I AM A RIVER
2025, video

I AM A RIVER is a video installation in which the Los Angeles River proclaims itself a living being and vital assemblage. The work traces the river's 51-mile journey through diverse landscapes, featuring locations from Owensmouth Avenue in Canoga Park and the Sepulveda Basin to Reseda Park, Studio City, and the Glendale Narrows. The piece continues downstream through the 7th Street Bridge in Downtown LA, Riverfront Park in Maywood, and Willow Street in Long Beach, culminating where the river flows into San Pedro Bay.

I AM A RIVER premieres in Our River: Floodplain + Future, a group exhibition at Shatto Gallery in Los Angeles, opening June 7, 2025. The exhibition continues through June 28, 2025.

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I AM A RIVER FILM CREDITS

Written and produced by ERIN COONEY

Cinematography - ERIN COONEY
Second Camera - ADRIAN MARTINEZ-TOBÓN
Video Editing - ERIN COONEY

Vocal Artist - CARMINA ESCOBAR
Sound Design, Engineering, and Mixing - EYTAN ROSENMAN
Field Sound Recording - ERIN COONEY

LA River Guide and Hydraulic Consulting - JANE TSONG, Artist and Landscape Ecologist
Ecological Consulting - DAN COOPER - Principal Biologist with Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains

Archival Images come from the Los Angeles Public Library