The Museum of Fine Arts (MoFA) at Florida State University presents “Rising Water: Artists Working in Response to Hurricanes,” an exhibition featuring work from artists across hurricane-impacted areas of the United States and the Caribbean.
“Rising Water” explores how to center creativity, empathy and humanity in planning for a future that will include increasingly violent storms. It brings together artists who have documented and been influenced by Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, Hugo and Maria to explore the broader ramifications of climate change and weather in the southeastern United States. Through this collaboration, the exhibit aims to connect Tallahassee and the Florida Panhandle with a broader community of those affected by hurricanes.
“With this exhibition, we explore how artists navigate what it means to live and create in a volatile and changing climate and the effects of hurricanes on communities, residents and the psyche,” said Meredith Lynn, assistant curator and director of galleries at MoFA. “This exhibition is asking how we can center empathy, humanity and imagination in a conversation that routinely focuses on what can feel abstract – data, predictions and hypotheticals.”
The “Rising Water” exhibition runs from Thursday, Jan. 16 – Saturday, March 28, at the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, 530 W. Call St.
MoFA received a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support this exhibit, in addition to funds from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs and the Tallahassee and Leon County Council on Arts & Culture.
“The arts are at the heart of our communities, connecting people through shared experiences and artistic expression,” said Arts Endowment chairman Mary Anne Carter. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support projects like ‘Rising Water.’”
The “Rising Water” exhibition features artwork by Willie Birch, Keith Calhoun, Frances Gallardo, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Aspen Mays, Chandra McCormick, Richard Misrach and Sarah Welch.
MoFA will host a free public program exploring the role of hurricanes in the community every Thursday evening during the run of the exhibition. These programs, which range from lectures to film screenings, are opportunities for visitors to learn more about the work in the exhibition, reflect and share their own experiences and engage with the important climate and weather research being done across Florida State University and the Southeastern region.
“Like the artists who are using creativity as a tool for navigating an increasingly storm-impacted future, our hope is that the audience will participate in imagining a way forward,” said Jessica Ingram, an assistant professor in the Department of Art who curated the exhibition alongside Lynn. “We have made space within the exhibition inviting the audience to respond and share their own stories and reflect on the accounts of other visitors.”
MoFa is open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Wednesday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday. MoFa is closed every Sunday and on university holidays, unless otherwise noted.
For more information about MoFA and the College of Fine Arts at FSU, visit mofa.fsu.edu.