Archive
Lawrance Twins Exhibit Opens April 3 @indplsartcenter
Press Release
Indianapolis Art Center
Like most identical twins, Joe and Will Lawrance had an inseparable bond. The Lawrance twins grew up to be incredibly talented and nationally recognized artists. Some called them prodigies. Their artistic talent became more fully developed as they attended North Central High School, where they took every art class possible. They could draw, paint and create 3-D sculptures that were sophisticated and intricate.
A never-seen-before collection of nearly 100 creations tells the story of their talents, their sense of identity and, as adults, their struggles with mental health and substance abuse.
The exhibit, JoeWill: BetterTogether runs from April 3 to May 28, 2023 at the Indianapolis Art Center. The body of work traces the Lawrances’ creative progress and prowess and the significance of art-making as a means of self-expression.
“Their work is extraordinary, not just in the quantity, but in the expression and variety of media, themes and subjects,” said Mark Williams, president of the Indianapolis Art Center.
He added, “We appreciate their family’s willingness to share this intimate collection as well as the reality of Joe and Will’s struggles. Despite tragedy, the art endures and serves as an opening for dialogue around the challenges of mental health, offering a safe space for conversations and learning. We plan to do everything we can to continue to reduce the stigma by talking about mental health and substance abuse through this and other initiatives.”
The exhibition is the kickoff for a community-wide discussion about mental health and the benefits of creative wellness. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and for the first time, a wellness village will be part of the OneAmerica Broad Ripple Art Fair, May 20-21. It will feature resources related to creative wellness, as well as physical, mental, emotional, financial, social, intellectual, spiritual and environmental health.
Joe graduated from The Cooper Union Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture in 2010, and Will graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2008. During their college years, both suffered from anxiety, depression and substance abuse. Theirs is a bittersweet story of two gifted artists whose lives tragically ended as young adults.
Their parents Jan and Mark Lawrance have found healing and continued connections to their sons through the artwork they left behind.
“My husband Mark, our daughters Erin and Devin and I are happy to share Joe and Will’s work with the community,” Jan Lawrance said. “We hope viewing their art provides a glimpse into who they were and the talent they possessed. We also wish to shine a light on the resources available for mental health and substance abuse disorders.”
JoeWill: BetterTogether will have a free public opening reception on April 6, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The exhibition is open for viewing for free during the Art Center’s regular hours, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
Funding for the exhibition comes in part from a generous grant from the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation.
What: JoeWill: BetterTogether
When: April 3-May 28, 2023
Opening reception 5-8 p.m. April 6
Where: Indianapolis Art Center, 820 E. 67th St., Indianapolis
“Influencing Lincoln” Opens March 18 @IndianaMuseum
By Marc Allan
Indiana State Museum
“Influencing Lincoln: The Pursuit of Black Freedom,” an exhibition that explores the Black community’s fight for freedom and equal rights during and after the Civil War at the national level and in Indiana, opens March 18-Oct. 29, 2023 at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Visitors will learn how members of the Black community – national figures like Frederick Douglass or people in Abraham Lincoln’s immediate circle – influenced the President as he moved toward ending slavery and advocating for greater rights. And they’ll see rare historic documents that resulted from this movement: the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment.
“Influencing Lincoln” covers the years 1861-1875, from the beginning of Lincoln’s presidency to the extension of voting rights under the 15th Amendment and the election of the first Black members of Congress.
The exhibition is free with museum admission, which is $17 for adults, $16 for seniors, $12 for children and $5 for current college students with an Indiana school ID. For more information, visit https://www.indianamuseum.org/experiences/influencing-lincoln/ or call 317-232-1637.
“Black people were active in this freedom struggle,” said Kisha Tandy, curator of social history and co-curator of the exhibition. “They weren’t sitting around waiting for someone to give them freedom. They were organized, effective and deliberate. Deliberate in their actions to obtain freedom, organized in the way they went about it, and effective because they made change.”
“Emancipation was a process rather than an event,” added Susannah Koerber, chief curator and research officer and co-curator of the exhibition. “And it was pushed forward by people in the Black community.”
This was not just a national story, but an Indiana story as well.
“The same institution-building and use of social networks to effect change and equal rights were also happening in communities around the country, including Indianapolis,” Koerber said. “In the exhibition, we have the national story that happens with Lincoln and the parallel story that happens here with places like Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and the organization of the 28th Indiana United States Colored Regiment.”
“The institutional foundations that were laid during this time period continue to support the community today,” Tandy added.
Visitors will:
-See how the Black community fought for freedom and equal rights in many ways, using their resources, connections (including Lincoln) and the institutions they built, especially the Black church, as well as military service.
-Appreciate the valor of the United States Colored Troops, including the 28th Indiana, and explore why the Black community fought so hard for the right to fight with the Union troops and how their service helped advance the cause of equal rights and citizenship.
-Understand why fighting for freedom alone was not enough but had to be joined with the rights of full citizenship, including voting rights and political representation.
Artifacts that will be on display include:
-The inkwell used by Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation.
-Copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment signed by President Lincoln. (Because these documents are light-sensitive, they will only be displayed March 18-April 16, June 14-July 2 and Sept. 20-Oct. 29.
-The battle flag of the 28th Indiana United States Colored Infantry, on loan from the Indiana War Memorial Museum.
-A pew and pulpit from the historic Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Indianapolis.
“Influencing Lincoln” is supported by Ball Brothers Foundation and Barnes & Thornburg LLP.
Indianapolis Home Show Jan. 20-29, 2023 @homeshowind
By Bob Burchfield, Editor
AroundIndy.com, LLC
The 101st edition of the Indianapolis Home Show opens TODAY, January 20, 2023, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, and continues daily through January 29.
The Home Show, located in the West Pavilion and in Exposition Hall, is an opportunity for visitors to speak with hundreds of home and decor experts for advice and to explore thousands of the newest home products.
The Home Show is open daily 10 am to 8 pm (until 5 pm on the two Sundays). Tickets range in price from $3 to $13 (under age 6 free). You can save $2 by purchasing your tickets in advance online. Also, please note that onsite parking at the State Fairgrounds is $10 at the gate.
A new and unique Centerpiece Home is on display in Exposition Hall, featuring a custom home made from shipping containers and built by Custom Container Builders.
It’s an impressive 1,808 square foot, two-story home with four bedrooms and 2.5 baths, a front and back porch along with a balcony, and even a swimming pool and pool house.
Outside the home is a poolside “casita” (a small container cottage) with one flex space plus one full bath and a kitchen.
For those of you who might find it difficult to imagine living in a home made from shipping containers, you simply have to visit the Home Show to see this Centerpiece Home for yourself. The best compliment I can give it, having personally viewed it yesterday, is that I could live in this house quite comfortably!
This year’s celebrity guests include HGTV stars Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb from Unsellable Houses, Mina Starsiak of Good Bones, and Carmel-based realtor Nina Klemm from Bravo’s Flipping Exes; also, local TV personality Patty Spitler.
There are daily presentations on the Precision Outdoors Living Stage in the West Pavilion highlighting everything from furniture repainting to renovation on a budget. Learn about decks and patios as well as the do’s and don’ts of home renovation with a panel of local designers.
And local experts will offer trends on garage doors and paint colors along with tips for organizing your home and hosting the perfect party.
For complete information about the 101st Indianapolis Home Show, visit https://www.indianapolishomeshow.com or call 317-927-1469.
“How People Make Things” Opens Jan. 22 @indianamuseum
By Marc Allan
Indiana State Museum
INDIANAPOLIS – Every object in our world has a story of how it is made. How People Make Things, a new exhibit opening at the Indiana State Museum on Jan. 22, 2022, tells that story by linking familiar childhood objects to a process of manufacturing that combines people, ideas and technology.
The traveling exhibit from Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is included with museum admission – $17 for adults, $16 for seniors 60 and older, $15 for college students and $12 for youth ages 3-17. For more information, visit indianamuseum.org or call (317) 232-1637. The exhibit closes on May 15, 2022.
How People Make Things, inspired by the factory tour segments from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television series, offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects with four manufacturing processes – molding, cutting, deforming and assembly. Many common manufactured products help tell the story of how people, ideas and technology transform raw materials into finished products.
How People Make Things offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects using four manufacturing processes – molding, cutting, deforming, and assembly. Visitors can use a die cutter to make a box and a horse, cut wax using different sculpting tools, deform a wire by taking a straight wire into a spring shape by winding it around the metal shaft, mold spoons using real melted wax, assemble a trolley and test your skills on the testing track.
“This exhibit brings children close to the real stuff, the nuts and bolts of how products are manufactured, which is very easy to feel removed from these days,” says Jane Werner, executive director of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. “Through his factory tours, Fred Rogers took complex issues and made them simple and direct so children could understand them and relate them to their own lives. He made manufacturing fascinating and inspirational, and we continue that tradition with How People Make Things.”
The factory tour videos from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television series featured in the exhibit depict the making of crayons, carousel horses, balls, stop lights, quarters, shoes, toy cars and toy wagons.
“We’re excited to bring ‘How People Make Things’ to the Indiana State Museum,” said Bethany Thomas, vice president of programs and education engagement. “This exhibit celebrates the people, the manufacturing processes and the technology used to make objects we use every day.”
How People Make Things was created by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in collaboration with Family Communications, Inc. (FCI), the producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE). The exhibit was made possible with support from the National Science Foundation and The Grable Foundation.
Five Fort Wayne Tips for January 2022 @visitfortwayne
By Emily Hill
Visit Fort Wayne
Five tips for things to do in Fort Wayne in January 2022
- All American Outdoor Expo at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
January 7-9, 2022 - “Under The Big Top” Circus Garden at the Botanical Conservatory
January 8 to April 17, 2022 - Savor Fort Wayne Dinner Specials at Participating Restaurants
January 12-23, 2022 - Broadway at the Embassy Theatre: Cats
January 24-25, 2022 - Winterval winterfest in downtown Fort Wayne
January 29, 2022
For more information about lots more upcoming events and things to do in Fort Wayne and Allen County, visit https://www.visitfortwayne.com or stop by the Visitor Center at 927 South Harrison Street in downtown Fort Wayne.
Allen County Event Listings on AroundIndy.com: https://aroundindy.com/Allenco.php
Around Indy 
Recent Comments