“Mekong Voices” Exhibit at Broad Art Museum Highlights Global Struggle for Freshwater Justice

A new art exhibit at Michigan State University’s Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum serves as a reminder that fresh water is the life blood of many communities.

Mekong Voices: Transnational River Justice in Mainland Southeast Asia came to the Broad Art Museum on Sept. 14 and will be available to view through Feb. 22, 2026.

This collection amplifies the stories and lived realities of communities surrounding the Mekong River, which flows through six countries: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The river has served as a lifeline—providing water, food, transportation and livelihoods. But in recent years, it has faced growing threats from climate change, dam construction and development pressures.

“Water Lilies” by Kalyanee Mam will be on display as part of the Mekong Voices exhibit. (Courtesy of Broad Art Museum)

The exhibit has roots in a partnership that formed roughly two years ago. Marina Pok, chairwoman of a Cambodian art hub called the Anicca Foundation, collaborated on a project with Amanda Flaim, an MSU sociology professor.

Flaim was working on a project that examined the impact of climate change on the Mekong River as part of a larger MSU initiative called Mekong Culture WELL.

Pok suggested incorporating artists into the research effort.

“It was beautiful because they were talking to the different communities around the Mekong, they had access to the emotion, to the feeling of the community,” Pok said. “I would say it was very complimentary work with the researchers from MSU and the artists from Cambodia.”

A much smaller and more simple exhibit in the province around the Great Lake inspired the Mekong art exhibit.

“Sugar & Potatoes” by Kalyanee Mam is on display as part of the Broad Art Museum’s “Mekong Voices” display. (Courtesy of Broad Art Museum)

“The artists had the idea of how to translate that into the illustration and the pictures, the photography,” Pok said. “So when we had the exhibition along the lake, it came out as evidence that we have more to do.”

As threats to the Mekong River continue to mount, communities that lie along the river and people whose livelihoods depend on it, are increasingly impacted.

Despite the geographical distance, Pok hopes people locally recognize that these challenges are not isolated.

The Red Cedar River that flows through MSU also contends with water quality issues related to urban development, including high levels of E. Coli, excessive sediment deposits and low levels of dissolved oxygen.

Similar to the Mekong, the Red Cedar River faces threats from modern development and climate change, impacting the communities around it.

“As a humanity we are dealing with the same issues,” Pok said.

“It’s important to protect the community and fresh water reserves—because we depend on them. We are all together facing the same challenges, just different stories.”