Women and Water

The Women and Water exhibit celebrates and honors water by portraying women who work with it, protect it and advocate for it. Featured are scientists, water-walkers, teachers, farmers, activists and healers, all who hold deep connections with water.

Seven years in the making, Mary Burns' twenty-nine handwoven jacquard portraits of women from around the world form the core of the exhibit.

Water is the life blood of the planet and of all living beings. May we be deeply inspired by the work of these remarkable women to protect our waters.

Mary Burns began weaving over 50 years ago, and in 2008, leapt into learning the highly complex process of Jacquard weaving. Her first exhibit of portraitures, Ancestral Women: Wisconsin's 12 Tribes, was completed in 2016 and still travels today. Her work has been displayed in numerous exhibits and shows, including several art and science collaborations.