Monumental Gestures Announces The Monument Knows, a Conversation Series and Pioneering AI Research Project Exploring Monument Circle
Soldiers & Sailors Monument detail by Hadley Fruits
First Public Event Scheduled for July 1, 2026, Featuring Salamishah Tillet and Jordan Ryan
Indianapolis, Indiana — Monumental Gestures, a program of Landmark Columbus Foundation, today announced The Monument Knows, a new public humanities and civic research project centered on the Soldiers & Sailors Monument and Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.
Developed in partnership with the landscape architecture firm Merritt Chase, 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?
To launch the project, Monumental Gestures will host the first of four public events on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and cultural critic Salamishah Tillet alongside Indianapolis-based researcher and cultural strategist Jordan Ryan. Tillet will discuss the role that monuments play in our society, and Ryan will provide a brief history of the role Monument Circle has played in Indianapolis.
Monument Circle by Hadley Fruits
Save the Date
The Monument Knows: Public Conversation No. 1 with Special Guests Salamishah Tillet and Jordan Ryan
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Location: Christ Church Cathedral
125 Monument Circle, Indianapolis, IN 46204Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
Talk begins at 5:00 p.m.
Following the talk will be an opportunity for a group walking tour of the monument and light refreshments at Spark.
Free and open to the public, RSVP here
“The Monument is central to life in Indianapolis, both literally and figuratively—it has stood at the heart of the city’s celebrations, protests, and debates for over a century,” said Sarah Urist Green, Artistic Director of Monumental Gestures. “This project invites Indy residents to engage with that history on their own terms, exploring Monument Circle as a living site where the past and present are still very much in conversation.”
Recognized as one of the world’s outstanding monuments, the Soldiers & Sailors Monument has long served as a defining symbol of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. Completed in 1902, the monument stands 284 feet tall and commemorates Hoosiers who served in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, Frontier Wars, and Spanish-American War.
The Monument Knows emerges alongside a broader effort led by Merritt Chase, with recent support from the Emerson Collective, to envision the future of Monument Circle as a more connected, welcoming, and civically vibrant public space.
“Monument Circle is the heart of our city and state. In our 250th year as a country, it deserves our most thoughtful preservation, celebration, and bold, ambitious planning for the future,” says Chris Merritt, landscape architect and Founding Principal of Merritt Chase. “We are thrilled to partner with Monumental Gestures on this effort. Together with our partners and the public, we hope to spark a renewed appreciation of the monument and ensure Monument Circle remains a beloved public space in downtown Indianapolis.”
The Monumental Gestures initiative 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.
”Indianapolis has one of the most significant civic monuments in the United States, and the histories gathered there belong to a national story Hoosiers helped write,” said Richard McCoy, Executive Director of Landmark Columbus Foundation and Managing Director of Monumental Gestures. ”The Monument Knows is our contribution to that conversation, grounded in this place and offered to the state and country as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
The country's 250th anniversary is an occasion for places to say what they have contributed and what they intend to carry forward.
Research partners for The Monument Knows include DeeDee Davis, Edward O. Frantz, Ed Fujawa, Sampson Levingston, Rasul Mowatt, Jordan Ryan, and others.
Special Guest Biographies
From left: Salamishah Tillet, Jordan Ryan
Salamishah Tillet is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, cultural critic, and scholar whose work explores race, gender, social justice, and public memory in American culture. She is a contributing critic-at-large for The New York Times and co-founder of the nonprofit A Long Walk Home. Tillet is the Henry Rutgers Professor of African American and African Studies and Creative Writing at Rutgers University-Newark. Her writing and commentary have appeared in numerous national publications and media outlets, and her work frequently examines how monuments, public space, art, and cultural narratives shape civic identity and collective memory.
Jordan Ryan is a cultural researcher, strategist, and Indianapolis-based civic practitioner whose work focuses on public memory, cultural identity, and community storytelling. As a research collaborator with Monumental Gestures, Ryan contributes to projects that examine how public spaces reflect histories, belonging, and collective civic experience. Her work bridges research, public engagement, and cultural strategy to help communities navigate complex conversations around place and identity.
Media Contact
Jamie Goldsborough
jamie@landmarkcolumbus.org
Monument photography by Hadley Fruits for Landmark Columbus Foundation
About Monumental Gestures
Monumental Gestures was launched in 2024 as a major arts initiative focused on Indianapolis and public space. Its mission is to transform public spaces through ambitious art and design experiences that invite conversation, amplify voices, and celebrate histories. The initiative operates as part of Landmark Columbus Foundation’s broader work advancing design excellence, civic engagement, and cultural heritage throughout Indiana and beyond.
monumental-gestures.org askthemonument.org
About Landmark Columbus Foundation
Landmark Columbus Foundation (LCF) advances the cultural heritage and contemporary civic life of Columbus, Indiana, through preservation, exhibitions, public art, and design initiatives. Grounded in the belief that design excellence strengthens communities, LCF works locally and nationally to connect design, public life, and quality of place. landmarkcolumbusfoundation.org
