Mary Miss/City as Living Laboratory created a series of installations for StreamLines along five major tributaries of Indianapolis. The theme for the site at Pleasant Run was “Changes Over Time”. Topics explored at the site included atmosphere, infrastructure, industry, contamination, restoration, groundwater and remediation.

Pleasant Run was formed at the end of the last Ice Age (about 12,000 years ago) when glaciers from the north carried rocks from as far away as Michigan and exposing portions of the Indiana limestone bedrock. This wild-flowing woodland stream changed when European settlers cleared forests to make way for industry along its banks. The nearby coke plant was an important source of fuel for steel manufacturing since the early-1900s, but consequently contaminated the area with pollutants until it closed in 2007. Today, our renewed focus on the environment is allowing life to flourish once again along the waterway.

StreamLines was an interactive, place-based project that merged the sciences and the arts to advance the community’s understanding and appreciation of Indianapolis’ waterways. This work was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation and was modeled on the City as Living Laboratory/FRAMEWORK. StreamLines featured a collection of installations along Indianapolis’ waterways and adjacent greenspaces inviting the community to learn, explore and experience the science of local water systems through visual art, poetry, dance and music. StreamLines was administered by the Center for Urban Ecology at Butler University. For more information, visit StreamLines.org or on social media as @StreamLinesIndy.