TalkAbout: The Future of Water

Every Body a Water Body, Every Field a Clock

 

ABOUT THE PANELISTS

Lisa B. Woods creates interactive media and sculptures that explore the intersections of technology, ecology, and hidden systems. Her work combines digital fabrication, light, sound, and movement with organic and figurative elements to create immersive, tactile experiences. Woods’ love of technology translates through her work, offering a nuanced critique of its impact on our world, sparking curiosity, reflection, and deeper conversations about our relationship with the environment, history, and the future.

Beili Liu is a visual artist who creates material-and-process-driven, site-responsive installations and performances. Liu’s current research focuses on the complex ecological, political, and environmental concerns and the urgency of the climate crisis on a planetary scale. Liu has exhibited extensively across the globe, in locations including Norway, Finland, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Lithuania, France, Belgium, Poland, Austria, China, Taiwan and across the United States. Born in Jilin, China, Beili Liu now lives and works in Austin, Texas. Liu received her MFA degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2003). Liu is the Leslie Waggener Endowed Professor in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin.

Robert Mace is the Executive Director of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment and a Professor of Practice in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Texas State University. Dr. Mace has over 30 years of experience in water resources and policy. He has a B.S. in Geophysics and an M.S. in Hydrology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from The University of Texas at Austin. He published a book on groundwater sustainability in 2022 and is currently working on a book about water resources and climate change.

Lope Gutiérrez-Ruiz is a designer, curator and founder of a branding studio and typeface foundry. His work is driven by a desire to connect people and build a better, more beautiful world — no matter the media or resources. Gutiérrez-Ruiz leads groundbreaking creative projects in the arts, education and non-profit sectors who translates complex ideas into compelling design. He’s a former journalist, the co-founder of multiple arts magazines with global distribution, and a civic news platform. He’s also a TED Fellow, JSK Fellow at Stanford, Next City / Vanguard Fellow, and conference speaker.