Cultural institutions worldwide are invited to join Flying Rivers, a climate action initiative focused on water, to develop responses through their existing programmes, communities, collections and capacities.
16 September 2026
Open Call:
Cultural institutions are invited to join Flying Rivers, a distributed climate action initiative centred on water and the hydrological cycle.
The initiative does not prescribe a particular format, scale or type of participation. Instead, institutions are invited to build on their existing programmes, communities, collections, sites and capacities to develop responses to water-related issues within their own contexts. Flying Rivers takes its name from the movement of water vapour through the atmosphere, which connects distant regions as part of the planet’s interconnected hydrological cycle.
The initiative seeks to use culture to develop public understanding of the water cycle and foster the cultural imaginaries and collective norms required to value and protect water. It also aims to contribute to political action on the water crisis and support education around long-term climate change.
Institutional Context:
Artist Bill Balaskas created Flying Rivers in collaboration with the Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW) and Anna Dupont, co-curator of GCEW follow-up initiatives.
The initiative responds to the GCEW’s final report, The Economics of Water: Valuing the Hydrological Cycle as a Global Common Good, published in October 2024. The report argues that the hydrological cycle should be recognised and governed as a global common good, highlighting the interconnected relationship between water systems, climate, and human societies.
Flying Rivers was announced and developed in 2025 through three events presented as part of the official public programme of the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale. BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art was announced as the programme’s first collaborating institution during the Biennale’s finissage week.
The initiative is now seeking to expand its network of participating institutions internationally through sustained and coordinated cultural action.
Eligibility & Criteria:
Flying Rivers is open to cultural institutions across all geographies, scales and organisational models.
Eligible institutions may include:
- Museums and galleries of contemporary, modern, medieval and ancient art
- Archaeology, architecture and design organisations
- Film and photography institutions
- Natural history and science organisations
- Interdisciplinary and discipline-specific institutions
- Collecting and non-collecting institutions
- Heritage sites
- Archives and libraries
- Cultural centres and foundations
- Biennials
- Community-led and artist-run spaces
- Other cultural and institutional forms
There is no prescribed format or scale of participation. Institutions can develop responses based on their existing programmes, audiences, collections, sites, and capacities.
Practical Information:
Opportunity: Flying Rivers
Type: Institutional climate action initiative
Location: International
Eligibility: Cultural institutions worldwide
Focus: Water, the hydrological cycle and climate action
Participation format: No prescribed format or scale
Application deadline: Ongoing
Fee: Not specified
Support: Participating institutions will receive a visual communication toolkit, including posters, digital banners, artwork tags, and projections, along with learning resources they can adapt to their own programmes and contexts.
The programme will also facilitate exchanges between participating institutions and scientists, activists and researchers.
Participating institutions will be invited to contribute to the Flying Rivers International Museums Consortium, which aims to develop shared principles for climate action within the cultural sector. A key ambition of the consortium is to develop an International Water Pledge for the cultural sector, co-authored by participating institutions, scientists, artists, researchers and activists.
Applications & Queries:
We accept expressions of interest on an ongoing basis.
Institutions should submit a brief introduction to their organisation, including its location and, if desired, initial thoughts about participation.
Expressions of interest can be submitted through the Flying Rivers contact form or by email at info@flyingrivers.art.
Application deadline: Ongoing.
Please refer to the official website for more information.
