Invigorate the Common Well

• A Civic Project

• A Sacred Project

• A Communal Health Project

An Initiative:

• To inspire gratitude for Water, one of the most precious gifts of life.
• To listen to the teachings of water as it tunes our hearts and minds towards the value of "the commons," a founding principle of our nation.
• To enhance awareness of the Mississippi as a source of all Minneapolis city water.
• To invest in "the commons" - the non partisan collective assurance of healthy water for all - with a faith that sustainable and healthy systems are possible.
• To connect our local drinking water experience with the large issues facing global water quality, consumption, conservation, and ownership.
• To conduct residencies throughout the region about water.
• To discourage the proliferation of plastic water bottles.
• To encourage the collective power of individuals to enact positive change upon the problems created by the accumulation of individual actions.

Phase One 2006-2008

Performance trilogy at In the Heart of the Beast Theatre

There was once a beautiful two-story decorative fountain at the center of the Avalon Theater yet the only trace remaining is a small drinking fountain  adorned with the sign "Out of Order". Those who have come thirsty to the Avalon Theater in recent years found their water for sale in plastic bottles.
Our broken fountain served a sad shrine to the neglect of our public Water "commons". Instead of investing in our own public fountain, our theater inadvertently supported a system of privatized Water through the sale of plastic bottled Water.
We will restore our fountain to a place of beauty turning our attention towards the complex geological and human systems that bring Water to quench our thirst. How little we think of Water in our daily life, yet our city is named the "City of Water"! From our privileged Water-rich city, the pipes of our fountain connect us to the growing issues of Water quantity, quality and "ownership" in the whole world. How are we connected to these issues locally, and what must we do?
Invigorate the Common Well evolves from a team of artists and activists listening to the wisdom of advisors from scientific, cultural and spiritual sectors and prolific information about Water issues.

It is a trilogy of 3 episodes:

Episode 1 - March, 2007
Come to the Well

Focused on Water  quantity, consumption, and "ownership"

Episode 2 - February to March, 2008
Beneath the Surface

Focused on Water quality and our local Water systems

Episode 3 - July 26, 2008
Decorate the Well in Gratitude

We will dedicate the renewed drinking fountain in our theater's lobby with a day long water festival

ON THE COMMONS

Understanding the presence of the commons in our world makes it possible to imagine social change taking place in new ways. We rise together to claim our inheritance – of nature, culture and community. In so doing; we recognize our responsibility to safeguard this inheritance for future generations. Here in Minnesota, at the headwaters of the Mississippi, the opportunity for leadership in re-defining our relationship to water is ripe and critical. How we share our water today with those who live downstream has ripple effects around the globe.

In our collaboration with In the Heart of the Beast, On the Commons celebrates the role of art and culture in making the commons tangible, concrete and visible. We thank In the Heart of the Beast for the privilege of working together to bring public attention to water as a commons. Across the U.S. On the Commons encourages deeper public knowledge and interest in the significance of the commons in all of our lives. You can find out more about us at: www.onthecommons.org.

— Rachel Breen, On the Commons

MANY THANKS TO
OUR PROJECT ADVISORS:

• Annika M. Bankston, P.E.,Minneapolis Water Works
• Gemma Bulos, International Water Networker
• Tara Chadwick, Danza Mexica Cuauhtémoc of Minnesota
• Whitney Clark, Friends of the Mississippi River
• Doug Freeman,Minnesota Arts and Ecology Alliance
• Susan Gust, GRASS ROUTES of U of M;
  City of Mpls Public Health Advisory Committee
• Neal Hines, Civil Engineer Dept. of Limnology, Hydrology
• Seitu Jones, Advisor of Community and Public Spaces
• Jim Koplin, Researcher, Environmental Activist
• Satish Kumar, Resurgence magazine, Schumacher College
• Ken Meter, Director of Crossroads Research
• Mark Muller, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
• Anil Naidoo, Council of Canadians
• Patrick Nunnally,Mississippi River Initiative
• Megan O’Hara,MN Arts and Ecology Alliance
• MaryLynn Pulscher,Minneapolis Parks and Recreation
• April Rust, Project WET
• Akhmiri Sekhr-Ra,
  Powderhorn Phillips Cultural Wellness Center
• John G. Shepard, Center for Global
  Environmental Education, Hamline University
• Stew Thornley, Minnesota Department of Health,
  Drinking Water Protection
• Shiney Varghese, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy