Wendy Murray

‘Dam Empty? Damn Right!’ is a collaborative visual art project by socially engaged artists Anna Macleod (Ireland) and Wendy Murray (Australia).

Right to water
Water is a right,
Write to water
Water is a write,
It's time to write
It's time to right,
Dam empty? Damn right!

Both Macleod and Murray are interested in the discourse of politics in site -specific public arenas where art can contribute to public dialogue of citizen empowerment and contribute to social change. On 29th November 2015 on the day when thousands of people gathered to march from Speakers Corner on the Domain in Sydney in support of action on climate change at the Paris Climate Change Conference, Macleod and Murray distributed the hand printed zines and read out the 2010 UN declaration on Water as a Human Right. The Zine and performance urged Australians to take action on Water as a Human Right – Australia by signing a petition to the Senate to enshrine water as a Human Right in the Australian constitution.

Dam Empty? Damn Right! reflects on the legacies of agitprop visual art practices of street posters, zine production and performative public action to draw attention to climate change, infrastructural failure and state mismanagement of the water systems in rural New South Wales. Australia’s water management history in the Murray Darling Basin is testament to the prioritisation of economic uses of water entitlements over water sustainability and cultural use. 

• In solidarity with Broken Hill, Menindee Lakes: WE WANT ACTION and Watershed Alliance
• See us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/damemptydamnright/
• ABC news: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/sydney-street-art-brings-menindee-lakes-crisis-to-the-city/6953888

Performance by artists' Anna Macleod & Wendy Murray takes place at Speakers Corner, The Domain, Art Gallery Road, Sydney, NSW on Sunday 29th November 2015 from 2 pm. In solidarity with Broken Hill, Menindee Lakes: WE WANT ACTION group and all rural communities in Australia facing water shortages. Supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and SCA, Sydney College of the Arts.

Dam Empty? Damn Right! (posters & zine)
The Zine and performance urged Australians to take action on Water as a Human Right – Australia by signing a petition to the Senate to enshrine Water as a Human Right in the Australian constitution.

If you want to take action on Water as a Human Right - Australia:
Petition your Senate to enshrine Water as Human Right in the Australian constitution. This is a link to the petition form and we have a suggested wording below. http://www.aph.gov.au/…/Petitio…/Senate_Petitions/petitions…

The petition of the undersigned shows:
The human right to water is not formally protected in Australia as the right is not recognised in the Australian Constitution or federal legislation. Water management history in Australia shows prioritisation of economic uses of water over sustainability as can be seen in the over allocation of water entitlements in the Murray Darling Basin. With the threat of water shortages increasing as a result of changes to the climate through Climate change we the undersigned petition the Senate to protect our human right to water as outlined in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 64/292 ( 28 July 2010) of the International Decade for Action 'Water for life" 2005 - 2015.http://www.un.org/waterforlifede…/human_right_to_water.shtml