Watershed: Ways of Knowing the Chicago River is a four-part program that will run throughout the summer of 2025. 

 

The Chicago River holds and weaves together a prism of stories. Wherever you

touch it, you touch layers and layers of history, ecology, culture, and art.

The goal of this project is to gather folks from different communities to

experience the river in this holographic way, as a holder of memory, as a

storyteller.

 

To do this, we’ll run a series of four experiences this summer—three on

kayaks and one on the shore. Each will take place on a different segment of

the Chicago River. During this time, participants will engage with and learn

from community activists, artists, historians, and ecologists about that

specific site and the narratives it holds. The experiences will be interactive

and will include creating art and engaging in community science. We hope that

participants will build community, share their own stories, and leave with a

richer understanding of the ways the river connects all things.