Be Water My Friend 2

Be Water My Friend at the Second Kindergarten of Aegina is the second iteration of Vessel's work on the water cycle of the Saronic Gulf. It is a full-scale mural covering the Kindergarten, developed with students, and it is a teaching tool as well as a practical intervention.

Artist Navine G. Dossos worked with the children to develop both the mural, and a collaborative fabric, which was made into curtains and distributed to to students. Meanwhile, a new rain barrel and water collection system was installed at the front door: a hopeful reminder, at a time when the island’s tap water was found unsafe for drinking, that we still have access to sources and systems which we can make and use with our own hands.

Introducing the water-cycle to children is part of their foundational understanding of our planet, and the ways in which it works. Learning about water introduces them to biology, physics, chemistry, and geography, as well as ecology and community. These can often feel like abstract concepts, but by rooting them in everyday life on this island – surrounded by water, but struggling with water shortages and infrastructure – we can ask questions about what sort of future we want to have here, while taking an active part in shaping that future and making it more sustainable. This work starts in the school and the playground, but matters everywhere.

This project was achieved with the kind support of the Argosaronic Environment Foundation.