River Landscapes

River Landscapes: A New Glossary 

We often think of water as belonging to the land it borders; River Landscapes: A New Glossary centers rivers as life systems that have enabled land and communities to flourish. The project is a transdisciplinary initiative between Europe and South Asia focused on living with rivers. It questions the extractive ways in which water bodies are framed and governed, proposing a bottom-up approach in which glossary entries are co-created by local communities, artists, and scientists through field research and workshops, oral history archives, commissioned exhibitions, and publications.

The glossary is co-created between 2023-2026, and is being launched in an open-source, digital format, through three River Talks taking place in Europe, in South Asia between May-July 2026 in a hybrid format (online and in-person)—dates and sign-up links below. 

River Talks (13th May and 2nd July, 2026, Online and in Karachi) invite contributors to engage with the Glossary through their own practices, sharing work and producing annotations that expand its meanings. Each River Talk will be different and bring together four diverse voices across disciplines. Hosted by River Landscapes, Karachi Biennale 2027, WE ARE AIA | Awareness in Art, and Prameya Art Foundation; more details here. 

The Glossary Launch (13th June 2026, Online and in Zurich) will culminate by Kim de l’Horizon’s performance Alpine Cosmologies: Fluid Dragons & Kanderwelsch preceded by a discussion with River Landscapes core team members. The launch is hosted by WE ARE AIA I Awareness in Art during Zurich Art Weekend at Löwenbräukunst, Schwarzescafé. More details here. 

Ashfika Rahman Behula. These Days, 2023. Unique Cotton fabric with golden silk thread, 56 x 46 x 1 cm

Interdisciplinary Discussion at Zurich Art Weekend 2024 with Ashfika Rahman, Margarida Mendes, Bernd Scherer, and Martina Huber

River Landscapes: A New Glossary is an initiative by Martina Huber, Mira Hirtz, Noor Ahmed, Ravi Agarwal, Johannes Hedinger, Ruxmini Choudhury, Jahnavi Phalkey, Debjani Bhattacharyya, Ishita Chakraborty, and Anushka Rajendran. The project is supported by Pro Helvetia Synergies fund and initiated by WE ARE AIA I Awareness in Art in partnership with ILEA – The Institute for Land and Environmental Art, Karachi Biennale 2027, Prameya Art Foundation, Samdani Art Foundation, Science Gallery Bengaluru, The Citizens Archive of Pakistan, and University of Zurich.