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Thirst: In Search of Freshwater

Now on
  • Free
  • Exhibition

Our building has step-free access. Exhibitions include audio description, British Sign Language and captions.

Three gallery visitors stand within a suspended sculpture, talking about the work.
‘Thirst: In Search of Freshwater’ an exhibition at Wellcome Collection, Gallery Photography: Benjamin Gilbert. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Thirst is a universal human experience shared with most living beings. With only 3% of the water on Earth being freshwater, our land thirsts too.

'Thirst: In Search of Freshwater' explores humanity’s vital connection with freshwater as an essential source of life and pillar of good health.

From ancient Mesopotamia and Victorian London to modern-day Nepal and Singapore, the exhibition highlights the vital role of freshwater in shaping health and ecosystems; the consequences of mismanagement, like the spread of infectious disease; and community-led solutions to the global water crisis.

'Thirst' features 125 objects, including historical artefacts, contemporary materials and artworks from Gideon Mendel, Chloe Dewe Mathews, Susan Schuppli, Anthony Acciavatti, Dala Nasser, Adib Dada, M’hammed Kilito, and Adam Rouhana, amongst others. Through new commissions by Raqs Media Collective, Karan Shrestha and Feifei Zhou and Zahirah Suhaimi (SEACoast), we invite you on an immersive journey to uncover our relationship with water.

The exhibition is curated by Janice Li and accompanied by the book 'Thirst: In Search of Freshwater', featuring leading writers Robert Macfarlane, Elif Shafak and Lucy Jones. 

Visit us

Free admission

Galleries open Tuesday–Sunday, Opening times

Gallery 1, level 0

Step-free access is available to all floors of the building

British Sign Language videos are available

Access resources include a visual story, large print guides and audio description

Access resources

Plan your visit

Exhibition visual story

This visual story provides images and information to help you plan and prepare for your visit to the exhibition.

When you're here

Resources designed to support your visit are available online and in the gallery.

Digital highlights tour
  • Find out more about the exhibition with our digital highlights tour, available in short audio clips with audio description and transcripts, or as BSL videos. It can be accessed on your own device, via handheld devices with tactile buttons, or on an iPad which you can borrow
  • Watch BSL video tour
  • Listen to audio tour with audio description
BSL, transcripts and induction loops
Audio description and visual access
Wheelchair and physical access
  • Step-free access is available to all floors of the building
  • We have a Changing Places toilet on level 0 and accessible toilets on all floors
Sensory access
  • A visual story with a sensory map is available online and in the building at the start of the exhibition
  • You can borrow tinted glasses, tinted visors, ear defenders and weighted lap pads. Please speak to a member of staff in the building
  • Weekday mornings and Thursday evenings are usually the quietest times to visit

Access information, tours and queries