If Monument Circle could talk, it might tell you about all the people who came to the Indianapolis Fall Carnival in 1900, where an actor dressed as Tecumseh was given a wooden key to the city. Or how, in 1962, the 284-foot-tall Soldiers & Sailors Monument was lit up for the first time as “world’s largest Christmas tree.”
The monument might describe the energy of the more than 3,000 people who gathered outdoors for the state’s first large Pride celebration in 1990.
Monument Circle has seen a lot since the Soldiers & Sailors Monument opened to the public in 1902 to honor Hoosier veterans. Now, it wants to tell you its story. But, first, it needs your memories and questions.
A new public art initiative, The Monument Knows, is exploring Monument Circle as a space for civic belonging and a “living part of the city’s evolving story.” Led by Monumental Gestures, the project asks one central question: What does the monument know?
At a four-part public conversation series, you can learn about the history of Monument Circle and help shape its future. The first one is 5-6 p.m. July 1 at Christ Church Cathedral, 125 Monument Circle.
Historical archives, photographs and memories from the public will inform an experimental, custom AI tool that will allow the monument to “speak” to visitors. You can submit questions you have about the monument or Monument Circle by filling out this form.
The art project will feature new research and writing from local historians including Jordan Ryan, Deedee Davis and Sampson Levingston. A section of The Monument Knows website is dedicated to field notes, where people share their memories and knowledge.
In the first field note, Sarah Urist Green, artistic director of Monumental Gestures, writes:
“Technically, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a 284-foot-tall arrangement of elaborately carved rocks and carefully cast bronze. It is unaware of the knowledge it stores.
“But what if we pretend for a moment that the monument does have consciousness? Can you imagine all that it knows after sitting in the center of our city for more than one hundred and twenty-three years?”
Monument Gestures, a Landmark Columbus Foundation program, is also working on other local projects including the Indianapolis Cultural Trail and the Indy Riverfront Plan.
To learn more, visit the website for The Monument Knows.
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