According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rivers Project Office, the Illinois River is the focus of a new exhibit at the National Great Rivers Museum in Alton.

“Reversing Course: The Illinois River in 1900 and Today” looks at 11 sites along the river, depicted in historic black-and-white photographs and color images by Watershed Cairns artists Libby Reuter and Joshua Rowan.

According to the Rivers Project Office, Reuter and Rowan have been working together since 2011 to define what watersheds look like and how people use them.

They traveled to more than 400 sites in the Mississippi watershed along the Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois and Ohio rivers. They place Reuter's glass cairns in some of the watershed's “most beautiful and unexpected” places, and Rowan photographs them.

According to the office, the cairns are handcrafted sculptures made from antique household glass that symbolize the watershed's fragility, beauty and deep connection to everyday life.

The project is based on photos showing the Illinois River Valley after polluted Chicago River water was diverted to the Illinois River.

“As I researched the Illinois River, I learned that photographers from the Sanitary and Shipping Canal in Chicago had extensively documented the river and surrounding land after the canal opened from 1900 until about 1923,” Reuter said. “The book, Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed its River and Beyond, introduced the story with beautiful black and white photos and inspired us to see the river from a new perspective.”

The artists then began photographing the Illinois River in the same or similar locations as documented in the historic photos used in the exhibition courtesy of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to draw attention to the economic and economic situation of the river to address ecological issues in the 120 years since the original photos were taken.

The stark contrast between the two photos is the focus of the National Great Rivers Museum exhibition.

“We are excited to host this new exhibition with local artists Libby Reuter and Joshua Rowan,” said Elise Ratcliff, the museum’s natural resources specialist and park ranger. “Their Watershed Cairns series offers visitors a unique perspective on the importance of the Mississippi and its tributaries, which can be complemented by other information throughout the museum. By expanding our understanding of river issues through the lens of art, we will be able to more fully tell the story of our nation’s great rivers.”

“Reversing Course: The Illinois River in 1900 and Today” is on view through November 3rd. A reception for the artists will take place at the museum on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Reuter and Rowan will be on site to answer questions.

The museum's opening hours are daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

The museum is located at 2 Locks and Dam Way in Alton. For more information, call 618-462-6979.