St. Paul poet Wang Ping aims to take a “Kinship of Rivers” from Minnesota to China

Have you heard of St. Paul-based writer Wang Ping’s “Kinship of Rivers” project? It’s an ongoing interactive public art endeavor intended “to build kinship among communities along the Mississippi and Yangtze, and bring awareness to the river’s ecosystem through art, literature, music, food and installations of river-flags made by river communities.”

Spurred by a decade of travel back and forth from China to Minnesota and a growing personal and professional interest focused on the human/natural flux surrounding these major rivers, the award-winning poet, educator and environmental activist launched “Kinship of Rivers” in earnest in 2011. Organized via a website and a lively Facebook group, the project has facilitated the creation of thousands of poems and photographs, videos, music and works of visual art paying tribute to the vital waterways.