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Juneteenth Black Heritage Concert, June 19, 2023
By Jen Thomas
On behalf of Indiana Landmarks Center
Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program is honoring Juneteenth with a concert and art show featuring local talent on Monday, June 19.
Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Indiana Landmarks will celebrate with an evening of performances at Indiana Landmarks Center featuring contemporary gospel group Men in the Fire, R&B group The Downstroke Band and improv comedians Act A Foo. In addition, the artist group “WE ARE Indy Arts” will showcase works in a variety of mediums including painting, drawing, sculpture and mixed media during a special exhibit in the Rapp Family Gallery at Indiana Landmarks Center.
Throughout the evening, event promoter and emcee Thomas J. Griffin and entertainers will share brief facts about Indiana’s Black heritage compiled by Shari Scales, a local writer/researcher. Indiana Landmarks President Marsh Davis and Black Heritage Preservation Program Director Eunice Trotter will open the event with brief remarks.
“This isn’t simply a celebration of a historic day. It’s a celebration of Black history and Black culture,” said Trotter. “The result will be a Juneteenth event that is as enriching as it is entertaining.”
The concert begins at 6 p.m. in Grand Hall, with an opportunity to visit the art gallery after the concert until 9 p.m. Sponsors and VIP ticket purchasers can attend a 4 p.m. reception and meet-the-artists event in the Rapp Family Gallery, where they will enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres and an opportunity to purchase art. Sponsors and VIP ticket holders will also receive premium concert seating.
The art exhibit is being curated by Anthony Radford, who will install the exhibit for the June 7 First Friday event, leaving it intact through the Juneteenth holiday. Featured artists are Dana P Smith, Angelita Hampton, Lorenzo Bryant, Jax Robin, Precious Norris, Durango, Landon Taylor, Kenny Mason, Dallas Garrett, Octavius Lettsome, Lundyn-Christelle, and Iliyas Tomasiewicz (Sir Altium).
Ticket prices are $25 for general admission and $50 for VIP tickets. Indiana Landmarks member tickets are $20 and $40.
WHAT: Juneteenth Concert and Art Show
WHEN: June 19
4 p.m.: VIP reception and meet-the-artists event in the Rapp Family Gallery
6 p.m.: Concert in the Grand Hall
WHERE: Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Ave., Indianapolis
COST: $25 for general admission ($20 for Indiana Landmarks members)
$50 for VIP tickets ($40 for Indiana Landmarks members)
To purchase tickets: bit.ly/ILJuneteenthConcert23
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
97th Annual Hoosier Salon Exhibit @indianamuseum
97th Annual Hoosier Salon Exhibition Opens Aug. 21 at the Indiana State Museum
By Marc Allan
Indiana State Museum
INDIANAPOLIS – More than 100 artists from across Indiana will have their work displayed in the Indiana State Museum Aug. 21 through Oct. 24, 2021, as part of the 97th annual Hoosier Art Salon exhibition.
This year’s exhibit will feature 145 artworks in seven categories: figure; still life; abstract work; three-dimensional work; watercolor; portrait; and landscape.
Seven artists are being featured for the first time: Teresa Altemeyer, Ann Bastianelli, Kalleen Chilcote and Lawrence Hunter, all from Indianapolis; Kevin O’Brien of Lafayette; Carrie Wright of Muncie; and Willis “Bing” Davis of Dayton, Ohio. Davis was the juror for the 2020 Hoosier Salon.
The full list of artists is below.
All the work in the show is available for sale beginning August 20 through October 24 online at http://www.hoosiersalon.org.
“This is an exhibition that is rich in tradition and showcases the very best from across the state in a wide variety of media, technique and subject matter,” said Mark Ruschman, the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites’ senior curator of art and culture. “This is a great opportunity for us to showcase the talent associated with Indiana. It provides the artists with exposure to an audience they may not reach otherwise. And there’s a level of prestige that comes along with exhibiting at a museum – and particularly their home state museum.”
The Hoosier Salon legacy began in 1925 when the Daughters of Indiana opened the doors to the first exhibition of Indiana contemporary artists at Marshall Field and Company Galleries in Chicago. In 1942, the exhibit moved to downtown Indianapolis – first at the William H. Block (until 1977), then at L.S. Ayres and Company (1978-89). In 1990, the Hoosier Salon exhibit came to the Indiana State Museum, where it has been ever since except for a stint at the Indiana Historical Society from 2005-2010.
“We feel like we’re the perfect venue for this exhibit, given what our mission is and our outreach across the state,” Ruschman said.
To be eligible for the competition, an artist must be a Hoosier Salon member and must have lived in Indiana for a minimum of one year at any point during his or her life.
On the Hoosier Salon’s website, www.hoosiersalon.org, the organization notes that 2021 is the Hoosier Salon’s 97th year “of serving Indiana’s artists and developing the creative community they need to thrive. We are and will always be the organization that truly represents Art by Indiana Artists. We are one of Indiana’s oldest and most respected visual arts groups, yet we are as current as our newest member and we intend to be around and healthy to turn 100 in 2025.”
The artists who will be featured in this year’s exhibit are:
Anna Afshar (Fishers), “What’s for Dinner”
Teresa Altemeyer (Indianapolis), “Blue”
Dan Annarino (West Lafayette), “Symbiotic History” and “Symbiotic Suburb”
Mason Archie (Indianapolis), “Serenity Number 5” and “Quilt Codes Series, Guide Me Home”
Donna Arnold (Carmel), “Lizzie in Florida” and “Alma Juliana”
Ann Bastianelli (Indianapolis), “Masked Man”
Jo Belmont (Indianapolis), “Veranda at El Lencero”
Robert Bratton (Carmel), “Farmed Out”
Peggy Breidenbach (Indianapolis), “Reaching” and “Joined”
Diane Breman (Spring, Texas), “A Horse of Course”
Susan Brewer (Indianapolis), “Intervals In Time III”
Jo Burkhard (Indianapolis), “Birds of an Unusual Feather” and “American Family”
William Carpenter (Marion), “Self-Inquiry”
John Michael Carter (Louisville, Kentucky), “February Evening”
Kalleen Chilcote (Indianapolis), “Beach Bums”
Judy Crawford (Demotte), “The Skylight”
Steven Creighton (Warsaw), “Still Life with Eggs”
Cindy Crofoot (Greendale), “Lost in the Melody”
Deborah Davis (Bloomington), “Evening Retreat – Covid Fantasy” and “Flying on the Brink”
Willis Davis (Dayton, Ohio), “Anti-Police Brutality Dance Mask #23”
Steve Dodge (Martinsville), “Trouble Ahead”
Fred Doloresco (Fremont), “Winter Shadow and Light”
Daniel Driggs (Frankfort), “Thanksgiving Dinner”
Stephen Edwards (Sheridan), “Slow Summer Stream” and “After a Spring Rain”
Forrest Formsma (Indianapolis), “Fall Glow”
Beth Forst (Noblesville), “Wild Thang”
Joel Fremion (Ossian), “The Artist’s Studio” and “The Patty Porch”
Karen Graeser (Indianapolis), “Harvest Moon”
Sylvia Gray (Westfield), “Carnival”
Linda Gredy (Xenia, Ohio), “Favor for a Thousand Generations”
Randal Gunyon (Fairmount), “Beneath the Surface,” “Beneath the Surface-Second View” and “Beneath the Surface-Third View”
Samuel Hoffman (Fort Wayne), “Art for Sale” and “Creek into River”
Clare Peggy Hollett (Indianapolis), “Spirit’s Cradle,” “Spirit’s Cradle detail 1” and “Spirit’s Cradle detail 2”
Lawrence Hunter (Indianapolis), “Urban Colors”
Matt Hurdle (Fishers), “My Reoccurring Dream”
Debra Huse (Costa Mesa, California), “Timeless Beauty”
John Kelty (Fort Wayne), “Back Way”
Patrick Kluesner (Anderson), “Prussian Blue Heron” and “Great Blue Heron”
Alan Larkin (South Bend), “The Magician”
Wyatt LeGrand (Bloomfield), “George and Avenelle Heaton”
Diane Lehman (Peru), “Looking Through the Lens”
Ronald Leonhardt (Evansville), “Floaters”
Kathy Los-Rathburn (Griffith), “Amoco” and “Refinery”
Peter Lupkin (Fort Wayne), “Portrait of Jeorgia” and “Madame Gautreau”
William Lupkin (Yoder), “Intersections” and “Cut Vessel in Fire Red”
Therese Lynch (West Lafayette), “Lilies in Light” and “Anemones”
Ellen Lyon (Bloomington), “Metallica Tie Dye” and “Pandemic Self-Portrait 1”
A. Cassia Margolis (Indianapolis), “Portrait” and “Reclining Nude”
Jeanne McLeish (Mooresville), “Contemplation” and “The Painter”
Katherine Meade (Santa Rosa Beach, Florida), “Regatta at Sunrise”
Bob Meyers (Indianapolis), “Chicago Rain”
Charles Mundy (Indianapolis), “Raku & Copper with Onions”
Lylanne Musselman (Eaton), “Staring Dementia in the Face”
Pamela Newell (Fishers), “Bouquet in Blue”
Chris Newlund (Columbus), “Sonata”
Kevin O’Brien (Lafayette), “Steverino Fan” and “Hand on Coffee”
Kate Orr (Indianapolis), “Viridian Artemis” and “Champion/When the Storm Passes”
James Patterson (Greenwood), “Forgotten”
Vandra Pentecost (Indianapolis), “Hide & Squeak”
Dianna Porter (Greenwood), “Light Fandango,” “Savannah” and “Skylar in Character”
Robert Pote (Mount Vernon), “Illinois Rural Scene”
Kyle Ragsdale (Indianapolis), “Roco Loco” and “A Grief Observed”
Atossa Rahmanifar (West Lafayette), “Silence is Broken”
Mark Ratzlaff (Bloomington), “Lexington, September Building” and “Anna #5”
Russell Recchion (Tuscon, Arizona), “Harlequin Sage”
Matt Rees (Greencastle), “Orchard Jays”
Patricia Rhoden (Nashville), “Reaching”
Michael Rippey (Douglas, Michigan), “Fresh Snow Indiana Dunes”
Carleen Rivera (Munster), “Paradise Today”
Joe Rohrman (Noblesville), “Le Bateau” and “Stuff”
Brian Russelburg (Plainfield), “Main Street”
Martha Sando (Indianapolis), “Not So Silent Spring” and “Island Power”
Betty Scarpino (Indianapolis), “Finding Center,” “Entwined Energy” and “Entwined Energy 01”
Terri Schultz (Nashville), “Under the Apple Tree,” “Sunshine” and “Kitchen Counter Floral”
Constance Edwards Scopelitis (Indianapolis), “Love Letters to Self #2” and “Love Letters to Self #3”
David Seward (Zionsville), “The Docks at Annecy”
Kerry Shaw (Muncie), “1812 Brave” and “Tombstone Cowboy”
Joshua Shepherd (Union City), “Wouldn’t Call Him Woolly Britches If I Was You”
Donna Shortt (Indianapolis), “Fearless Solitude” and “Moonriser”
Jerry Smith (Crawfordsville), “Heartworn Highway” and “Winter Harmony”
William Smock (Idaville), “Veteran with Dog” and “Turkey Run”
Karen Sonner (Marion), “Puget Sound”
Rita Spalding (Indianapolis), “Yellow Roses” and “Magenta Roses”
Stephanie Spay (Noblesville), “Grasp” and “The Guidance of Zoe”
Arlyne Springer (Noblesville), “Ladies of the Bee”
Curt Stanfield (Rosedale), “Shadow Dance”
Carol StrockWasson (Union City), “Serenade to Simplicity”
Ginny Takacs (Gary), “Long Lake” and “Birch Grove”
Brian Talbert (Spencer), “Across County Line Road, Late Afternoon”
Stephanie Thomson (Brownsburg), “Sepulchral”
James Tracy (Deputy), “Stone Head”
Gerald Traicoff (Carmel), “My Morning Song” and “Electric Blues”
Mark Vander Vinne (Porter), “They Paved Paradise” and “Soul Slow Down”
Mary Sue Veerkamp-Schwab (Bloomington), “The Display Case” and “The Light from Behind”
Justin Vining (Indianapolis), “Winter in Irvington”
Mark Waninger (Jamestown), “Royal,” “Rose” and “Raucous”
Patricia Weiss (Huntertown), “Lavatory” and “Late Afternoon Light”
Elizabeth Whipple (Avon), “February Rain”
Cindy Wingo (Carmel), “Aerial Landscape and Color Study” and “Aerial Perspective of SFA”
Carrie Wright (Muncie), “Specimen #19”
Gabriel Yaden (Franklin), “Berries and Cream Ballet”
The judge for this year’s Hoosier Salon was Paula Swaydan Grebel. The California native received her BFA in Figure Drawing and a Minor in Textiles from the California State University of Long Beach. After moving to Wisconsin in the 1990s she has continued studying here and abroad with key perceptual painters. Paula teaches painting and drawing workshops throughout the states, and her work can be found in public and private collections worldwide.
95th Annual Hoosier Salon Exhibition opens August 2, 2019 @hoosiersalon @indianamuseum
Indiana State Museum in White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana.
AroundIndy.com staff photo, (c) 2011, all rights reserved.
By Renee Bruck
Indiana State Museum
INDIANAPOLIS (July 18, 2019) – Artwork created by 140 Hoosier artists will be featured during the 95th annual Hoosier Salon Patrons Association and Fine Art Galleries exhibition when it returns to the Indiana State Museum beginning Aug. 2, 2019.
The annual competition is Indiana’s longest-running art exhibition and is considered to be the preeminent juried exhibition of Indiana art by Indiana artists. This year, 225 artists applied to the show and entered more than 570 pieces of artwork. Jurors accepted only 161 pieces from 140 artists – including 23 new artists to the exhibition this year.
“The jurors for the Hoosier Art Salon’s 95th Annual Exhibition, Derek Penix and Stephen Hicks, have done a great job identifying work by Indiana artists that is beautiful, compelling and in some instances, satirical and funny,” said Bob Burnett, executive director of the Hoosier Art Salon. “We are very excited to see the show come together.”
While the 161 pieces of art will be on display to the public from Aug. 2 through Oct. 13, many of the pieces will be for sale too. Sales of the artwork begin during an awards and special preview event that begins at 6 p.m. on Aug. 1. Tickets for the preview event can be purchased online prior to the preview event at hoosiersalon.org.
“We are excited to partner once again with the Hoosier Salon to bring this exhibition to the Indiana State Museum,” said Cathy Ferree, president and CEO of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. “This show allows us to provide visitors access to an amazing array of the best art from Indiana artists.”
In addition to the Hoosier Salon exhibition, a show featuring student artwork will be on display at the museum. The Indiana Electric Cooperatives’ Calendar of Student Art Contest features artwork from K-12 students with the first-place winner from each grade featured in the cooperative’s annual wall calendar. The winners of the kids’ show will be announced during an awards ceremony at 2 p.m. on Aug. 2.
The cost of both shows is included with the purchase of general museum admission, which is free for Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites members.
For more information, visit https://indianamuseum.org, or call 317-232-1637.
Woodcarver Exhibit at Eagle Creek Park, Mar. 9-10, 2019
Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Indiana.
AroundIndy.com staff photo, (c) 2010, all rights reserved.
By Kylie Money
On behalf of the event organizers
Indianapolis, IN – Eagle Creek Park is hosting the annual Woodcarver, Woodturner & Woodburner Exhibition. The exhibition is on Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, 2019, from 9 am to 5 pm each day.
This event will showcase Indiana woodworkers and their wide array of artwork depicting beautiful wildlife, flora and fauna and/or traditional Native Americans through the fascinating art of woodcarving, woodturning, and woodburning.
In the past, both artistic and functional wood pieces on display have included Nativity sets, wine stoppers, salt and pepper mills, animal puzzles, fan pulls, lidded boxes, earring and napkin holders, and much more.
Artists will provide insight into their craft through colorful stories and answering questions. They will even provide some demonstrations for their art pieces.
There will be a family activities area with soap carving, decorating tree cookies, a free play area, coloring pages, and a nature’s woodcarver’s station highlighting how native wildlife utilizes wood.
The exhibition will be at the Earth Discovery Center in Eagle Creek Park and is free with park admission. Park admission is $5 per vehicle for county residents, $6 per vehicle for out of county.
Most of the artwork at the exhibit will be for sale, making for some great gifts or wonderful new decorations for your home! The artist entry and 15% of sales will go toward the Eagle Creek Park Foundation. The foundation works to promote, preserve, protect and enhance Eagle Creek Park through the support of the local community and volunteers.
For more information visit www.eaglecreekpark.org.
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