Contact:   Nancy Dallett, Project Coordinator
December 12, 2001
Arizona Humanities Council
602.257.0335 ext. 23
ndallett@aol.com  

 

MOVING WATERS TRAVELING EXHIBIT

FACT SHEET

What: A traveling exhibit created for Moving Waters: The Colorado River & the West, a project of the seven state humanities councils of the seven western states of the Colorado River basin. 

The exhibit, consisting of eight (8) double-sided 44"x 94" panels, is being designed by Gannymede and Ideahouse.  Panels examine the history of the river, the ecosystem of the watershed, the "plumbing" of the river, and the cities and economies that depend on it. 

When: January -July, 2002

Where: The exhibit travels to 22 cities and towns in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. 

How: Eight panels document the history, present, and future of the river. Photographs, graphics, text, and quotes tell individual stories about the river and pose thought-provoking questions about how westerners live on and off the river, the law that determines who has rights to its waters, residents' relationship to the river, and the concept of river stewardship.

Why: Westerners are inexorably tied to a river they rarely see or consider.  Because the Colorado River does not run through major western cities, it is nearly invisible in much of the western U.S.

Nevertheless, the Colorado, with its massive drainage system, is the lifeblood for the American West. Plumbed to the last drop, it provides life-giving water for distant cities and western economies, as well as for the human, plant and animal populations that depend upon the river and its watershed.  

Because decisions are still to be made that will impact the river and the West, this exhibit challenges viewers to grapple with the complexity of the Colorado.  Panels ask demanding questions such as:  How do we move this river?  How does it move us? How has the river inspired us?  Does a river have rights?  

The exhibit is a wake-up call for westerners who may never have known, or may have forgotten, that the Colorado River has shaped the past of the American West and will determine its future.

Who: The exhibit is being produced by Nancy Dallett for the Arizona Humanities Council.  Dallett is public historian who has extensive experience interpreting history, culture, immigration, and water issues in the American West. The exhibition is a key element of Moving Waters: The Colorado River & the West, the seven-state humanities council project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation.

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