Field School: Rising Waters
March 26-27, 2026 + April 23, 2026

Project Collaborators: Sunshine Coast Arts Council, Sunshine Coast Regional District, Emily Carr University
Project Supporters: Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, Sunshine Coast Regional District

Field School: Rising Waters is a multi-part, interdisciplinary gathering that brings together artists, designers and storytellers alongside staff from regional and local municipalities, to consider shared questions of our ecological, infrastructural and cultural entanglements with water.

This year we will consider the recently released “Coastal Flood Mapping Project” that provides a detailed look into future flooding risks on the Lower Coast. Sea levels are rising and will continue to for the generations to come. Today’s King Tides are expected to be our regular daily tides by 2050. Field School seeks to translate the complex information from the Coast Flood Mapping Project into meaningful and comprehensible information, by working with artists and designers who will bring creative thinking to it. When faced with catastrophic information within the climate crisis, our tendency is to often act defensively and reactively.

The initial gathering will take place on March 26/27 and will include presentations and discussions from municipal staff alongside site walks along Sechelt’s waterfront. It will culminate in a second gathering on April 23, 2026 where participants will be invited to share their thoughts and ideas with our community through a public presentation and dialogue.

Field School is interested in working across different knowledge systems – water management, land-use zoning, aquaculture, conservation, Indigenous ways of knowing, and creativity, Field School seeks to intentionally cross-pollinate an interdisciplinary team, to see how the information about flooding is translated, expressed and experienced. Field School is intended to benefit the participants most directly, but also our community members through storytelling and art.

SCHEDULE

Thursday March 26, 2026
5PM Public Presentation and Discussion
7PM Dinner Discussion (Fieldschool Participants)
Friday March 27, 2026
10AM Breakfast and Gathering (Arts Center)
11:30AM: Site Visit: Trail Bay – Ocean Level Rising
1PM: Lunch (Arts Center)
2PM: Site Visit: Porpoise Bay – Tidal Flats and the Memory of the Marsh
3:30PM: Debrief, roundtable discussion, planning for April
5PM: Exhibition Opening + Reception

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: We are inviting applications from individuals across the Coast who are inspired by the intention of this year’s Field School and would like to be part of it. Limited to 10 participants, Field School is interested in bringing together creative thinkers from across the Coast to think with our ongoing ecological and climate crises, and see ways of bringing their creativity to the challenge of floods and rising waters. Deadline to submit is Saturday February 28th, 2026.

All Field School participants will receive an honorarium for their participation.