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October 2023
Circle Side Chats with Kevin McKelvey
Making, Keeping, and Poeting a Place This program will give a brief overview of creative placemaking and placekeeping and discuss the importance of place in the poetry of James Whitcomb Riley, Mari Evans, and Etheridge Knight. Bio: Kevin McKelvey is a place-based poet, writer, designer, and social practice artist who also teaches at University of Indianapolis. His poems have appeared widely in journals, books, and as pieces of public art. McKelvey currently serves on the board of Central Indiana Land…
Find out more »Scavenger Hunt with Brittany Fukushima
Join us to kick off an on-going scavenger hunt, find all the little art sculptures and more around the Circle. About the artist: Brittany Fukushima is an Indianapolis-based painter and teaching artist who uses their practice to interpret their environment. Drawing and painting become a means to investigate the natural world, express the intangible, and to present alternate ways of seeing. Recently, they have experimented with paint making using foraged pigments. Teaching is an integral part of their process as it keeps…
Find out more »Lunch Break Live-Cara Jean Wahlers
Wahlers is an Indianapolis based singer-songwriter and performer. Her fondness for folk music from the 60s and 70s gave her a sturdy understanding of storytelling, and she’s taken those cues to develop her own unique style of writing – a revealing balancing act of personal experience and inevitable human truth. She has released an album called “Goodnight Charlotte” withcollaborator and cellist Grover Parido and plays in the Indianapolis and surrounding areas both solo and as a duo. SPARK is a…
Find out more »Found Art with Giselle Trujillo
Join Giselle Trujillo in creating a found art piece! Visitors will work in a variety of mediums to help create something unique! SPARK is a partnership with Downtown Indy, the City of Indianapolis, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission — and funded by the Capital Improvements Board. It is a continuation of our work last year and in 2015 on the Circle. At Big Car, we approach our work at the Circle as a site- and community-specific socially engaged art…
Find out more »Circle Side Chats with Deedee Davis
The Magic Circle In October of 1900, the Fall Festivities Society of Indianapolis promoted a week-long carnival with its central focus being the Magic Circle. Monument Circle was transformed with a dizzying array of attractions, parades, performers and animals all in the glow of “electric illuminations.” Yet, despite all the enchantment, the Magic Circle Carnival was a one-time marvel in Indianapolis’ history. Bio: Deedee Davis is a Herron-Morton resident with an interest in Indianapolis history, specifically historic residential architecture and…
Find out more »Ink Workshop with Brittany Fukushima
Join SPARK artist in residence Brittany Fukushima for an all-levels ink painting workshop. In this workshop, you’ll learn basic ink techniques and how to paint intuitively using colors handmade by the artist. See the raw materials that go into ink-making and leave inspired to create your own. All materials are provided! SPARK is a partnership with Downtown Indy, the City of Indianapolis, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission — and funded by the Capital Improvements Board. It is a continuation of our work…
Find out more »Sofar Sounds at SPARK
WHAT’S A SOFAR SOUNDS SHOW? Sofar transforms everyday spaces – like a rooftop or art gallery – and turns them into captivating, intimate venues for secret, live music performances, creating an immersive experience that brings guests and artists closer together. Each Sofar is small, and typically features three diverse acts, with no headliner. SPARK is a partnership with Downtown Indy, the City of Indianapolis, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission — and funded by the Capital Improvements Board. It is…
Find out more »Amulet Making with Rachel Leah Cohen
Throughout the Jewish diaspora, people have created small pouch amulets to hold anything with protective energy and value. These are often made with everyday materials already on hand: medicinal plants, salt, metal, stones, and symbolic objects. The recipes and the names for these amulets vary by place. In Ladino-speaking Sephardic communities, they are called “bulsika” and in Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi communities, “baytelech.” The ingredients connect us to our ancestors, the environment, and the places we live. The pouch can be worn…
Find out more »Graffiti Knitting with Mary Jo Bayliss
A gathering where knitting and graffiti collide! Simultaneously inspired by traditional knitting and graffiti, this ever-evolving piece combines fiber adjacent activities, coloring sheets derived from graffiti and knitting motifs, and opportunities for participants to share their creative path stories. You are invited to come join the fun, because without YOU, Boo, this project can’t happen. About the artist: Mary Jo Bayliss specializes in creating environments that help people feel at ease using space, light and color to achieve these goals.…
Find out more »Circle SPARK Fest
Have yourself a Pumpkin carving, pottery making, face painting, UBE Fest loving good time at Circle SPARK Fest! This two-day fall festival features live music by an amazing array of local musicians, delicious food, artisan vendors, and hands-on creative activities led by Indianapolis artists. The festival, which runs from 11 am until 6 pm each day, is free to attend. And it takes place at the pop-up park on the southwest quadrant of Monument Circle that has been closed to…
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