Above: “Eiko, A Body in Valparaiso, Chile.” Photo by William Johnston.

Funded by a Knight Arts Challenge grant, Tigertail Production’s month-long Water festival will begin flowing through Miami on March 30, with multi-disciplinary events held at unconventional venues. This is an ambitious, novel event, where water as a broad concept–the essence of life, the “element” that engulfs Miami and its islands more than any other, the cause of climatic concern–interacts with artistic endeavors, on the river, in tropical gardens, in a cave and even in standard auditoriums.

Water will include film screenings, dance, music, talks and commissioned projects, with the aim of not just raising conscientiousness about our relationship with our unique sea-level ecology, but also how art, technology and even ritual are intertwined with this environment.

The idea started to percolate with Mary Luft, founder and executive director of Tigertail about two years ago. One of the longest-lasting and most respected arts presenters in Miami, Tigertail has been organizing month-long fests for years, including FLA/BRA (Florida-Brazil) and FLA/FRA (Florida-France), which involved performances and collaborations with groups from those countries.

But with the increasing attention to climate change and rising sea levels profoundly impacting Florida, Luft said she starting thinking about “a broader look” at how art and science can interact with this new reality, a way to “give artists a voice [to create] innovative work…outside of prescribed boxes.”

Luft came up with the idea of annual festivals centered around the concept of the four elements, determined in ancient Greece as fire, water, earth and air. Water was the obvious choice for the inaugural; because Miami is perched at the point of a swampy peninsula, and also maybe because she has lived so close to the Miami River for years.

Thus, one of the most fascinating events offered during the month is Miami River Day. While pondering boat tours in conjunction with the Miami River Commission–which is celebrating its 20th River Day–she came across something else. “After all this time, I discovered the Miccosukee Embassy off of the river,” Luft recalled. “It’s a truly sophisticated building, with mahogany floors,” and it also happens to sit above limestone caves.

The result is multi-pronged. There will be two free boat tours during which an FIU music ensemble will play Handel’s famed “Water Music” on the top deck, while guests get to know the architecture of the river. A flotilla of four boats, customized by artists, including locals Justin H. Long and Emmett Moore, will cruise the river, which can be viewed from Lummus Park and other public access points. And then there will be two presentations at the Miccosukee Embassy from an Otto Clan reverend, which will include Native American rituals, installations made from local waters, and tours of the caves.

Expect the unexpected.

“Eiko, A Body in Fukushima.” Photo by William Johnston.

The most prominent events will come from Eiko Otake, one half of the Butoh-inspired dance company Eiko and Koma. On March 30th, she’ll kick off the festival with one of three performances, plus a video lecture, based on her research in Fukushima, Japan. One of the most devastating ecological disasters of modern times, Fukushima not only bore the brunt of a horrific tsunami, but also became a potential nuclear Armageddon.

Eiko’s “A Body in Places” series is hard to explicate, a mesh of Japanese themes of subtle movement and minimalism, with a connection to place, and its ultimate fragility. Fresh off a stint performing versions of “A Body in Places” in New York City’s East Village–covered extensively in the New York Times–Eiko will dance at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens and the Perez Art Museum Miami (places she picked out on a scouting visit here), and will lead a video talk at the Mindy Solomon art gallery.

Tigertail also commissioned several works for Water, including one from avant-garde dancer/choreographer Lazaro Godoy, whose piece “Medaka” also has some Japanese flavor, as it is inspired by the Japanese rice fish popular in aquariums for its color and hardiness. “He has such a strong vision,” said Luft about picking out Godoy.

Another commissioned evening comes from a combo of New York composer Fast Forward and Miami’s Barron Sherer. For the multimedia performance, Sherer has gathered water imagery from the Wolfsonian and Smithsonian archives along with his own videos, and Fast Forward will make music in unconventional objects using… water.

Fast Forward, “Malmo.” Photo by Kai Bienert.

Every Wednesday in April there will be outdoor screenings of films with H2O as a character, at the New World Symphony’s SoundScape Park, starting out, fittingly, with “Niagara” starring Marilyn Monroe.

A more local-oriented screening will be “River of Grass,” the first indie film directed by Kelly Reichardt. Being shown from April 20-22 at the Miami Beach Cinematheque, it’s a teen tale of growing up in the metaphorical swamp of suburban South Florida.

Various talks and workshops will also be part of the month’s itinerary.

Next year, according to Luft, the exploration will be of fire. “Have you ever seen a controlled burn?” she laughs.

For the full schedule of events and details about transportation, visit www.tigertail.org.