- Posted on November 11th, 2024
Level Centre – Exploring Water Pollution and Climate Change Through Immersive Art
For Arts Council England and Julie’s Bicycle’s annual report 2023-24, we feature over 50 practical examples of cultural organisations taking climate action including 9 other in depth case studies like this one. Check out the full interactive report here.
This case study was written by LEVEL Centre, an arts centre based in rural Derbyshire with a year-round programme of visual art exhibitions and immersive digital installations.
Water Portals Installation
Water Portals was an interactive digital journey exploring the microscopic world of water and raising awareness about the pollution in our waterways. Audiences were invited to discover the beautiful microbes that live in our rivers, lakes and seas, and to understand the crucial roles they can play in creating a healthy world. The installation provided an opportunity to highlight how these important microbes are at risk from climate change, and what simple things we can do to make a difference.
Water Portals was commissioned by LEVEL Centre and made possible with project funding awarded to Henry Driver from Arts Council England.
Henry Driver is a digital artist and game developer. He creates projects that connect us to our environment and presents achievable responses to climate change. He has shown work across the world and his videos have been broadcast in over 40 countries. While in the UK he has shown at numerous galleries including Tate Liverpool, Tate Britain, The Whitechapel and The Barbican.
Water Portals was on display at LEVEL in Autumn 2023 and was projected in large format onto three walls of our digital space. Visitors were invited to sit and enjoy a voice over, which introduced environmental themes such as how important it is to keep our water systems clean and the impact of plastics on our planet. Visitors were then able to use controllers to interact with the installation, adding and taking away different organisms and microplastics to see how it affected the water system.
We also devised other ways for visitors to participate, including creating a learning pack for schools and a layered artwork that the community could make with an overhead projector layering microbe images and colours.
At the end we had a pledge board with five actions visitors could choose to commit to in order to make a difference. We had 296 pledges. Seeing members of the public really engage with the exhibition and pledging to make a difference reinforced our intentions to have at least one exhibition with environmental themes per year.
“Art and creativity are not just tools for expression; they are vital instruments for addressing and communicating environmental issues. Through innovative storytelling and impactful visuals, we can inspire awareness, foster empathy, and drive action within our community. The benefits of this work resonate deeply, as we witness a more engaged, informed, and proactive society dedicated to protecting our planet.”
– Kerry Andrews, Executive & Artistic Director, LEVEL Centre
The key collaborators of Water Portals include:
- Research support: Dr Silke Kroeger, Dr Andrew Mayes, Dr John Pinnegar & Dr Jenni Rant
- Accessibility advice: LEVEL Centre
- Sound: Matt Soczywko
- Mastering: Owen Pratt
- Voiceover: Lynsey Murrell
Participant Engagement
As part of the Water Portals project, we considered how to ask our audience to make a simple change in their lives. We agreed to create a simple pledge board and used environmentally responsible stickers that the community loved.
The five pledges were:
- Save water by… turning off the tap when you brush your teeth. Saves 5 litres OR by taking a shorter shower. Every minute can save up to 10 litres.
- Reduce water pollution by… using more eco-friendly washing liquids don’t throw chemicals down the drain.
- Reduce the number of microplastics by… not littering, making sure you recycle, buy more second-hand items.
- Reduce emissions by… buying more second-hand items, eating more food that is in season or has low food miles, consume less – particularly fast fashion.
- Visit River Action UK to find out more of how we can look after our rivers.
A total of 296 stickers (pledges) placed on our Water Portals board called Can You Help?
- 52 pledges to reduce water pollution
- 77 pledges to save water
- 54 pledges to reduce emissions
- 65 pledges to reduce the number of microplastics
- 48 pledges to visit River Action UK
- 101 trees will be planted over the coming year
The installation created a lot of conversations amongst staff and visitors. People were surprised by how much they learnt from the experience.
“Really great and interesting and visually stimulating. Shall recommend to others”
– Aged 71 + 10 year old grandson
“Very interesting – no idea what was in water”
“Fascinating and beautiful. Learned a lot. Will continue to try to live cleaner!”
“I never knew how many amazing shapes there are in nature – I realise now we MUST protect and help nature – Thank You!”
“It will not be the same drinking a glass of water again”
– Tom
In addition to LEVEL, Water Portals has since been shown in different versions at Gainsborough House, EA Sustain Festival, The Suffolk Show, Suffolk Youth Climate Conference, Pier Projects, Saxmundham Winter Fest, Suffolk New College and West Suffolk College and is available for touring.
As of September 2024, Water Portals has reached 591 visitors in person and 13,930 through touring.
More about LEVEL, Henry Driver and Water Portals
LEVEL is based in a rural location and experiences first-hand the impact of climate change. Rowsley often floods when there is excessive rain. We have a responsibility to undertake some creative projects that could help to make some change.
LEVEL specialises in projects with learning disabled people, disabled creatives, young people who are autistic or neurodivergent and the wider community. The organisation runs a residency lab for disabled creatives or artists who consider access in their practice. Henry applied for a residency with us. This marked the start of the collaboration.
During the residency Henry researched and prototyped an accessible digital artwork that used elements of game design and interactive art to create a playful and visually stunning experience that revealed the microscopic world hidden to us. During the residency it took inspiration from the local Derwent River in Derbyshire to experiment and test ideas for a new work. Henry also held workshops with learning disabled adults from a day centre to test and try out the prototype. In our debrief meeting a few weeks after the residency we knew we wanted to develop the idea further so commissioned Henry to create an interactive installation. This was where the idea for Water Portals was agreed.
Water Portals was created using solar power, and we have started a process of planting a tree for every visitor group that came to the exhibition. We wanted to try and offset some of the energy used to present the installation. We collaborated with the Well Wood Space. At this wood, 39 trees to date have been planted out of 101 that will be planted over the coming year. So far they have planted 15 Hazel, 10 Silver Birch, 10 Mountain Ash, 3 fruit and one donated tree.
Future Directions
Following Water Portals on display at LEVEL, we asked Henry Driver to join our Green Team. Our Green Team is a subcommittee and forms part of our Arts Council environmental responsibility actions. It comprises staff, board and external representatives. Their role is to support, question, challenge and help LEVEL improve its environmental responsibilities.
This collaboration has led to our next project with Henry Driver called Silhouette (working title). It will be a virtual environmental game about planting trees and restoring habitats, and aims to fund real-world tree planting. Henry is based in Suffolk and he has been working with students and alumni from West Suffolk College and University who have shaped the game into a pertinent statement, rejecting industrialisation and destruction, and instead embracing preservation and conservation.
Header image: Water Portals – Level Centre Ltd – Credits: Henry Driver, David John King Photography.
