Makateewa Dreamscape

Once among the most polluted bodies of water in the United States, Mill Creek has drastically shifted from the past 50 years of conservation efforts. The creek was originally named Makateewa by the Shawnee of this area meaning “black,” most likely due to the coloration of leaves that would naturally fall and dye the water darker. At the turn of the last century the water ran black again due to industrial waste from meatpacking, tanning, and sewage. There was never a mill to speak of on the creek, but was named that way to attract development. It did: in the span of 100 years it became one of the most developed and consequently polluted bodies of water, a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution and Manifest Destiny. The history of the photograph runs parallel to these ideas and the alteration of the valley’s landscape, both documenting and altering the way we perceive it. The exhibition highlights artists who honor the past as well as artists with new visions around the valley’s community, representation, and balance with nature.

Artists: Rus Barbour, Tory Keith, Jaden Leman, Natalie Mancino, Nick Swartsell, Braxton Thomas, and more