#hydrocommons

[aguasdejamaica]

"We want it to be constitutionally enshrined that everyone in Jamaica have unfettered rights to use our beaches." [YouTube] [JABBEM.org]

[caribbeanart]

Empowering Caribbean Youth to Protect Our Oceans: The Inspiring Story of Fish 'N Fins

In a world where the health of our oceans is under constant threat, one organization is stepping up to empower the next generation of ocean

Fish 'N Fins in Montserrat

#Environmental Justice #Climate Change

At the heart of their mission is a steadfast commitment to youth development. Through accessible swimming, snorkeling, and marine science, Fish 'N Fins is fostering a new generation of ocean-aware individuals, equipping them with essential skills and instilling a deep sense of marine conservation. "We're not just teaching skills – we're cultivating future ocean leaders who will shape the sustainable development of their island and the wider Caribbean region," explains Veta Wade, the founder and director of Fish 'N Fins. The organization recognizes that data collection, processing, and interpretation can be daunting, but they are committed to simplifying these concepts into accessible and culturally appropriate science and advocacy that engages individuals as young as 12. By empowering youth to lead the charge, Fish 'N Fins aims to dismantle the legacies of colonial science and systemic racism that have historically alienated Black communities from their connection to the ocean.

[guayaba-podrida]

Art must come out of catastrophe. My position on catastrophe, as you say, is, I’m so conscious of the enormity of slavery and the Middle Passage and I see that as an ongoing catastrophe […] That one should have found a home, after a long period of peregrination, and within minutes of finding that home, to be told that you have to leave, on a flimsy, unethical excuse, is another form of catastrophe.

Kamau Brathwaite, "Poetics, Revelations, and Catastrophes: an Interview with Kamau Brathwaite" (2005)

[caribbeanart]

Some books for those of you interested in art and environmental movements as seen from Latin America and the Caribbean, where nature and human life are commonly seen as interdependent. Haven't gotten to read these but have read work by some of the editors and definitely recommend looking into this or any work available to you related to this topic, esp. for artists or those of you looking to be involved in the environmental movement but in a way that feels more "culturally in tuned" to rural societies, where nature and humans aren't seen as separate (something I personally find deeply alienating about mainstream environmental movements).

A few important themes that pop up in this movement include integrating indigenous knowledge around water systems with modern-day technology and how art can be used to reimagine what that might look like in a way that also addresses environmental justice. Another key theme is the idea of the agency of nature, an idea that many indigenous peoples recognize, as exemplified in the onset of natural and man-made disasters that have been happening more and more. That is to say, that nature cannot be controlled and shouldn't be and there are ways to work in tandem with it that exudes care and respect for it and all living things who depend on it.

[aguasdejamaica]

But when you push a fisherman from a beach, where did you want him to go? We are living in between waters and we have no access to a beach? [x] [x]

[caribbeanart]

Book: Allegories of the Anthropocene

#Climate Change #Environmental Art

In Allegories of the Anthropocene Elizabeth M. DeLoughrey traces how indigenous and postcolonial peoples in the Caribbean and Pacific Islands grapple with the enormity of colonialism and anthropogenic climate change through art, poetry, and literature. [...] DeLoughrey examines the work of a wide range of artists and writers—including poets Kamau Brathwaite and Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, Dominican installation artist Tony Capellán, and authors Keri Hulme and Erna Brodber [x]

[aguasdejamaica]

One World in Relation (2010) dir. Manthia Diawara

[guayaba-podrida]

But the culture of the Caribbean, at least in its most distinctive aspect, is not terrestrial but aquatic, a sinuous culture where time unfolds irregularly and resists being captured

Antonio Benítez Rojo, The Repeating Island