Indiana Waterways:
The Art of Conservation
Indiana Waterways: The Art of Conservation is a 200+ page book that features a collection of essays from environmentalists, journalists and storytellers, paired with over 100 pieces of art in a mix of mediums and styles promote the conservation of Indiana waterways.
Over 500 copies of the book were sold and art was featured in exhibitions throughout the state of Indiana.
Today, the essays and art can be enjoyed for free.
It began with five painters in the midst of the pandemic, asking what they could do.
The resulting work snared environmentalists, scholars, publishers, and curators, all looking at how we can save and recognize one of Indiana’s most significant natural resources: our rivers and streams. This project was about those who want to save and protect our waterways.
Sponsored by ArtNature Consortium, the project promotes conservation efforts to restore 65,000 miles of Indiana waterways. In August 2020, around an outside BBQ grill, the artists committed to paint Indiana waterways then create a touring exhibition.
The eclectic mix of artists and writers made this project unique. Artists used various mediums, styles, and literary arts to communicate the need to clean up our waterways. Many of Indiana’s rivers and streams are unfit for human contact and are rated some of the worst in the nation.
Scientists, journalists, and writers told stories of how Indiana waterways are essential to sustaining healthy ecosystems and communities. They presented firsthand accounts of how rivers and tributaries in the state have impacted them personally and, in some cases, detailed how even our most polluted systems can be saved through immediate action.
Telling the whole story – of Indiana’s natural beauty and its hidden realities – often requires multiple layers and multiple mediums. ArtNature has partnered with galleries and art museums across the state to share what our artists, essayists and scientists have learned.
ArtNature cross pollinates to create a diversity that exposes new audiences to art while, at the same time, revealing the urgency of responsible conservation.
Work has been in the Hoosier Salon Gallery, New Harmony Gallery and Minnetrista Museum and Gardens, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Indiana State Museum of Art and the Rupp Family Gallery at the Landmark Center in Indianapolis.
Doug May – Noblesville, IN
"Indiana Waterways is a triumphant mix of art, science and a call to action. The artists show the beauty of Indiana rivers through their paintings, and the essays describe their natural and recorded history. The biggest takeaway: we all can do more to ensure the health of our waterways."
