Earth and Water: We Are the Watershed
Winter 2025
Lead Artist: Jay Wolf-Schlossberg Cohen
Contributing Artists: Emily C-D, Tamima Noorzay, and students from the Preuss School and Sixth College
Medium: Clay-based paint on canvas
Date of Creation: January-June 2025
Date of Installation: June 6, 2025
Background: This mural is the result of a CAT 124 course taught for Sixth College by Dr. Kristen Goodrich, Director of the Coastal Training Program at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. The project was guided by Bill Robertson-Geibel and coordinated by Jeanne Monahan.
Motivated by the global water crisis, an urgent yet often unseen issue, Earth and Water: We Are the Watershed raises awareness about the unequal access to water in California and Mexico. Access to clean water, a basic human right, is increasingly at risk, disproportionately affecting lower-income communities.
The design of the mural was inspired by the work of students from Sixth College and the Preuss School at UC San Diego. Over the course of an academic quarter, these students engaged deeply with the science, policy, and social impacts of water issues in our region. They then participated in art-making workshops, led by artists from Baltimore, San Diego, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, to design original murals that reflected their research and perspectives. These student-created designs served as the foundation for the final mural you see today. Through this collaborative process, the mural weaves together science, lived experience, and creative expression to highlight the challenges of water scarcity, pollution, overuse, and inequitable access.
This piece stands as a powerful reflection of community, education, and cross-cultural collaboration in the face of shared environmental challenges. It was funded by a grant received from the Open Society Foundations by Jay Wolf-Schlossberg Cohen. Generous support was also provided by UC San Diego's Preuss School and Sixth College, and special thanks are owed to Sixth College Provost Dr. Lakshmi Chilukuri and Dr. Helen Griffith, Superintendent of the Preuss School.
Sixth College presents a film by Dan Sun: "We Are the Watershed"
Get a glimpse of the mural design process in this video created by Dan Sun! Dan's work was made possible by the Triton Research and Experiential Learning Scholars (TRELS) program.
UC San Diego Unveils Course-Inspired Collaborative Mural
Sixth College's Earth and Water: We Are the Watershed CAT 124 course and mural featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune on June 7, 2025!
Past Highlights
Thank You
CAT programs and events are made possible by the generous support of Sixth College alumni and other members of the UC San Diego community. Contributions to the funding of these exciting educational initiatives is gratefully accepted.