WET:LAND Learning Series: A Soggy Affair

"Uncovering Houston's Wetlands: past, present, future," is a two-part series of talks about Houston's wetlands set against the backdrop of Skyler Smith's artwork Wet:LAND in Art Club.

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The first talk, A Soggy Affair, is an informal, gallery-based conversation exploring Houston area wetlands as both ecological systems and cultural teachers. Blending personal history, regional geology, environmental science and reflection, the talk invites the audience to experience wetlands not just as infrastructure or background scenery, but as living, relational spaces—places where land and water, history and future, human and nonhuman continually negotiate coexistence. Designed to give voice to the WET:LAND exhibit, the conversation ephasizes embodiment, storytelling and shared inquiry, encouraging viewers to deepen their emotional and philosophical connection to wet places that quietly sustain houston.

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More about the WET:LAND Learning Series: 

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Wetlands have been central to Houston's development from its inception. The Battle of San Jacinto, which achieved Texas' independence from Mexico, was fought in a wetland; and Allen's Landing, which signifies the Allen brothers' creation of the town of Houston in 1836, is on the wet banks of Buffalo Bayou. Over the past 200 years, the region's wetlands and prairies have been drained and paved to make way for the development of Houston's vast urban footprint.

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Today, it is widely understood that wetlands are essential to floodwater management, water quality, and biodiversity in Houston. As the unfolding climate crisis reveals deep vulnerabilities in Houston's urban development, wetlands are being wielded by various groups for various means: to manage water, prevent development, influence their public image, or create natural amenities.

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After the 2023 supreme court case, Sackett v EPA, reduced the EPA's ability to regulate development of wetlands, these essential sites are at further risk of destruction. In response, environmentalists, engineers, and designers are looking for novel ways to protect, build, and vision the wetlands of the future.

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The WET:LAND Lecture Series invites local experts working within these worlds to share stories about wetlands that highlight moments in Houston's past, present, and future. The series seeks to uncover the methods, frameworks, and contexts of wetland making and un-making projects within the Houston region.

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