“We are water. Our bodies hold streams—sweat, blood, tears, urine. Each of us is a walking river, sloshing along with damp insides held together by a paper-thin skin,” says Professor Emerita Basia Irland.

Irland is the guest lecturer for the next Lobo Living Room: Reading the River on Wednesday, April 24 in Ballroom C of the Student Union Building. Sponsored by the UNM Alumni Association, the lecture begins with registration at 5:30 p.m. followed by the presentation, then a reception in Smith Plaza.

In this talk, Irland, Fulbright Scholar and founder of the Art and Ecology Program at UNM, will discuss how her work as an artist and activist explores international water issues, specifically waterborne diseases, drought, and rivers she has explored in Africa, Canada, Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and the U.S.

“We will get into the mud, muck, complexities, and eddies around each bend in a river’s course. No one can exist without clean water and yet it is often polluted beyond measure, with toxins, medical waste, and factory debris clogging the arteries upon which we rely for our very existence,” says Irland. “In this radically interconnected world it becomes our collective responsibility to compassionately take care of each other and our environment.”

All Lobo alumni and community members are invited. RSVP by Tuesday, April 23 on the UNM Alumni Association website. For additional information contact the Alumni Relations Office at 505-277-5808 or alumni@unm.edu.