About - The Museum of Future Water

about us

Who we are

The Museum of Future Water was conceived by Stephanie Rosestone as part of her PhD project with the Institute of Water Futures at the Australian National University.

The Museum of Future Water was inspired by the Museum of Water - a participatory project that collects publicly donated water samples. In contrast, this museum of the future, collects speculative artworks from imagined futures rather than samples from the present. However both Museums explore our relationships to water - our deep personal connections that may be shaped by care, concern, hope or fear.

The Museum of Future Water began as a physical exhibition at the Mooroopna Education and Activity Centre in Victoria, Australia, as part of the Shepparton Arts Festival in 2025. This exhibition was generously supported by:

Australian National University Fenner School of Environment and Society

Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption & Innovation Hub with funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund

Australian Government through the Australian Research Council [DE2001922]

The Collection comes from local communities. Each speculative artwork has been created through imagining 25 years into the future. Each contribution is an invitation to consider different possibilities. The Museum of Future Water exists because of these contributions.

Curator: Stephanie Rosestone
Web Design: Leighton Rosestone
Photography:
Trevor Phillips Photographics - Mooroopna exhibition and bottles
Ebony & Co Photography - Murray Bridge bottles

Why speculate on the future of water?

The Museum of Future Water is a collection of Participatory Possitopian Futures about water. This means that the futures collected in this Museum are gathered from the imagination of many different everyday people.

Participatory - all imaginations from all people are invited, not just experts.
Possitopian - stories of the future that are from multiple voices with multiple possibilities, keeping many different ideas, values and options open. Read more at the Climate Museum UK.
Futures - more than one future can and will exist, our experiences of what happens next will be different from others.

Each contribution to the museum is a speculation on the future of water. Sharing speculative ideas, stories and objects can help us challenge dominant utopian or dystopian narratives. It can provoke critical and creative thinking about what futures we are creating in the present, where our imagination about the future comes from and who holds power over those future imaginings and creations. It also asks us to consider how a range of different possible futures might be woven together.

Water is a critical and shared part of life. In Australia, water is a valuable resource that is facing increasing pressures from water extremes (drought and flood). This will create further tensions around use and management. We need to talk about the different futures coming, our different hopes and fears, and how we can work together to create water futures that are more positive for more people, places and environments. The Museum of Future Water seeks to start new conversations around futures to create, avoid and adapt to.