"Watershed" brings recent work from fifteen contemporary artists to UMMA for an exhibition that immerses visitors in the interconnected histories, present lives, and imagined futures of the Great Lakes region.

Some of these artists give voice to the experiences of communities that have been marginalized, making personal and visceral the social, economic, and political relationships among people, water, and land. Others use water as part of their process—whether photography, painting, sculpture—to provoke reflection on its ineffable effects on our bodies, language, and lives. All demonstrate how art can contribute to and shape current dialogues on the critical problems confronting our region.

This exhibition features new commissions from those listed below as well as works by Dawoud Bey, Pope.L, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Cai Guo-Qiang, Shanna Merola, Doug Fogelson, Matthew Brandt, and Senghor Reid.