Aridity Lines: The keepers and the thieves of water streams W/ Jumana Emil Abboud
The first episode of the podcast series Aridity Lines features artist Jumana Emil Abboud, who takes the listeners along a “water walk” she took with Im Juma’a, an elder from the village of Ein Qiniya in occupied Palestine. The walk, narrated by Abboud, delineates the intertwined journey of water, earth, plants, trees, animals and people across time through various folktales from the area. It is annotated through a live interview with the artist by host Reem Shadid, to expand on key elements; such as the paradox between more-than-human and human land demarcations, the forms of ecological knowledges relative to water protection, and the possibility of narrating climate change and resilience through the angle of oral histories. Aridity Lines is an eight-episode podcast series commissioned by TBA21–Academy and co-produced with Radio Ma3azef. Conceived by Reem Shadid and Barbara Casavecchia as part of The Current III: “Mediterraneans: ‘Thus waves come in pairs’ (after Etel Adnan),” the series invokes the local ecological knowledge that delicately treads the porous borders between its land and water bodies around the Mediterranean sea. By scientific definition, an aridity line is the line that connects all points with the same average amount of annual rainfall. We are taking this drifting threshold that traverses times and human-made borders as a magnifying lens to read through the social, environmental, cultural, and geopolitical impacts of climate change. Guest: Jumana Emil Abboud Edited and hosted by Reem Shadid Introduction and credits voice over: Jinane Chaaya Sound editor: Moe Choucair Produced by María Montero Sierra