River Running Free / You Know How I Feel is a research project that began in 2023 in collaboration with THE NEW INSTITUTE Center for Environmental Humanities at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice (NICHE) as part of TBA21–Academy's ongoing efforts to explore potential future methods of giving Nature political representation through the use of art and culture. Because of geographic and cultural proximity, it focuses first and foremost on Europe and the case study of the hydrographic basin of Northeast Italy, from the Dolomites to the Lagoon of Venice.

Grounded in the field of Political Theory, this research project aims to build an argument for moving towards biocentric ecological protection and overall policy-making in Europe. The principle guiding this process is that Nature-based governance forms have to emerge from situated perspectives and be developed by communities in dialogue with the specificities of their ecosystems and cultures. The case study of Venice and its region, with their historical forms of water management and ecological folklore and traditions, will function as an example to envision such a legal, cultural and political innovation. 

Its main outcome, from a praxis perspective, is the involvement in “Confluence of European Water Bodies”, a project developed in collaboration with the Embassy of the North Sea and a vast network of associations in the Mar Menor that now brings together more than 25 water bodies across Europe and the Global Alliance for Rights of Nature (GARN).