what will you ask the monument?
What would you like to know about the Monument or Monument Circle? We’re gathering research to build an AI model, and knowing what you’re curious about will help us make it good.
The Monument Knows is a public humanities and civic research project centered on the Soldiers & Sailors Monument and Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.
The Monument Knows invites Indianapolis residents to explore one of the city’s most iconic public spaces through public conversations, historical research, and experimental uses of technology. The project asks a simple but intriguing question: What does the monument know?
about
The project includes two interconnected efforts:
A four-part public conversation series featuring national scholars, local historians, artists, designers, and civic leaders exploring Monument Circle’s layered histories, contemporary meanings, and future possibilities.
An experimental AI research project developing a tool that enables the monument to “speak” by drawing on archival histories, photography, and public memory gathered from multiple perspectives. The project is guided by a commitment to ethical and accessible approaches to civic storytelling and artificial intelligence.
Together, these efforts aim to encourage Indianapolis residents not only to talk about the monument, but to rediscover it as a living part of the city’s evolving story.
the monument
Recognized as one of the world's outstanding monuments, the structure has come to symbolize both the City of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. The Soldiers & Sailors Monument is Indiana's official memorial to the Hoosiers that served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Frontier Wars and the Spanish-American War.
The Limestone used for the monument is gray oolitic limestone from the Romona quarries of Owen County. It stands 284 feet, 6 inches high, only 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty. It cost $598,318 in 1902.
team and partners
The Monument Knows is a project of Monumental Gestures, developed in partnership with Merritt Chase. Research Partners include DeeDee Davis, Ed Fujawa, Sampson Levingston, Rasul Mowatt, Jordan Ryan, among others.