Stories Carried By Water: Honoring Voices, Lands, and Lifeways Through Art, Story, and Water, d
Brolly Arts is thrilled to announce our new initiative Stories Carried By Water: Honoring Voices, Lands, and Lifeways Through Art, Story, and Water, designed to continue our efforts to help save Great Salt Lake and its ecosystems. We will launch this initiative at our 30th Anniversary Celebration on June 6, 2026 at TWIG Media Lab
Stories Carried by Water brings together artists, farmers, tribal leaders and communities to explore the deep connections between water, land, and the ford we eat – through storytelling, collaboration, and creative expression.
Water shapes everything – our ecosystems, our food systems, and our cultural traditions. Yet the knowledge, histories, and lived experiences tied to water are often fragmented or unheard.
Stories Carried By Water creates space for these voices to come together.
Through film, live performance, and community engagement, the project invites audiences to experience water not just as a resource – but a relationship.
Building on our award winning film Illusion of Abundance, we use storytelling to illuminate ecological challenges facing Great Salt Lake and beyond. Our screenings, performances and conversations touch hearts and minds which is necessary to spark dialogue, create understanding, and engagement.
Stories Carried by Water pairs artists directly with farmers and Indigenous gardeners to explore the relationship between water, land and food. Together they share stories, exchange knowledge and lived experience to co-create new works, bringing communities onto the land through public events and performances.
Brolly Arts puts artists at the forefront of all we do and we support them as changemakers. For Stories Carried By Water, selected artists experience mentorship, research and collaboration to develop new work rooted in water, agriculture and culturural knowledge – transforming insight into creative expression.
Stories Carried By Water matters because water is at the center of some of our most urgent challenges – and our greatest opportunities for connection
- Farmers and Indigenous communities hold essential knowledge
- Communities need accessible ways to engage with complex issues
- Art creates emotional connection that leads to action
Impact goals of Stories Carried By Water are:
- Amplify diverse voices and cultural perspectives
- Strengthen relationships between communities and agriculture
- Support independent artists and creative innovation
- Increase public awareness of water, land and sustainability
- Through film documentation and public programming the project extends its reach beyond Utah, sharing stories that resonate across communities
Creators of this inaugural Brolly Arts project are:
- Jessica Wiarda, Hopi/Tewa, is an artist and Founder of Honovi Designs. She is also an illustrator, muralist, and graphic designer. Jessica honors her heritage and empowers future Indigenous Artists.
- Darren Parry, Former Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, educator, advocate, author, steward of Indigenous values, and Indigenous gardener.
- Stephanie Garcia, 2025 Guggenheim Fellow and a multi-awarded Mexican artist and icurator. Dance, video, choreography, film, and performance art are the mediums García intervenes in the audiences’ realities that witness her work. She is co-founder and co-director of Punto de Inflexión Dance Company and PROArtes México.
- Cari and Thayne Tagge, Tagge Farms. Living life fruitfully from their 150 acre farm. They bring fresh fruits and vegetables to our tables. They are the first farmers in Utah to switch from spray water to drip irrigation.
For more information go to https://brollyarts.org/programming/stories-carried-by-water/
To experience the launch of Stores Carried by Water first hand please join us at our 30th Anniversary Celebration. To learn more and reserve ticket please go to https://brollyarts.org/30th-anniversary-celebration/
