Local artists rock for water in Haiti

Two local artists will be jamming in Edmonton tonight to help Haitians get clean drinking water.

St. Albert artists Shawn Davis and Aynsley Nisbet will be performing at the Hydeaway All Ages Art Space in Edmonton this Saturday to commemorate World Water Day, an international event designed to draw attention to water issues.

Edmonton's event will have live bands, water-themed art, and information on the world water crisis, says event organizer Rainer Bronner.

About 4,000 children die each day from waterborne diseases and poor sanitation, Bronner notes, citing data from the World Health Organization.

"There's over a billion people without access to clean affordable water." This event will raise funds for Partners in Health, a renowned non-profit group that is rebuilding Haiti's quake-ravaged water system.

"You need clean affordable water for a healthy community," Bronner says. "Unless you get the water stuff straightened out, everything else doesn't happen."

Playing for a cause

World Water Day falls on March 22, according to the United Nations, and this year's theme is clean drinking water. This is the third time that the event has been celebrated publicly in Edmonton.

In addition to Nisbet and the Killdears, Bronner says, guests at World Water Day can expect songs from Prince Albert's Bridges of Light and folk-singer John Spearn. Randal Kabatoff, Willi Stratkotter, and Yuri Lytviak will have an exhibit of water-themed photos and paintings.

Guests will also have a chance to break the Guinness World Record for world's longest toilet queue — part of an international contest to draw attention to water sanitation. (The current record is 756, according to Reuters.)

Davis, 30, will be playing the bass with the Killdears at the event. The band — a rock, folk and country group — isn't particularly focused on water, he says, but has played at many of Bronner's previous benefits. (Bronner says he does about one a month through his group Raindance Rubberboots.)

Nisbet, 26, says water is a great source of inspiration for her work. "It's one of the four main elements," she says, and she loves the sounds it makes as it trickles down streams or crashes on shore. "It's really relaxing. I feel more grounded when I drink water."

Nisbet works water into many of her paintings in the form of beaches, blue ripples and marine wildlife. One of the five pieces she plans to exhibit Saturday, "Whalesong," features a person riding an abstract killer whale with faces on it — a reference to a western aboriginal belief that our spirits join with the whales after death.

Clean water isn't something most people think about, Davis says. "You take it for granted that you can turn on the tap and get clean drinking water," he says, but a lot of work goes into making that water safe to drink — as any visit to a water treatment plant will show you.

Nisbet says she knows of many people who can't drink tap water due to their reaction to the chemicals in it. "It's such a necessary part of cleansing yourself," she says, and it's an injustice that so many people cannot get it.

Haiti's water system was smashed by the recent quake, Davis notes, and they'll need help to fix it. "[Water] is the basis of life, whether you're here or in Haiti."

Nisbet hopes people will come away from this show with more awareness of the importance of water. "The best I can possibly hope for is bring more awareness, because once you know about a thing, you want to help."

Tonight's celebrations start at 7 p.m. at 10209-100 Ave. Admission is $10 for adults; kids get in free. Festivities will continue Monday at noon at Edmonton's city hall with a free concert, speakers, and an official proclamation of World Water Day.