Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:

Don Wilkison, an interdisciplinary artist working as m.o.i. aka The Minister of Information, tells visual art river stories. He will discuss how two decades of research on water-quality issues informs his work as an artist and organizer through describing recent projects in St. Louis, Kansas City and Arkansas. "As scientists we have a pretty specific language. As artists we have a language that is similar but different. We are looking at the same environment through different lenses", he said. 

A recent project, which will debut at the Missouri History Museum's Mississippi River exhibit this November, is called "Cloud of Joy: What is the Sound of the Mississippi River?". It's a perfect example of how Don takes his scientific background to find engaging ways to answer questions the general public wants to know.

Another project, called "Perpetual Motion", was finding theatrical and visual ways to engage a neighborhood in the development of "Smart Sewer" green infrastructure that the public just envisioned as a park. "The challenge was...how do we activate this public space in a way that is meaningful to people but also that talks about the engineering purpose in a creative and fun way?" Don explained.