The Walkerton Water Stories Project (WWSP) began as one of many humanitarian responses to the water tragedy. In this case, a group of artists partnered with local citizens groups; together they mapped out a hands-on oral and visual history venture called the Water Stories Project.

The goals of the project were to foster community healing by giving voice to people's lifelong experiences with water, and to carry those voices to the outside world. Since the E. coli crisis in 2000, Walkerton has been known as "the bad water town," yet the town's lush water lore dates to its founding in 1850 on the banks of the Saugeen River. Recovering local memories and forgotten tales seemed a small but significant step towards restoring people's relationship with the waters that sustained them for generations.

Throughout the spring of 2002, the Stories Project took the shape of arts and heritage activities that encouraged people to share their stories, by mouth or by hand. Printmaking workshops were offered at the high schools and to the general public. School children collected family stories. People were interviewed in their homes. Artifacts about the E. coli tragedy were also gathered for a travelling installation piece that would set Walkerton's tragedy in global perspective.

In addition, organizers and artists met to prepare for the Water Stories gala at Stonyground Gardens, June 15th. The event, which featured the prints exhibit, dinner, performance and concert in the barn, was a fundraiser for Greenstep Environmental Fair.

Walkerton's annual Greenstep Environmental Fair first began in 2001 as a proactive way of commemorating the water tragedy. The organizers of Greenstep recognized how the Stories project could contribute to community-building by reframing the town's long history with water in a positive light. The WWSP was therefore promoted as a "community arts outreach program for Greenstep 2002."

Participants that made the project come alive included students, teachers, raconteurs, writers, photographers, fly fishers, graphic artists, media personnel, filmmakers, local singers and musicians. In addition, wellness practitioner Beverley Viljakainen profiled people who had remained healthy during the E. coli crisis (Wellness Stories), while folk legend James Gordon wrote and performed a song especially for the gala at Stonyground (see The New Quarterly below).

The arts resulting from these collaborations, included: the Water Stories Prints exhibit (34 relief prints made by students from both high schools, as well as by members of the public); "Water Finds a Voice" 40-minute storytelling performance based on interviews, research and local stories; and Basia Irland's installation art ("Life Vest," with accompanying scrolls).

The core group of artists who originated the project all share concern for community activism and public education: Wesley Bates, book illustrator and founding member of the Loving Society of Letterpress Printers; Basia Irland, water archivist and Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Mary-Eileen McClear, a professional storyteller who performs annually at the Stratford Festival; and Susan Scott, a Waterloo-based writer and native of Bruce County.

<< Back