacy of Benjamin Banneker through a site-specific "Installation Activation."
In this specialized staging, the players embody the collective intelligence of the hive. As bees, the ensemble navigates a landscape of three distinct vignettes, highlighting the vital, delicate intersection between environmental stewardship and survival. One pivotal movement focuses on the fundamental necessity of clean water for the colony—a resource as essential to the bee as it is to the human spirit of innovation.
Merging the precision of Banneker’s calculations with the rhythmic life cycle of the apiary, the audience is invited to witness the communal pulse of continuity and care.

Info: Martha McDonald will use movement, costume and original music as she activates the exhibition space and explores the history of the Water Works and the life of the Schuylkill River. Leading audience members around and into the empty John B. Kelly Pool, she will pause to play ethereal tones on the spinning glass bowls of a glass armonica—an instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin.

Info: Martha McDonald will use movement, costume and original music as she activates the exhibition space and explores the history of the Water Works and the life of the Schuylkill River. Leading audience members around and into the empty John B. Kelly Pool, she will pause to play ethereal tones on the spinning glass bowls of a glass armonica—an instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Fairmount Water Works, 640 Waterworks Drive, Philadelphia, United States

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