The STUDIO for Creative Inquiry
     The 3 Rivers 2nd Nature project was initiated by artists to introduce their cultural and aesthetic concerns and solutions into the open space brownfield development of the site. Their work on this project is supported by the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, a research unit of the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University. The STUDIO's mission is to support the creation of cross-disciplinary work in the arts. All fellows supported by the STUDIO are required to make presentations of ther work in a public forum, so that their work reaches the community outside the university. This is accomplished by partnering with community organizations, such as the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh Children's Museum, National Black Programming Consortium, Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission, and the City of Pittsburgh Planning Division. After five years of steady growth and development, the STUDIO is internationally recognized as a model artists' community within a reasearch a university. Artists carry out projects in Pittsburgh with access to a well-equipped facility, an extensive equpment inventory, materials and support staff. The STUDIO is supported by university funding and by funding from external agencies. The STUDIO and its artists have received national and international acclaim for the production of highly experimental work.

This project builds on the success of the program of strategic-creative inquiry, ecosystem analysis and community dialogue developed within the Nine Mile Run Watershed. The goal of the project is to develop a living-rivers strategy for Allegheny County