This two-day event by the River Sisters collective brings together a creative workshop and a live performance on the Váh river. On June 24, Cecylia Malik and Małgorzata Grygierczyk invite you to a workshop where you will collectively prepare a performance for the following day — as part of a larger event connected with the unveiling of a mural by artist Rigo 23 at the Nocľaháreň in Trenčín.
During the workshops, participants will be able to experience how the River Sisters collective works. Cecylia Malik will explain how the collective came into being and what it does. Participants will be able to see and try on fish hats and other rebellious objects that the River Sisters use during their happenings.
We will then talk about our beloved rivers and the rivers we come from. The activists will discuss the main threats to rivers, the beautiful protests they organize in defence of rivers, the destructive impact of dams, but also new forms of nature conservation such as granting legal personality to rivers.
During the workshop, we will prepare a performance together, which we will then stage the following day for the River Vah.
We kindly ask that those wishing to participate in the workshop send the names of their favourite rivers, or the rivers they come from, to the organizers – this will help us prepare the workshop. Sending the name of a river is not essential, but it would be very helpful.
We want the Vah River to be joined by its sisters – the Slovak rivers, the tributaries of the Vah.
During the workshops:
• you will create your own board ( playwood) with the name of your beloved river,
• we will sing a song for the rivers
• we will plan a performance for the Vah River.
The workshops will be led by
Cecylia Malik – painter, visual artist, environmental activist, founder and leader of the Siostry Rzeki collective. Creator of the projects 365 Trees, 6 Rivers, and Polish Mothers on the Clear-cut. Co-founder of Wodna Masa Krytyczna. Winner of, amongst others, the Katarzyna Kobro Award (2019).
Małgo Grygierczyk – photographer, visual artist and activist. She co-runs the feminist embroidery collective Złote Rączki and the Lucciola Ladies Rock Camp music workshops. She co-creates radio plays and is involved in traditional music and singing. A member of Siostry Rzeki since 2018.
Invitation to Take Part in a Performance
Performance: ‘Sisterhood of Rivers on the River Vah’ – 25 June.
During the performance, we wish to welcome the Slovak Rivers into the family of River Sisters and Stream Brothers (rivers from other countries are also welcome; rivers know no borders).
We wish to celebrate the Sisterhood of Waters together.
Ipola, Hornad, Poprad, Danube, Orava, ( come all of you ) come forth!
Carrying boards bearing the names of our rivers as totems in defence of fresh water.
We will walk together to the Vah, passing through the streets of Trenčín in a colourfulprocession. We will sing a song together.
The boards with the names of the rivers were created during workshops – they will be displayed at the ‘Green Line’ exhibition and will return to their creators after the exhibition. Anyone holding a plaque with a river’s name, created according to the River Sisters ’instructions, joins the collective.
All the waters of the earth are connected. The Oder flows into the Baltic Sea, evaporates and returns as rain, feeding the sources of the Váh. The same water is in our bodies, in our tears, as in the blood of the earth—that is, in rivers and streams. Our cities were built on rivers; rivers had names before countries did. That is why, in times of crisis and war, we prefer to ask which river you come from rather than which country you are from.
Currently, freshwater ecosystems are the most endangered ecosystems on Earth. Rivers deserve our gratitude and respect, and an understanding of their essence. A movement for the rights of nature is currently gaining momentum worldwide. Do you know what rights everyriver should have in order to be healthy and sustain all its creatures?
Let’s go together to the Vah in a beautiful blue procession.
The performance will be led by Cecylia Malik and Małgorzata Grygierczyk.
River Sisters
A collective of female activists and artists. We defend the wild and unregulated rivers of Poland and Europe. We organise women-led social campaigns, happenings, actions, protests, art workshops and exhibitions.
The initiator and founder of the River Sisters is the Kraków-based artist and activist Cecylia Malik. Cecylia Malik established the women’s collective – the River Sisters – with the help of Anna Grajewska and Agata Bargiel.
Each River Sister represents her beloved river. Among us are, among others, the Vistula, the Oder, the Dunajec, the Bug, the Swelinia, the Drwęca, the Białka and many others. A blueboard with white lettering and waves is our trademark.
We want everyone to have access to clean water, wild nature and beautiful landscapes. That is why we defend natural rivers. We have been working together with the GreenmindFoundation and the Save the Rivers Coalition since 2018.
We’re making a splash in defence of rivers, streams, marshes and floodplains. During ourevents, we sing and wade into the rivers, and the water carries our voices further and further.
With the expert support of scientists and specialists, we discuss what effective water resourceprotection in Poland should look like. We remind people that river regulation and large artificial reservoirs do not protect us from floods and droughts. We collaborate with WWF Poland, the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot, the Greenmind Foundation, Prasownia na rzecz wszystkich istot, and OTOP Poland. We are members of the Save the Rivers Coalition and the Confluence of European Water Bodies.
