Permanent Sound + Sculpture + Light Installation · 2019
Des Moines Water Works Park · Des Moines, Iowa
Presented by the Krause Family Foundation
Listen
Evening Trains
excerpt, from River Constellation · Full piece available on all major streaming platforms, June 2026
About the Work
River Constellation is a permanent outdoor sound, sculpture, and light installation at Des Moines Water Works Park. The work gathers the sounds of the natural landscape — water, wind, birdsong, the ambient life of the park — and weaves them into a continuous two-hour composition that changes with the seasons and the time of day.
The sculpture, designed in collaboration with artist Natalia Zubko, serves as both a visual landmark and a listening post — drawing visitors into a more intimate relationship with the landscape around them. Light elements transform the work at dusk, creating a constellation effect that mirrors the river below.
"It feels like it belongs there, but it also feels a little bit magical." — Creston News
River Constellation is a love poem to Water Works Park.
— Beau Kenyon
Collaborators
Sound Composition · Beau Kenyon
Sculpture + Visual Design · Natalia Zubko
Presented by
Krause Family Foundation
Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation
Location
Des Moines Water Works Park
Des Moines, Iowa
Permanent installation, 2019–
Featured In
DSM Magazine — Cover Feature
Iowa Public Radio
Des Moines Register
Photography: Duane Tinkey · DSM Magazine, 2019
Press
DSM Magazine
Cover Feature · 2019
River Constellation — Cover Feature
Iowa Public Radio
Radio · 2019
River Constellation — Iowa Public Radio
Des Moines Register
News · October 2019
Multimedia sculpture being assembled at Des Moines Water Works Park
Creston News
Feature · October 2019
Creston native composes music for Des Moines sculpture
"It feels like it belongs there, but it also feels a little bit magical."
Codaworx
Feature · November 2022
Placemaking with Intention — Issue 110
Public Art Monthly Online Magazine
