Many of us have seen or heard these staggering headlines before :
• 663 million people — 1 in 10 — lack access to safe water .
• Women and children spend 125 million hours a day collecting water .
• Every 20 seconds , a child dies because of lack of access to safe water .
• The water crisis is the # 1 global risk as a measure of devastation .
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Yet , when we leave an untouched glass of water on the restaurant table after a meal , how often do we think of its value ? How often do we consider this as an act of privilege — to leave perfectly drinkable water to be discarded ?
How much is water worth to us ? And , to what lengths will we go to get it ?
What we unpack in The Water Issue is the work of ten global contemporary artists and activists who share a commitment to spotlighting the lack of access to clean water via artistic practices rooted in photography , painting , sculpture , science and design , film and dance .
While the Flint , Michigan community living with lead-contaminated water weighs heavily on all of our hearts and minds , in this issue we also profile the artists who continue to shine a light on how our water is compromised in equally beloved backyards in New Orleans , Louisiana , New York , Ohio , Wisconsin , and the Southwestern states in the United States . Moved by the critical role of girls and women as arbiters of water to ensure the survival of their families , we also turn our attention to artists focused on the global water crises in communities in Palestine and India .
These artists see their roles as ones that go beyond raising awareness of the crisis to creating work that informs solutions , seeks out narratives of resiliency and innovation , and challenges us to interrogate how as a modern society we ’ ve transformed water from sacred to commodity .