Vows to Water: An Artistic Exploration of Iranian Ritual and Resilience

Abstract

This paper accompanies my MFA thesis exhibition, Vows to Water: An Artistic Exploration of Iranian Ritual and Resilience, held April 20–24, 2026 at Gales Gallery, York University. Amid Iran’s severe water crisis, characterized by drying rivers, lakes, and groundwater depletion, this research-creation project investigates the enduring legacy and contemporary relevance of Iranian rain-summoning rituals. As a descendant of water guardians (Mirabs), I examine how these rituals have persisted through centuries of cultural, religious, and political change, and how their reimagining can address ecological crisis and cultural resilience.

Using a practice-based research-creation methodology that integrates installation, performance, video projection, and autoethnography, I created two interconnected works: a performance that reconstructs elements of rain-summoning ceremonies (drawing on wish-tree traditions) and a large-scale installation of seven human-figure fabric sculptures and a tree, animated by projections of endangered water surfaces.

I argue that rain-summoning rituals function as evolving cultural strategies for responding to climate crisis. Through this artistic intervention, the project preserves endangered traditions while contributing to broader discourses on collective memory, environmental justice, and resilience.

Key words: rain-summoning rituals, Iranian water crisis, research-creation, performance art, installation art, cultural resilience, ecological art, Mirab heritage, diasporic practice.