Abstract
This paper examines the cultural, ecological and political dimensions of the contemporary water crisis through a curatorial and environmental humanities lens. Through the watery conceptual epoch of the Hydrocene, it highlights the work of artists and interdisciplinary practitioners whose hydro-Artistic methods propose ways to realign human-water relations. Central to this analysis is the role of curatorial care, here understood as a practice of convening, holding and enabling reciprocal encounters between bodies of water, artists and communities. Bringing these diverse practices into dialogue, the paper proposes water not only as subject matter but as a potential collaborator and leaky agent. It argues that such watery approaches are vital to reshaping collective imaginaries and navigating the planetary water crisis. Extending the conceptual framework developed in the author's monograph, this paper works with curatorial care as a situated methodology. Through a responsive roundtable bringing marine science, acoustic research and documentary filmmaking into dialogue with hydro-Artistic practice, it asks how curatorial work can itself become a mode of inquiry and how artistic and cross-disciplinary water encounters might operate as forms of environmental learning beyond the classroom.
Keywords
art-science, arts-based, contemporary art, curatorial, water, water theory
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
7-1-2026
E-ISSN
2049775X
ISSN
08140626
Volume
42
Issue
3
Publication Title
Australian Journal of Environmental Education
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) / School of Science
RAS ID
99967
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
First Page
934
Last Page
946
Recommended Citation
Bailey-Charteris, B., McMahon, K., Rapp, M. C., & Davey, N. (2026). Weathering in-beyond hydro(s)cenes. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 42(3), 934–946. https://doi.org/10.1017/aee.2026.10193