Our Connection to Water

Essential Information

Type	Exhibitions
Location	National Maritime Museum
Date and Times	Exhibition ran from 31 March 2023 to 25 February 2024
Prices	Free

Exhibition closed Find more exhibitions in Greenwich

Water is a vital resource, but, to many, it holds a sacred significance.

Beyond its uses for cleaning and drinking, water is central to many cultural and spiritual practices around the world.

Our Connection to Water brought together seven artists: Aya Mohamed, Artemis Evlogimenou, Dafe Oboro, Giya Makondo-Wills, JIUN Collective, Paul Malone and Seba Calfuqueo. Their work, influenced by their different backgrounds and experiences, explored our human connection to water.

Through photography, audio, film, illustration and installations, they shared their perceptions of and relationships to water, and considered how it impacts their communities socially, culturally, environmentally, emotionally and spiritually.

An interior gallery photograph of free exhibition Our Connection to Water at the National Maritime Museum. A display of photographs is on the wall

Meet the artists

Our Connection to Water brought together an international group of artists from different backgrounds. Linking them was one simple question: what does water mean to us?

It is often seen as a resource, a survival necessity and a daily need – but water is so much more than water.

Find out more about the artists

Portrait photograph of The Collective Makers co-founders Lison Sabrina Musset and Joseph Ijoyemi. Joseph is wearing a dark puffer jacket and hat, and Lison a dark purple and red cardigan

Meet the curators

This exhibition was co-produced by The Collective Makers and Royal Museums Greenwich, and curated by Joseph Ijoyemi and Lison Sabrina Musset.

Joseph Ijoyemi is a Swedish Nigerian multidisciplinary artist and the co-founder of The Collective Makers. Currently he is studying for a Masters in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins of Arts UAL.

“Water is a resource that is often seen as a basic commodity," he says. "It’s a survival necessity and a daily need, but there is a deeply rooted meaning to water across many cultures."

Lison Sabrina Musset is a French-Brazilian visual artist and the co-founder of The Collective Makers. She is inspired by her journey through life and topics around self-identity, self-awareness and self-confidence.

“We’re looking to explore how water impacts communities socially, culturally, environmentally, emotionally and spiritually," she says.

The Collective Makers was created in response to a lack of opportunity for emerging visual artists. They campaign to improve diversity within the art sector and to raise artist profiles.

Find out more