Reimagining Wetlands :
Advancing Water Security and Sustainability through the Arts
1–2 February 2027 | Kolkata, India
Background
Venue and Logistics
Art has always been one of humanity’s oldest and most enduring languages of storytelling. In Kolkata, the continuity of artistic traditions plays a central role in civic life and is deeply connected to the city’s ecological foundations. Kolkata was originally formed from wetlands; its drainage systems, rivers, canals, ponds, and marshes are all aligned with the hydrological rhythms of a wetland landscape. Culturally, from visual arts and theatre, to music and poetry, the city has fostered generations of artists who interpret and reimagine the relationship between people, their environment, and the more-than-human world.
Aligning with the theme of World Wetlands Day 2027, “Wetlands for Sustainable Cities”, positioning Kolkata as a critical example of how wetlands underpin urban resilience, this conference seeks to reframe how we think about urban spaces in the context of water and our cultural heritage.
The conference theme “Jol-Jyanto” (a Bengali phrase meaning “water alive”), drawn from the Living Water Museum’s 2023 digital exhibition, signals water’s vitality as an ecological force and cultural metaphor.
Objectives of the Conference
Kolkata, India
1–2 February 2027
Highlight the role of water museums in sustaining artists and creative practices that interpret water heritage and wetlands. And vice versa, the role of artists and creative practitioners in enlivening and challenging the discursive practice of museums.
Showcase Kolkata’s (and the Sundarbans) unique wetlands — river(s), mangroves — as living laboratories of resilience.
Promote decolonial museum-making approaches to water heritage with a focus on wetlands through collaborative, creative and inclusive approaches, critically looking at ways of navigating ethical issues in the context of furthering wetlands conservation and wise use.
Align with World Wetlands Day (2 February) by foregrounding wetland conservation through the arts, especially in urban waterscapes.
Conference Themes and Convenors
Conference Outcomes
Develop a framework for looking at the East Kolkata Wetlands as an eco-museum within the broader framework of Ramsar Site’s Integrated Management Plan.
Launch of the Interactive Wetlands Map for the EKW with Wipro Foundation.
Pledge to develop collaborative project ideas linking museums, artists, and local communities vulnerable to climate change / water security challenges.
Create a roadmap for involving water museums within the Ramsar Convention’s Communication, Capacity Building, Education, Participation, and Awareness programme for wetlands.
Strengthened youth engagement as catalysts for extending outreach.
Develop a plan of action for future collaborations between museums and artists around creative and inclusive approaches towards wetlands conservation.
Important Dates & Links
Call for abstracts open
May 15, 2026
Announcement of results
Week of August 1, 2026
Registrations open
August 1, 2026
Registrations close
October 30, 2026
Announcement of final programme
December 1, 2026
Conference in Kolkata
February 1-2, 2027
Immersive Sundarbans trip
February 3-4, 2027
Coming SOON
Key Partners
Founded in 2017, the Living Waters Museum is a hybrid platform that curates visual and audio-visual narratives on India’s water heritage. Through digital media, storytelling, and community engagement, it promotes care and responsibility towards water. Digital and pop-up exhibitions showcase the cultural and ecological importance of wetlands and urban waterscapes, amplifying the voices of local communities, artists, women and youth. By collaborating with diverse professionals, the museum reinterprets archives, traditional and Indigenous knowledge to create inclusive experiences. More than a repository, it sparks dialogue on water challenges, connecting past legacies with present concerns of sustainability and resilience. The museum is currently based at the Centre for Water Research, IISER-Pune. It is a member of the Global Network of Water Museums, which UNESCO's Intergovernmental Hydrology Programme recognizes as a special initiative toward SDG 6 on access to clean water.
The Ramsar Culture Network (RCN) is a voluntary international community of practitioners and experts that evolved in 2013 from an earlier intergovernmental Working Group under the Ramsar Convention. It now includes about 150 members worldwide, committed to integrating cultural and natural aspects in wetland conservation. Its mission is to create synergy among individuals and organizations to enhance the Convention’s implementation. Supported briefly by the MAVA Foundation and otherwise voluntary, the Network has produced guidance materials, research, case studies, workshops, and collaborations with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and partners. It remains a vibrant forum for advice and global knowledge exchange.
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Wetlands International South Asia, established in 1996 in New Delhi, is part of the global Wetlands International network dedicated to conserving and restoring wetlands. With its headquarters in the Netherlands, Wetlands International works in over 100 countries through 18 regional and national offices, and is one of six International Organisation Partners of the Ramsar Convention. Its mission is to inspire and mobilise society to safeguard wetlands for people and nature. This is pursued through four strategies: providing science-based tools and knowledge, demonstrating effective field outcomes, fostering collaborations and partnerships, and building skills, capacities, and institutions to enable long-term conservation.