Showalter Fountain fish being replaced 22 years after mysterious disappearance

The famous fish in Showalter Fountain that was allegedly stolen during the celebration of the 1987 basketball championship is finally being replaced.

“I have been here as art curator for 10 years and that’s about how long it has taken,” said Sherry Rouse, IU’s campus art curator, who has been working to get the fish
replaced.

The new fish, which is slightly smaller than its predecessor, was installed Monday and is expected to be running today. The installation and cleaning costs totalled $60,000, which was paid by the Showalter Endowment.

Rouse’s job as curator is to keep the artwork safe. She said there are a lot of instances when people play and interact with the artwork and end up damaging it.

“The fish weigh 750 pounds each, so kids don’t get really far with them, and end up damaging them,” Rouse said.

Rouse gave the example of people trying to steal the fish during protests of coach Bob Knight’s firing and riding their skateboards and bikes on the art outside of IU’s Art Museum.

“It will be a big day for me when they turn that puppy on,” Rouse said.