This artwork is part of the River Voices project which includes several rivers and bodies of water as participants in the 23rd Biennale of Sydney. Members of the communities associated with them, custodians, and people involved in their protection speak on their behalf, in short videos addressing climate issues and rights of protection. Visitors are greeted by one of these voices at each of the exhibition venues.
The Atrato River Voices address is given by Alexander Rodriguez Mena, Community Guardian of the Atrato River, Quibdidó, Chocó, Colombia. On November 10, 2016, the Constitutional Court of Colombia recognised the Atrato River, its watershed and its tributaries as an entity subject to rights of protection, maintenance, and restoration by the State and ethnic communities.