We Are Water MN Exhibit Visits Rochester

The Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC), City of Rochester, Olmsted Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), and local partners are pleased to announce that the traveling exhibition—We Are Water MN—will open in Rochester on March 11. We Are Water MN is a project of the Humanities Center that engages Minnesotans with our state’s most important natural resource through personal stories, historical content, and scientific information. Thanks to a partnership with the City of Rochester, We Are Water MN will be on display at the Rochester Art Center from March 11 through May 9. 

"The Rochester Art Center is delighted to host We Are Water MN and celebrate water as a vital resource with the community through shared stories, history, science and art. We are pleased to simultaneously present David Bowen: on water, an exhibition of artworks that rely on data and robotics to reflect the infinite ways we impact and are impressed by water. We hope the conversations that result from these exhibitions and related programs will help shape our community's appreciation of water, whether it be in the Zumbro, traveling down a gutter, or dripping from a faucet.” - Pamela Hugdahl, Rochester Art Center 

The City of Rochester Public Works, Rochester Public Library, and Olmsted SWCD formed the original partner team and then invited local organizations to become We are Water MN partners to collaboratively design local events and public programming that connect people to issues surrounding water in our community. In co-creating with community members and organizations who are working on water issues, the City, SWCD, and MHC is expanding the local and state network of stakeholders at multiple levels within Minnesota to support citizen initiatives and create a shared vision around water in Minnesota. Our full list of partners can be found on the event website: www.wearewaterrochestermn.com. 

In addition to the main exhibit, two companion exhibits will be available for viewing in Rochester. One exhibit will be on display at 125 Live and focuses on local groundwater and drinking water issues. Another exhibit looks at the history of water use in our region and is on display at the History Center of Olmsted County. Details on virtual events hosted by partners can be found the We are Water MN Rochester website. More events will be added while the exhibit is here and throughout the summer, with a possibility for in-person events following current safety guidelines. 

Visitors to the We Are Water MN exhibit learn about water issues statewide and in their community. They also reflect on local stories and the meaning and experiences of water in Minnesota with space to add their own stories. Combining learning and sharing in this way strengthens Minnesotans’ relationships with water and increases participation in water stewardship activities. 

Since We Are Water MN began touring in 2016, more than 2,000 stories about water have been collected. Nearly 100 high-quality audio stories are available via the project’s Story Map. Water stories are a way for visitors to share personal experiences while learning about their neighbors’ relationships with water. The range of experiences – from water as a daily part of visitors’ lives to personal stories of family, ritual, joy, and loss – along with education materials, compel people to evaluate their relationship with water and engage more deeply in conservation. MHC’s project partners for We Are Water MN are the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS), and the Minnesota Departments of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources. These partners connect host communities to resources and information, learn from host communities, and provide opportunities for host communities to learn from and with each other. 

We Are Water MN is funded in part by money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the Clean Water Fund that was created with the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

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Media Contact 

Stephanie Hatzenbihler, Environmental Education Specialist 
City of Rochester, Minnesota 
Direct: 507-328-2440 | E-mail: shatzenbihler@rochestermn.gov 

About the Minnesota Humanities Center 

The Humanities Center connects our past, present, and future by bringing people together to increase understanding and spark change. Using story as a catalyst and the humanities to explore the question of what it means to be human, MHC seeks to create a just society that is curious, connected, and compassionate. MHC, founded in 1971, is a statewide nonprofit organization affiliated with and supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. MHC operates a full-service Event Center in a historic building on St. Paul’s East Side. More information available at mnhum.org.