Artist Alana Bartol will lead an exploration of the use and tools of dowsing (a.k.a. water-witching). Drawing on her family’s water-witching history and traditions of divining, she explores dowsing as a creative method in her art practice. Dowsing or water-witching is a form of divination used to locate ground water, ores, oil, and information. While there is no scientific evidence that dowsing is accurate, a fascination with this practice still persists. All are welcome, even the skeptics!
The workshop will take place outside and will involve moving throughout the area on paved and unpaved terrain. During this workshop, participants will be provided with and introduced to the tools and techniques of dowsing. During the second part of the workshop, the pendulum dowsing performance “a slick, a smear…. awash in green” will take place:
A pendulum responds to contamination in the Southdown region. Audiences are asked to reflect on the past, present, and possible futures of this site. How do we arrive at an understanding of remediation in this region? How can we consider empathy and care in this process?
Open to children seven years of age and older. Children under twelve must be accompanied by an adult.
Presented as part of The Work of Wind: Air, Land, Sea a site-specific exhibition, public program series, and publication platform designed to expand perspectives on climate change through artistic practices, cultural inquiry, and political mobilization.
Water-witching Workshop
a slick, a smear ... awash in green
Clarkson Wastewater Treatment Facility, 2307 Lakeshore Rd. W., Mississauga
Events are FREE and open to the public. All are welcome.
Event Documentation
- Artist
- Alana Bartol
This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded in part through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter program. With this $35M investment, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.
The Blackwood
University of Toronto Mississauga
3359 Mississauga Road
Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6
[email protected]
(905) 828-3789
The galleries are currently open. Hours of operation: Monday–Saturday, 12–5pm, Wednesdays until 8pm.
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The Blackwood is situated on the Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Seneca, and Huron-Wendat.