Along the riverbanks of the Red Cedar are photographs of people seemingly standing in the water. The art is a part of a new initiative by MSU.

The Water Moves MSU initiative was announced as the 2016-17 thematic year on Tuesday night. The thematic year was announced in an event at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, hosted by MSU Arts and Culture.

The initiative will focus on scientific innovation and artistic expressions of water, Prabu David, dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, said.

“We never really quite had good integration between arts and sciences,” David said.

Water Moves MSU hopes to change that, David said.

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon stressed the importance of studying and appreciating water.

“Water and land resources seem to be shrinking all the time,” she said.

The photographs were done by artist Gideon Mendel. “Drowning World: The Red Cedar River Project” is an extension of his exhibition “Gideon Mendel: Drowning World.”

“Water is a fundamental part of Michigan’s identity,” Simon said, given the “definition of ourselves as the Great Lakes State.”

MSU hopes to get students involved in the initiative immediately, said Joan Rose, 2016 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate and microbiologist.

“People really care about their water,” Rose said. “We are connected to water from Michigan State University in every way.”

Rose’s project within Water Moves MSU focuses on water fountains. Water fountains, she said, connect water and art.

Rose will be holding a contest for students to design new water fountains, she said.

Water Moves MSU’s goal this year, David said, will be to find a nexus between art, science, culture and community. The initiative will especially encourage artistic representations of water, he said.

The event included two musical performances to demonstrate connections between art and water.

Media and information professor Elizabeth LaPensée performed an Anishinaabe water song and spoke about Honour Water, a game she developed to teach others the song.

The second performance was an original song by the band Jackalope. Jackalope consists of East Lansing resident Charlie Richardson, religious studies professor David Stowe, and College of Law professor Michael Lawrence.

Jackalope performed their song, “Water Wheel,” which is about the importance of water and was written specifically for the event.

Much like the rest of Water Moves MSU, “Water Wheel” is about “spirit and culture and art,” Richardson said.

The initiative will last for 18 months.