Escaped Infrastructure was a site-specic temporary installation that introduced a new dynamic to the Manayunk Canal, a remnant of Philadelphia’s industrial past. The artwork commissioned by the Manayunk Development Corporation and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Long-term plans are currently underway to restore the canal to its original navigable condition, in order to improve its environmental and recreational prole. The goal of the temporary public art project was to speak to these long-term plans by: drawing visitors from Main Street, a busy parallel thoroughfare, down to the under-utilised canal. creating an interactive experience to encourage repeated visits to the site. suggesting the potential of historic infrastructure to be reinvented as recreational opportunities. heightening awareness of the water, as well as plans to increase ow through the canal to support aquatic habitats. The installation was inspired by two existing aspects of the site in particular: the networks of pipes, tubes and wires that exist along the canal and an idea about those ‘breaking loose’ to create unexpected experiences along the towpath. the long-term plan to create water ow through the canal again, and a desire to engage that symbolically by circulating the water locally through the artwork.
