They make a way. - Maryland Institute College of Art

Ben Peterson ’12 MA, SOCIAL DESIGN
Creator, Wetwalks and Waterwalls Project / Baltimore, MD
“Education and knowledge-building through teaching materials,
mural projects, and mapping are essential to developing an
understanding of our role in the water cycle and the importance
of conserving water. By making the water system visable on
the street to create interest and provide knowledge, Wetwalks
and Waterwalls will be a constructive and creative way to
address water conservation within the Harris Creek Watershed.
Ben Peterson ’12 has found a way to blend his
twin interests in art and environmental justice.
The Wetwalks and Waterwalls project he is
spearheading, funded in part through a grant
from MICA’s Launch Artists in Baltimore (LAB)
fellowship, will help showcase the relationship
between human actions and the health of the
Chesapeake Bay and affected neighborhoods.
It will use art and design to foster stewardship
and a broader understanding of water systems.
Peterson hopes that he can creatively promote
water conservation in East Baltimore, where
MICA PLACE is located.
The project involves two phases. Wetwalks is
a map and educational walking tour that highlights
important conservation sites in the watershed.
Waterwalls is a series of mural paintings of water
and the water system, designed to be educational
spaces that trigger community and environmental
improvements. It builds on work that Peterson
completed while a student in MICA’s MA in Social
Design program, where he worked with professor
Katie O’Meara and produced a large scale, portable,
multimedia painting installation that could serve
as a backdrop and rallying point during water
cleanup events.
Peterson knows that his work will take a lot of
collaboration to complete. He is working with Blue
Water Baltimore, Banner Neighborhoods, Patterson
Park Neighborhood Association, and Madison East
End Community Association. He will also work
extensively with area public school children. He
believes that by making the water path visible, he
can help people understand how its health and the
health of the Chesapeake Bay are intertwined.
PETERSON HAS LONG BEEN INTERESTED IN
DEVELOPING CREATIVE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN
ART AND SCIENCE. HIS FOCUS DURING GRADUATE
SCHOOL WAS LEARNING HOW TO ADDRESS
SOCIETAL INEQUALITIES BY PRESENTING
INFORMATION IN A CLEAR, DIGESTIBLE FORM.
EMPOWERMENT
MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE OF ART 2012 ANNUAL REPORT
71