Glen Canyon Rises Art Tour
Reflecting on our advocacy road trip, by Jack Stauss
The idea for a Glen Canyon Art Tour came slowly, rising out of the minds of Glen Canyon comrades, year after year as we watched the water of the reservoir drop. As amazing geological features reemerged, willows sprung to life, and creeks babbled where there was once stagnant water, we knew it was time to start telling the new story of this place. We grabbed our pens, cameras, and guitars and headed to Glen.
A year later, the ragged group of river rats, musicians, and advocates decided the world needed to see what we saw. Needed to hear what we heard. People needed to know the rebirth taking place in Glen Canyon.
Glen Canyon Rises was our ode to the canyon. From film to history, spoken word to song, we wanted to share what happened to the Glen and what its future looks like.
Zak Podmore, Dawn Kish, Jackson Emmer, Peter McLaughlin and I hit the road to share our art with people across the southwest. Starting in Salt Lake City and working our way to Glenwood Springs, Moab, and finally Flagstaff, we presented to four sold out shows, with each venue and audience bringing their own perspective and questions. In each town, we were joined by a local conservation partner to help us contextualize the issues as it pertained to their community.
The show kicked off with an intro from Glen Canyon Institute followed by a presentation by Zak about the “the ugly, the bad, and the good’’ of what is happening in the region — ugly being of course, that we drowned Glen Canyon and our foresight was not bright enough to plan for a drier future. Zak showcased the changes that have taken place in the last two decades — regional aridification and the subsequent draw down of the reservoir. These changes have resulted in “the bad” — an impressive sediment load slowly creeping down into Glen Canyon. But with these challenges comes so much positivity: the amazing restoration happening before our eyes and the potential for a returned Glen Canyon, if only we give it the chance.
Following Zak’s presentation, Dawn Kish showed her film chronicling her time documenting the canyon in 2022 with Tad Nichol’s historical 4x5 camera. Dawn, like Zak, showcased the challenges of the region: the mud and the loss of place. But she also left us with a reassuring message, that the canyon can be restored should we let it. In her words about Glen Canyon: “her future is still unknown.” It is up to us to advocate for the canyon and to help it come back to life.
With a brief intermission to refuel on snacks and beverages, the audiences got ready for an hour of music from Peter and Jackson. The songs these two had written and practiced were a culmination of their time in the canyon married with the histories of river runners and canyon explorers from decades before. With passion and humor, we all sat mesmerized by their music. Jackson has even released one of his amazing Glen Canyon tracks (written on the banks of the river, and performed at each show) on Spotify. You can listen to it here.
Between each of the shows, I watched the desert southwest flash by out of the window of Zak’s car. We listened to music, told stories, and got excited for that next night’s performance. Traveling through the region with our crew then seeing all of the people that came out to support the river and canyon was a hopeful reminder that we’re not all alone in these fights to protect and restore wild places.
During the performance, Dawn and Peter would bring out two very special guests. Tad Nichols’ 4x5 camera — now used by Dawn — and renowned musician and Glen Canyon activist Katie Lee’s guitar — on which Peter continues to strum tunes of change. With these amazing pieces of river history, it felt like there was a direct through line from the original explorers and advocates of Glen Canyon to us still fighting today.
The power of music, film, education and the passion of a few relentless river rats helps us realize that, while the future is uncertain, there is hope for the Glen Canyon. If we continue to learn, protect, and advocate for the land and water, in time, it will show us that a different future is possible.
If you missed these shows, Dawn, Zak, Peter, Eric Balken and others will be performing and presenting in Green River, Utah in May at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum. Click here to learn more.
