National Regional Arts Fellow Felicity Chapman has brought a powerful creative lens to Australia’s premier water event, appearing as the inaugural Artist in Residence at Ozwater’26.

Supported by ARUP, and in partnership with Australian Water Association and Regional Arts Australia, Felicity’s appearance as the inaugural artist in residence at Ozwater became a landmark milestone for the conference and delegates were invited to experience water through a different lens through a special activation by Felicity.

A proud Aboriginal woman born on Wiradjuri Country and living on Ngaro Country in the Whitsundays, Felicity is a Stolen Generations descendant, founder of Deadly Weavers. Her practice sits at the intersection of First Nations cultural knowledge, environmental science and creative research - using eco-dyeing to make visible what water carries, holds, and reveals.

In 2025, Felicity was awarded a National Regional Arts Fellowship through Regional Arts Australia, a strategic initiative supported by the Australian Government's Regional Arts Fund. The fellowship provides regional artists and arts workers with a guaranteed income to pursue ambitious creative projects, research and professional development.

The National Regional Arts Fellowship Program is a strategic project supported by the Australian Government Regional Arts Fund and delivered by Regional Arts Australia. Fellowships provide guaranteed income for regional artists and arts workers to develop work, skills, networks, or research.

Felicity's fellowship project investigates how different water sources materially alter botanical eco-dye outcomes, transforming water quality and environmental conditions into tangible, visual records. By combining scientific inquiry with artistic practice, her work offers a unique perspective on water as both a cultural and ecological resource.

"I would like to thank Regional Arts Australia and the Office for the Arts for funding my fellowship, examining the correlation of mineral/heavy metal content of water and eco-dyeing outcomes. I am incredibly grateful to ARUP and the Australian Water Association for the opportunity and support to share my findings at OzWater'26," Felicity shared. "I look forward to seeing industry utilising the unique insights creatives can bring to the table."

It is this intersection of art, science and environmental stewardship that makes Felicity a compelling voice at Ozwater, the country’s largest annual water conference and exhibition, bringing together water professionals, industry leaders, researchers, policymakers and innovators from across Australia and around the world.

Regional Arts Australia Executive Director Ros Abercrombie said Felicity’s presence at Ozwater’26 demonstrated the vital role artists can play in opening new ways of thinking about complex systems.

“Felicity’s work is a powerful reminder that water is not separate from culture, community or Country,” Ros said.

“Her practice brings together deep material knowledge, First Nations perspectives and contemporary creative research in a way that invites people to slow down and really consider their relationship with water.

“On behalf of Regional Arts Australia, we thank our partners in ARUP and the Australian Water Association for the trust and vision at bringing the artist in residence vision to life.” 

Presented during National Reconciliation Week, the activation also highlighted the importance of Traditional Knowledge systems, cross-disciplinary collaboration and creative approaches to understanding the environments and communities shaped by water.

For Regional Arts Australia, Felicity’s role as the inaugural Artist in Residence at Ozwater’26 also speaks to the growing importance of connecting artists with sectors beyond the arts. Her work sits at the meeting point of creativity, ecology, science, industry and cultural knowledge, offering a meaningful example of how regional artists can contribute to national conversations about sustainability, resilience and future-making.

“Having a First Nations artist of Felicity’s calibre embedded within a major national water event is incredibly significant,” Ros said.

“It shows what becomes possible when artists are invited into spaces where major decisions, ideas and relationships are being formed. Felicity’s work makes visible the connections between water, place and people, and that is exactly the kind of conversation we need more of.”

The activation also forms a timely connection to Regional Arts Australia’s upcoming national gathering, Artlands 2026, which will take place from 23–25 September 2026 on Kabi Kabi Country at Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

Artlands 2026 will bring together artists, cultural workers, First Nations voices, regional policy thinkers, industry leaders and collaborators from across regional Australia for three days of deep listening, bold ideas and collective imagining.

The framework for Artlands 2026 is Water Connects Everything.

Across regional Australia, water shapes landscapes, ecosystems, industries and livelihoods. It runs through culture, memory and identity. It moves between flood and drought, crisis and recovery, revealing the systems communities depend on to live, adapt and endure.

At Artlands 2026, water will be used as a lens rather than a topic. It will open multiple entry points into conversations linking Country, culture, creativity and the future of regional Australia.

Felicity’s Ozwater’26 activation offers a compelling example of this framework in practice.

“Felicity’s work is the perfect showcase for the Artlands 2026 provocation that water connects everything,” Ros said.

“She shows us that water is not just infrastructure. It is story, memory, ecology, science, healing and spirit. Through her practice, she creates a bridge between communities, industries and knowledge systems.

“Felicity's textiles don't just reflect the environment… they are records of it.”

Unlike a conventional conference, Artlands 2026 is being designed as part symposium, part think tank and part workshop. It will centre participation over passive listening, conversation before presentation, and real practice and lived experience over theory.

The gathering will explore how creativity connects with the systems shaping regional futures, opening dialogue between artists and sectors engaged with water, environment, infrastructure, science, industry and regional development.

For Regional Arts Australia, Felicity’s residency at Ozwater’26 is a powerful reminder that artists are essential to these conversations.

By transforming water conditions into visible, tactile works, Felicity invites people to encounter water not only as something to manage, measure or protect, but as something to listen to, learn from and be in relationship with.

Her work makes visible the role of creativity in helping communities interpret change, understand complex systems and imagine future possibilities.

As Regional Arts Australia looks ahead to Artlands 2026, Felicity Chapman’s presence at Ozwater’26 offers a resonant starting point: an artist standing within a national industry gathering, reminding us that water holds knowledge, memory and connection, and that creativity has an essential role to play in shaping Australia’s future.