The Tap is an artwork and gallery installation by M12 Studio presented by Landmark Arts at Texas Tech University. A meditation on the Ogallala Aquifer at the Llano Estacado, The Tap takes us on a subterranean journey through time and space, sound and vision. 

One of the largest aquifers in the world, the Ogallala lies beneath eight states, a footprint that is home to some of the oldest species on the planet—bison, sandhill cranes, pronghorn antelope and others. As part of the Great Plains, this area was once an American Serengeti, a landscape full of life and diversity from fields to the flyways. Today, the Ogallala region is mostly farm and ranch land. Challenges here now include aquifer recharge which is prevented by drought combined with relentless large-scale farming practices.

In the Ogallala region, people depend on the sustained health of the aquifer below. The water's health is reflected in the build environment, as well as in our economic, natural, and spiritual livlihoods. Communities in the region are feeling the consequences of being out of balance with the living world beneath us. The Tap challenges viewers to think overtly and relationally about this water, about sustainable futures in our communities and throughout our commons. 

Beyond the gallery…
In addition to the Landmark Gallery, The Tap can be experienced at At'l Do Farms, in Shallowater, TX, where M12 Studio has a permanent installation of a cast polished brass water tap.

Special thanks to J. Eric Simpson's Museum of Post-Agriculture at At'l Do Farms. Guided presentations are available by contacting tablelands.bioregionalart@gmail.com.

M12 Studio is a group of award-winning artists, researchers, and writers collectively based in Colorado. Primarily known for art projects that explore public space, rural cultures and landscapes, M12 holds a unique position as both a non-profit arts organization and an artistic practice. M12 creates artworks, research projects, and education initiatives centered around context and place. The studio blends multiple fields, allowing research, fieldwork, design and site-specific sculpture to merge. Projects of M12 have appeared in THE magazine, Santa Fe, NM 5280, Denver, CO The Rural: Documents of Contemporary Art, Whitechapel Gallery, London, (2019, MIT Press), Undermining: A Wild Ride Through Land Use, Politics, and Art in the Changing West (2014, The New Press, Lucy R. Lippard) and What is a Western? (2019, Oklahoma University Press, Josh Garrett-Davis) along with others. Members of the collaborative who worked on The Tap for Landmark Arts include Margo Handwerker, Chris Sauter, Richard Saxton, Trent Segura, and Aaron Treher.

News & Interviews about The Tap:

May 1, 2023: Shallowater Communion - M12's "The Tap". Megan McKenzie for Glasstire.com.

November 2022: The Tap at Tablelands Center for Bioregional Art.

5 April 2022: "Landmark Arts Gallery at Texas Tech Presents 'The Tap'". Lucy Greenberg for Texas Tech Today.

11 March 2022: "12 Southwest Art Exhibitions to Check Out in Spring 2022." Southwest Contemporary‘s handy roundup of choice spring 2022 art exhibitions includes shows in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah. 

25 February 2022: "Collective Cosmos: M12 Studio on Rural Territories and Common Resources" by Natalie Hegert for Southwest Contemporary.

The Tap: M12 Studio