Weekly View » First Friday

Applause!: March 2-8

Weekly View — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 06:09:34 +0000

• The City of Indianapolis and Indy Parks will begin the process to develop a comprehensive Broad Ripple Park Master Plan with a public open house on March 7 from 6-8 p.m. at Broad Ripple High School, 1115 Broad Ripple Ave.
• The IRT is offering discount tickets to its newest play, James Still’s Appoggiatura, which begins March 7 and runs through the 31st. Save $10 when you book tickets using the promo code VENICE1. Offer valid through March 19 on performances March 7-31,and applies to individual tickets priced $35 and higher. Visit irtlive.com to order tickets.
• Two juniors from Fishers High School are the winners of the 2018 Project Pigasus, a statewide screenwriting competition for students in grades 9-12 presented by Pigasus Horizons, Inc. in collaboration with Bloomington, Ind.-based film company Pigasus Pictures. Co-writers Whitney Roberts and Cynthia Foulke were unveiled as the 2018 winners for their screenplay “As We Begin” during a surprise announcement with Pigasus Pictures at Fishers High School on Mon., Feb. 26.
• Spring is coming, and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful is seeking volunteers for many tree-planting projects. The Community Forestry team will focus on planting trees on the northeast side of town, including a special planting at Oscar Charleston Park at 2800 E. 30th St. that will include 10,000 shade trees. Visit www.kibi.org for more information and to sign up.
• Congratulations to local Four Star Schools in the area! Those schools include Cathedral High School, Acton Elementary, Bunker Hill Elementary, Franklin Central HS, South Creek Elementary, Thompson Crossing Elementary, Herron Charter, Covenant Christian HS, Merle Sidener Gifted Academy, Lutheran HS, Paramount School of Excellence, New Palestine HS, and The Oaks Academy-Fall Creek and Middle School.
• IMPD memorialized Drug Recognition Expert Officer of the Year David Moore on Feb. 26. Officer David Moore was killed in the line of duty on January 26, 2011 while conducting a traffic stop.
• The Warren Central World Guard continues its winning streak, bringing home a first place trophy from the Tri-State conest in Campbell, Kentucky Feb. 24.
• The March 2 First Friday lineup looks very exciting, with the addition of a new location at the City Market from 6-8:30 p.m., 222 E. Market St., featuring Artist in Residence Brian James Priest, Indy Urban Sketchers while sipping on pints of Indiana craft beer from the Tomlinson Tap Room, and play free single lane bowling. Live music will be provided by local electric violinist and vocalist Cathy Morris at 6:45 p.m. . with Indiana Landmarks presenting five artists in various mediums (1201 Central Ave.). The Art Bank, 811 Mass Ave. is one of the few art galleries left on Mass Ave. and will host Lisa Green and large scale acrylic paintings.
• Congratulations to the trial teams from Arsenal Tech and Shortridge for their presentations in the Indiana Bar Foundation mock trials on Feb. 17. The IPS teams did a great job presenting their cases in front of judges and a scoring panel.

Irvington’s Community Space for Art

Ethel Winslow — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 05:11:59 +0000

The whole thing started because David Jackson got bored during the nasty winter of 2013-14. “I do contract work cleaning out properties for the city, and use the building as a warehouse,” he explained. “It was too snowy to do any work, so we sat around looking at all the things we’d salvaged and started banging things together.”
Jackson began repurposing items he had found on sites throughout the city, creating functional repurposed pieces from stuff that would have ended up in a landfill somewhere. Fencing was transformed into a raised platform. Old fixtures from Central State Hospital became lighting. Slices of a tree became an accent wall. A gutted electrical breaker box transformed into a coffee table. “We did it just to keep working,” he admitted. Then he hooked up with Foundation East, the public art nonprofit responsible for the painting of the signal boxes in Irvington, and they hooked him up with other artists. The gallery 5547 Project was born in the warehouse at 5547 Bonna Ave.
Now, the 5547 Project offers rotating exhibits of local works, each month with a different theme. They added a coffee shop, plus comfortable chairs, a foosball table, and a place for neighbors to hang out. Their First Friday open house draws capacity crowds. On second Fridays, they host Coal Yard Comedy nights, on third Fridays local musicians, and fourth Fridays are spoken word nights. On most Sunday afternoons, Delta Duo comes in to play at 3 p.m. Irvington Community School and Scecina students have exhibited work there.
“We heard a lot about how much people missed Lazy Daze . . . a community space. We’re giving people some of that feel here,” Jackson said. It has become a place to relax and meet neighbors, have a coffee and perhaps buy a piece of art. “One hundred percent of the art sales go back to the artist,” Jackson states. “We don’t take a commission.”
Jackson grew up near Christian Park, and returned to the area after a 23 year stint in the Marine Corps, serving in Japan and Korea. “I learned to swim at Ellenberger Park, I hung out around here,” he said. He saw that Irvington was growing, that people were coming together, and the space on Bonna could become something bigger. Currently, the 5547 Project is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and employs 12 people.
The Coal Factory project, which was given the green light last year, will be going on around 5547 Project. In addition, work has begun on the Pennsy Trail that will be just across the street from the gallery, and a repaving project for Bonna Ave. will begin shortly. Jackson noted that the changes along Bonna will likely create new opportunities for the gallery and coffee shop as well. He’s planning on extending hours for the summer, and they are thinking about how to add some food to the coffee shop menu.
However, he wants to keep the feel of the 5547 Project repurposed and fresh, and a little eccentric. “This is Irvington, after all.”

Indy Eleven Exhibit at the Harrison

Weekly View — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 06:09:32 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS — Join the Harrison Center for the Arts on Fri., Feb. 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. to celebrate Indy’s new professional soccer club, Indy Eleven, making its debut in the North American Soccer League later this year.
This exhibit takes its lead from Indy Eleven’s aim to create strong connections with the community. The name “Eleven” references not only the eleven men who will take to the field representing Indiana, but also pays homage to Indiana’s 11th Regiment Indiana Infantry from the Civil War. The navy checkered background of the team jersey is a nod to both Indianapolis’ auto-racing culture and the Brickyard Battalion supporters group which is often credited with bringing pro soccer back to Indianapolis. The focal point of the team’s crest is Lady Victory from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monument. The color scheme is from the civic flag of Indianapolis.
On Feb. 7, attendees can stop by the gym to learn more about the league and meet Indy Eleven team members. The Harrison Gallery will feature soccer-inspired art by eleven talented, local artists: Philip Lynam, William Rasdell, Kyle Ragsdale, Artur Silva, Marna Shopoff, Aaron Thornburg, William Denton Ray, Lobyn Hamilton, Courtland Blade, Bruce Campbell and Lain Ewing. Influenced by the Indy Eleven logo, in Gallery No. 2, artists have created work inspired by the city’s best known landmark, Lady Victory and the Soldiers and Sailors monument.
The work hangs through February 28th. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.