Reimagining Wetlands :

Background

Art has always been one of humanity’s oldest and most enduring languages of storytelling. In Kolkata, the continuity of artistic traditions plays a central role in civic life and is deeply connected to the city’s ecological foundations. Kolkata was originally formed from wetlands; its drainage systems, rivers, canals, ponds, and marshes are all aligned with the hydrological rhythms of a wetland landscape. Culturally, from visual arts and theatre, to music and poetry, the city has fostered generations of artists who interpret and reimagine the relationship between people, their environment, and the more-than-human world. At its heart, this conference recognizes wetlands as vital cultural and ecological commons. By bringing together diverse perspectives, it seeks to illuminate how water connects climate, heritage, and community resilience.

Positioning Kolkata as a critical example of how wetlands underpin environmental and social resilience, this conference seeks to reframe how we think about urban spaces  in particular, in the context of water and our cultural heritage. The East Kolkata Wetlands extend into the Sundarbans creating a continuum of ecosystems that not only safeguard Kolkata from flooding and pollution but also connect the city's urban resilience to the world's largest mangrove forest.

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The conference theme “Jol-Jyanto” (a Bengali phrase meaning “water alive”), drawn from the Living Water Museum’s 2023 digital exhibition, signals water’s vitality as an ecological force and cultural metaphor.

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While the East Kolkata Wetlands provide the backdrop for shared learning, the conference welcomes examples on the impact of development on wetlands worldwide to understand where there are opportunities for synergy between conservation, the arts and cultural heritage. What are the drivers of change, and how can we ensure that further development is built on an ethical framework attuned with the SDGs and cognizant of the impacts of climate uncertainty on vulnerable and marginalized communities. Listening to micro-narratives and oral histories from Indigenous and local communities will be critical towards building inclusive stewardship.