March 20: Dia Beacon (3 Beekman Street, Beacon, New York) | (INVITE ONLY)
March 21 at Dia Chelsea (537 West 22nd Street, New York, New York) | 5–7:45 p.m.; free, open to the public (SOLD OUT)

Swamp Summit: Dirt and Water is a program that examines the relationship between natural and built environments at the boundary where water meets land. Using the unstable grounds of the swamp as a conceptual underpinning, this two-day summit gathers artists, architects, writers, curators, researchers, anthropologists, ecologists, poets, and other practitioners to discuss the material politics of water from different geographies—from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mekong River. Through their unique approaches of spatial research and art-making, participants address pressing issues relating to legacies of art and ecology, as well as the impact of industry and human-induced environmental disasters on historically excluded communities. Through shared thematic ties, Swamp Summit: Dirt and Water brings a diverse range of voices together to share ideas and build common ground.

The public program at Dia Chelsea on March 21 includes a reading by Mayan poet and water rights activist Pedro Uc; a keynote talk by linguist Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil; a conversation between Uc and Aguilar Gil, moderated by artist Abraham Cruzvillegas; a reading from Season of the Swamp (Gray Wolf Press, 2024), set in the fictionalized murky soil of 1850s New Orleans, by novelist Yuri Herrera; artists Jingru (Cyan) Cheng and Chen Zhan speak with artist Sky Hopinka about sensory and visual ethnographies; and artist collective Cooking Sections conclude the day with a lecture-performance on wetlands.

Swamp Summit: Dirt and Water is organized by Storefront for Art and Architecture, Dia Art Foundation, and the Graham Foundation. The program coincides with the conclusion of Swamplands, Storefront’s year-long research and program series including four exhibitions featuring newly commissioned work from artists Imani Jacqueline Brown, Jingru (Cyan) Chen and Chen Zhan, Gala Porras-Kim, and Fred Schmidt-Arenales. A forthcoming exhibition at the Graham Foundation presents all four projects together in addition to a new commission by Jerónimo Reyes-Retana and opens April 17, 2025.

For more information on the exhibition, Swamplands, click here.