WATER IS WAITING. Melanie G.S. Walby created a Kickstarter to turn her art exhibit into a book. (Photo via Kickstarter)

In 2021, Minneapolis-based artist Melanie G.S. Walby’s exhibit “Clear Water” found success at UW-Eau Claire’s Foster Gallery. Now, in 2024, that art may be immortalized as a book.

Created as a conversation between herself and another Black woman, “Clear Water” was built to examine the relationship between understanding and unlearning systemic racism to kindle reflection and give people of color a chance to heal. Finding herself having the same conversations over and over, Walby decided to pour that energy into a design project where she could say everything she felt all at once. Rather than angle her message to someone who needed to learn, she wrote from the perspective of someone who already knew and was tired, who could find themself both validated and affirmed through reading.

Walby recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to have the book printed. The all-or-nothing fundraising effort seeks to raise $22,925 by Feb. 29.

“I have a bigger imagination for reconciliation because of this show and the way it changed people I thought were incapable of changing. … This country needs to reconcile with itself,” Walby said.

“Clear Water” was exhibited for the first time amidst a global pandemic, and Walby was inspired because this allowed the viewer to witness the art alone, undistracted by crowds, and left in tune with their every emotion.

“There is a beauty and value in making art not for a crowd,” Walby said. “It’s really changed how I view my work.”

With this solitary experience in mind, Walby aimed to create a physical relic of her art’s experience, something tactile and interactive, designed to hold the reader’s attention. “The intent was really just interrupting our relationship with the written word, and how people in this country don’t read,” Walby said. “This isn’t just a book, it’s an experience.” 

With this in mind, Walby drew inspiration with swatchbooks: The book will feature different-sized papers, pull-outs, and textures aimed to appeal to all people on the literary spectrum.

Walby recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to have the book printed. The all-of-nothing fundraising effort seeks to raise $22,925 by Feb. 29.

Knowing that 2024 is a presidential election year, Walby wanted to get her work in front of as many eyes as possible, to give people an experience they might not have otherwise had. “The goal in the Kickstarter is to know the work, not me. ... if I don’t reach this financial goal, this project is not going to happen,” Walby said. Every pledge will go to support the printing of a project Walby has spent years cultivating – a labor of love back to the Eau Claire community that was formative in her artistic journey.

“So the story of social justice movements, and the story of scripture, is that when you center the most marginalized, everybody else gets liberated. And so in writing to just Black women, you're healing everybody else. In fighting for the rights of trans Black women, you're fighting for the rights of everybody else,” Walby said.

Clear Water will be available to pre-order through the Kickstarter campaign or through Dotters Books.