"There are currently six of us," says Harlee Trautman, Co-Creator and Dance Artist for the Naked Stark Dance Company. "All six of us are creatives, dance artists, so we are making as well as performing."
It's being presented in tandem with the Water Works' third annual fine art exhibition on view now.
"The name of the exhibition is 'Confluence,'" says Thom Duffy, Resident Curator for the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center. "Confluence in meanings of water is when two bodies, or more bodies of water, come together and that junction is called a confluence."
Duffy created a work specifically for this art exhibition that depicts a map of Philadelphia. It shows the Delaware River and the Schuylkill River running along opposite sides of the city and where they meet in South Philadelphia near the Navy Yard.
He says it tells the story of how "Philadelphia is cradled by these two rivers and use them as a resource."
There are 26 works on view, created by 11 local artists.
Duffy says there are "landscapes that represent Tinicum," along with other works that represent the Wissahickon.
"An opportunity to talk about the environment," he says. "And how we have a relationship with the water."
The shared programming on July 26 coincides with the exhibition's closing.
"We're going to do tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. where I'll be greeting visitors with the artists and we'll have an opportunity to talk about the exhibition as a whole, but then also artists are able to offer some personal insights about how their work relates to environmental issues," he says.
The exhibition is free, but pre-registration is required.
There will be two 15-minute dance performances in between the art tours at noon and 12:30 p.m.
"The Naked Stark really focuses on site-specific works, kind of nontraditional ways of doing things," says Trautman. "There are blue tape marks around the room that indicate how high the water came during Hurricane Ida and that feels like a very powerful image."
She says through the dance, they're "really trying to amplify what it means to be in relationship to water."
The West Philly-based dance company will present an expansion of this work at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in September.
Trautman adds that through the dance, they're also humans that are responding to and navigating water as a life force and as a teacher.
At Saturday's event, artists also are giving 20% of their art sales back to the fund that supports the Water Works.
"The Fairmount Water Works is a hidden gem here in Philadelphia," says Duffy. "Come and enjoy an afternoon."
Experience "Confluence" and "Bodies of Water" at the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center on July 26.
For more information:
Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center
To pre-register for "Confluence" tour at 11 a.m.
To pre-register for "Confluence" Tour at 1 p.m.
"Bodies of Water" Performances at 12 p.m. & 12:30 p.m.
The Naked Stark Dance Company
Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center
640 Waterworks Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19130