“Water is Not a Given”
“Water is Not a Given”
by Emily Elizabeth Logan | Space on Space Magazine
July 11, 2026
I’ve been following the discourse around why or why not the rise of artificial intelligence is inevitable. Rather than pick a side in the AI debate, I’ll insist on siding with our most precious natural resource: water. Water cannot advocate on her own behalf; she’ll never have a seat at the table in business or government hearings, unless we channel her with our voices. This essay will center on the work of Philadelphia-based performance artist Martha McDonald, touch on water-adjacent performances by Kelly Akashi (Altadena) and Kiyo Gutiérrez (LA River), and the ritual practice of mourning. McDonald’s performance uses an aesthetic of powerlessness by becoming the Schuylkill River. Her public lament acts as a form of water advocacy for both human and non-human flourishing.
To begin, Martha McDonald is a time traveler: her voice, a portal.
I attended McDonald’s performance River Ode: The Schuylkill Freed on May 30, 2026. It was one of those beautiful Philadelphia spring days. Before entering the Fairmount Water Works building, one passes people on their wedding day, professional runners, children, and the river herself, subtly flowing in the background of all our lives.
“A lot of people in Philadelphia don’t know how the Water Works worked, and what it was, what its significance is in terms of the history of water supply in the United States, and the history of technology in the United States,” stated historical consultant for the Philadelphia Water Department, Adam Levine, in an interview in 2015.
These hydraulic technologies, as well as folk histories of river life and the story of the Schuylkill herself, were central to McDonald’s performance. River Ode was performed twice by McDonald through Philadelphia Sculptors as part of the Currents exhibition on view now through August 8, 2026.