Fluid Futures: What Can Hydrofeminism Teach Us About Cultural Power?

What if water were understood not simply as a natural resource, but as a way of thinking about relationships, care and shared existence?

Over the past decade, hydrofeminism has emerged as one of the most compelling ideas at the intersection of feminist philosophy, ecology and contemporary art. Rather than imagining human beings as separate, autonomous individuals, hydrofeminism begins with a simple observation: our bodies are largely made of water, and that water is constantly circulating through other bodies, ecosystems and environments.

In this view, water becomes more than a material substance. It becomes a metaphor and a political reality of interdependence.

Coined and developed by philosopher Astrida Neimanis, hydrofeminism challenges rigid boundaries between self and other, nature and culture, human and non-human life. It asks us to imagine communities not as isolated identities but as networks of ongoing exchange, responsibility and care.

These ideas increasingly shape contemporary artistic practice. Recent projects in Berlin and elsewhere have explored water as a medium of memory, migration, environmental justice and collective imagination. Through exhibitions, artistic walks and research initiatives, artists and curators are asking how ecological thinking can reshape cultural institutions and public life.

For ERCF, these conversations resonate with the idea of cultural power.

Cultural power is not only about representation. It is also about the ability to imagine different relationships: between people, histories, places and futures. Like water, culture is never static. It moves, connects, transforms and carries memory across generations.

Thinking with water also encourages us to reconsider archives. Archives are often imagined as fixed repositories of the past, yet they can also become living environments where forgotten stories return, new interpretations emerge and unexpected connections are made. In this sense, archival practice itself can become fluid.

Hydrofeminism does not offer a single political programme. Instead, it invites us to pay attention to vulnerability, reciprocity and the conditions that make collective life possible. These questions are increasingly urgent as Europe faces intertwined ecological, social and political challenges.

At ERCF, we believe that future-oriented cultural thinking requires precisely this openness to new forms of knowledge and collaboration. Whether through artistic research, exhibitions or community practice, imagining more connected futures begins by recognising that no culture exists in isolation.

Perhaps water has been reminding us of that all along.