Supported by Independent Curators International

Backwater Truths is an ensemble exhibition of artists whose work and livelihoods are rooted along the Mississippi River. Backwater Truths evokes “backwater” as a term in conversation with the usage of reimagining and remembrance. It continues a conversation about how the river is discussed and engaged across different regions, from the Midwest to the Gulf South, an exhibition that evolves as it moves upriver and downriver along the Mississippi River. This exhibition allows St. Louis narratives to flow to New Orleans, New Orleans stories to return to St. Louis, and new meanings to emerge along the way.

Rather than presenting the region as something to be newly discovered or reinterpreted for an external audience, Backwater Truths adds to the discourses and practices already taking place within these regions. Through the framework of "giving up on citizenship," for a public audience encountering this work outside of academic frameworks, the exhibition makes visible the complications of place, history, and representation. It challenges viewers to reconsider how narratives of distance, progress, and authority shape their understanding of communities along the river’s banks.