For their first collaboration, Jess Dunn and Sylvia Thomas were prompted to create a piece centering the new construction for the Contemporary Art Museum Indianapolis (CAMi) campus. In an attempt to interpret history and the building itself, the artists combined their backgrounds in animation and music composition to create an experimental documentary. Through exploring archives, primary source documents, and artifacts found inside the building, the artists learned this site took on many iterations of identity: from the indigenous peoples who first inhabited this land, the later impacts of the industrial developments changing the landscapes, to the current revitalization as a premiere contemporary arts complex. Ultimately, this building is a representation of brave transformational futures and structural reliance from the past. 

For Drafts, Dunn and Thomas compiled their research directly into the video, collaging archival maps and footage, artifacts left behind on site, and field recordings taken within Garfield Park and on the campus. These remnants, in addition to animation and a co-composed music score, echo the layers and textures that have formed the building’s identity.  

The animation of the horse as a throughline in the piece references the stables used by the Weber Milk Co., which existed on the land until 1947 when the Tube Processing Factory purchased the building. As the Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis expands to embrace natural elements and remember the heritage of the land, the artists believe the horse is a symbol of humanity’s simultaneous connection to nature and development. This juxtaposition amongst the other visual layers reveal the many iterations of history and industry tied to CAMi’s location.