“GOT WATER”: This photograph by Dennis Davis is featured in “Our Knowledge is Power: The Cultures of Beauty and Survival in Isle de Jean Charles, LA and Shishmaref, AK,” his joint exhibition with Chantel Comardelle, on view at the Arts Council of Princeton September 9 through September 30. An opening reception is on Saturday, September 9 from 3-5 p.m.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will present “Our Knowledge is Power: The Cultures of Beauty and Survival in Isle de Jean Charles, LA and Shishmaref, AK,” an exhibition of powerful photography by Chantel Comardelle and Dennis Davis, September 9 through September 30 in the Taplin Gallery. An opening reception is on Saturday, September 9 from 3-5 p.m.

On Friday, September 22 from 4-7 p.m., the ACP and Princeton University’s High Meadows Environmental Institute will host Comardelle and Davis in person for an artist talk in the Taplin Gallery. The evening will include a film screening of Preserving our Place: Our Knowledge is Power, a 13-minute film — directed by Jeremy Lavoi and produced by Comardelle, Davis, and Elizabeth Marino — sponsored by NSF Award #1929145: Adaptations to Repetitive Flooding: Understanding Cross Cultural and Legal Possibilities for Long Term Flooding Risks.

An ACP release notes that on Kigiqtamiut Inupiat and Jean Charles Choctaw Nation lands, the earth, the ocean, the rivers, the animals, and the people are an interconnected system that have survived since time immemorial. Elder knowledge, an intimate understanding of nature and weather cycles, and traditions of food gathering have allowed Kigiqtamiut and Jean Charles Choctaw Nation people to live through extreme changes on the coast, changes in social life, and the attempted genocide of Indigenous people throughout North America. These two Indigenous communities now stand on the edge of a climate crisis.

However, village life in Shishmaref, in Kigiqtamiut lands, and Isle de Jean Charles is also hard. Shishmaref lacks running water and other basic health infrastructure that most people in the U.S. take for granted. Isle de Jean Charles struggles with frequent instances of water contamination and risk of Naegleria fowleri, which render the water unusable. For both villages, economic opportunities are limited and the struggle to make ends meet is real. Added to these challenges now are flooding and erosion, disasters brought on by relative sea level rise and climate change. Aid to relocate communities and protect lifeways has not been forthcoming and the communities face the real challenge of having homes and land washed away.

Davis and Comardelle have partnered to create a multimedia exhibit showcasing the beauty of culture and the price of the climate crisis.

“We are really excited to share our tribes’ stories with the Princeton community,” said Comardelle. “Through this exhibit, we hope that people learn and develop new perspectives on climate change and frontline communities, because now is the time to act and support us as we preserve our communities before they are swallowed into the water.”

Also on view in the ACP’s Paul Robeson Center for the Arts are “A Place Called Flourish,” a multidisciplinary solo exhibit by artist Tasha Branham, and “Art Quest: Search for Expression,” mixed-media collage work created by the students of artist and ACP instructor Donna Payton.

The ACP is located at 102 Witherspoon Street, and is free and open to the public. For more information, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org.