Big Car

Carlos Rolón: 50 GRAND
2017-05-05 18:00 - 2017-07-22 15:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Photo: My Father’s Wishes No. 1, 2014, Wallpaper, wood, mirror, 24kt gold leaf, gold plated chains, quartz crystals, metal, sunglasses and bronzed boxing gloves
Before language to Hemingway, from the ancient Sumerians to the Greeks to the modern day, there was the sport of boxing. With his exhibit 50 Grand, Chicago-based artist Carlos Rolón/Dzine will present a dually charged exploration of boxing and domestic culture, inspired by the tactility and performative qualities of boxing, and its relationship to contemporary art at Tube Factory artspace, 1125 Cruft St. Though the third iteration of the exhibit, it will features a newly commissioned performative installation of live sanctioned Golden Gloves fights, organized by Indy Boxing and Grappling and sponsored by Top Rank Productions. The exhibit is a nod to Ernest Hemmingway’s 50 Grand, and like the story explores the relationship between courage and professionalism.
With this exhibit, Rolón continues to mine his childhood memories. He invites the viewer to step into intimate scenes such as his family’s wood-paneled basement, decorated with gold garlands and vintage beer placards, where his father would watch prize fights like Roberto Durán V. Sugar Ray Leonard, also known as the No Más Fight. This fight was particularly important for Rolon growing up as it allowed him to sit for short periods of time connecting with his father.
Rolón monumentalizes his blue-collar trophy den as the setting for his exhibition, creating an homage not only to boxing culture, but also to Puerto Rican immigration to America.
Within the exhibition is a newly commissioned performative installation of live Golden Glove fights organized by Indy Boxing and Grappling scheduled June 2 and July 7, 7-9 p.m. Fighters will wear robes designed by Rolón on each of the three scheduled fights then on display when the ring is inactive.
Within the main gallery is an installation of paintings and sculptural fabric works exuberant with color, texture, patterns, and experiments in surface that create a visual dialogue between the physical charge of boxing, the garments worn by the fighters, and the artist’s own childhood home and upbringing as a first generation immigrant. Occupying the den is a series of custom-made trophies entitled Immigrants/Emigrants (Symbols and Mementos for the Nuyoricans) created, as the artist states “for people like my father and mother who came to the U.S for a better life with dreams and aspirations that never quite materialized, but still achieved success in other aspects of their life.”
The exhibit runs through July 22 open Monday-Friday 9 am-6 pm, Saturdays 11-3 with extended evening hours every first Friday.
Made possible by the Herbert Simon Family Fund, Top Rank Productions, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Sun King Brewery
About Carlos Rolón/Dzine (b. 1970, Chicago, IL)
Rolón attended Columbia College Chicago with a concentration in painting and drawing. Rolón has been recognized for his elaborately crafted paintings, ornate sculptures and works that come out of American, Latino and uniquely based subcultures. His studio practice investigates pop culture, craft, ritual, beauty and its relationship to art history, subculture, appropriation and the institution. As a first-generation immigrant of Puerto Rican decent, the artist creates objects questioning the concept of luxury and craft making to explore questions of identity, integration and aspiration. His work also represents a detailed examination of curiosity and the process of art making and the cultures surrounding this. The work often addresses his biography by melding memory and the imaginary with carefully crafted, hybrid works that are playfully situated between the contradictory worlds of conspicuous consumption and urban artifact. The work is at once melancholic, excessive and exuberant, poised somewhere between celebration and regret. Rolón illuminates how the masculine can become delicate and the how the baroque can be minimal. The artist often channels this approach with site-specific installation work, vivid large-scale paintings and ornate sculptures in various materials expanding on ideas of self-reflection and imagined luxury. The works ultimately produce a hybrid language of social practice, painting and sculpture inviting the viewer to engage in discourse and discussion.
Rolón has had solo exhibitions at The Dallas Contemporary, Dallas; Bass Museum of Art, Miami; Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK; Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and CAM Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis. His work has also been exhibited in group shows at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Marta Herford Museum, Herford, Germany; Museum Het Domein, Sittard, The Netherlands; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Museo del Barrio, New York and Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Canary Islands; Oakland University Art Gallery, Michigan and Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico.
In 2007 Rolón represented Ukraine in the 52nd Venice Biennale. He is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation award for Painting and Sculpture. Rolón’s work is included in the following public collections: Bass Museum of Art, Miami; Brooklyn Museum, New York; City of Chicago Public Art Collection; Deagu Art Museum, Deagu; Museo del Barrio, New York; Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico; Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan; Museum Het Domein, Sittard, The Netherlands; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City; and Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev, Ukraine, among others.
About Tube Factory artspace: Tube Factory is a 12,000 square foot museum space curated based upon the themes of community, place, memory and mythology. We commission local, regional, national and international contemporary visual and musical artists, borrow artifact-based exhibits and create community-sourced exhibits.
A previously vacant former manufacturing building, it is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Shauta Marsh is chief curator at Tube Factory artspace, curating and/or organized over 40 exhibitions including Inheritance: LaToya Ruby Frazier and Tony Buba, Mound At Large: Trenton Doyle Hancock, Fermata: Richard Mosse, RCA: Scott Hocking, Richard Mosse: Fermata, Toyin Odutola, Mari Evans:Carl Pope, etc. Prior to working as a curator, she wrote for various national and local publications.

INOCENTE Documentary Screening
2017-06-01 17:30 - 20:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Join us for dinner and a screening of the Oscar-award-winning documentary Inocente followed by a Q & A with the artist. You can learn more about the documentary at inocentedoc.com.
Made possible by the Central Indiana Alliance Against Hate and The Clowes Fund Inc, in partnership with Heartland Film, who screened the film in 2016,CHIP Indianapolis and the Immigrant Welcome Center.
About the artist:
Inocente is a San Diego artist and activist. As a young child Inocente and her family immigrated to the US from Mexico. After her father’s arrest and deportation for domestic violence, most of Inocente’s childhood was spent moving from one homeless shelter to the next. When she was 12 years old Inocente discovered the power of art, and since then she has been able to use the arts as a vehicle to rise above many great life challenges. Despite her sometimes bleak surroundings, her brightly colored art represents a world of survival, love and hope. Her story is the subject of the Oscar-winning film “INOCENTE”, which depicts her life and art at age 15. Inocente now supports herself as a professional artist and motivational speaker, while also working as an after-school art teacher. For more information on Inocente please visit originalinocenteart.com.
Children are very welcome to attend all programming over the course of the weekend.
Say you’re coming on Facbeook: https://www.facebook.com/events/120965935139152/

HOME: Inocente Izucar
2017-06-02 18:00 - 22:00 | Listen Hear, 2620 Shelby St, , Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
When people first see the film INOCENTE, they meet and fall in love with the 15 year old version of the artist — homeless, confused, determined, hopeful, and hurt. But today, Inocente is 23 years old, just married, looking to purchase a new home, “something I never thought I’d be doing, let alone so early in life,” Inocente says. “I want this exhibition to be about hope and home, about hoping to finally find a permanent home with permanent people, a place to call my home.”
Made possible by the Central Indiana Alliance Against Hate and The Clowes Fund Inc. Held in partnership with Heartland Film, who screened the Oscar winning documentary Inocente in 2016, CHIP Indianapolis and Immigrant Welcome Center. The exhibition will be housed in the Listen Hear gallery at 2620 Shelby St, and will contain some of Inocente’s most recent work. The artist will be present on First Friday and available to answer questions.
Say you’re going on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1962048594027495/

Carlos Rolón: 50 GRAND, LIVE fights
2017-06-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Fights organized by Indy Boxing and Grappling. 50 GRAND, is a newly commissioned performative installation. The participating fighters will wear Rolón’s 50 GRAND robe. The robe is on display in the ring when the ring is not in use. The overall art exhibition, also titled 50 GRAND, is open 6-10 p.m.

Seating is limited but fights will be streamed on YouTube Live. Made possible by Herbert Simon Family Foundation (a Central Indiana Community Foundation affiliate), The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Top Rank Boxing, and Sun King Brewing Company.

Art Workshops with Inocente ages 8+
2017-06-03 11:00 - 15:00
Register your child for art workshop sessions with Inocente Izucar! Children will learn to paint with the expressive style that Inocente lends to all her work, and will take home their creations. There will be two different sessions, 11am-12:30pm and 1-2:30pm. Cost is $5 per child, and there is a cap of 30 children per class, so enroll today! Email email hidden; JavaScript is required with questions or click https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kids-art-workshop-with-inocente-tickets-34639090452 to enroll your child.
About the artist:
Inocente is a San Diego artist and activist, visiting Indianapolis June 1-3, 2017. As a young child Inocente and her family immigrated to the US from Mexico. After her father’s arrest and deportation for domestic violence, most of Inocente’s childhood was spent moving from one homeless shelter to the next. When she was 12 years old Inocente discovered the power of art, and since then she has been able to use the arts as a vehicle to rise above many great life challenges. Despite her sometimes bleak surroundings, her brightly colored art represents a world of survival, love and hope. Her story is the subject of the Oscar-winning film “INOCENTE”, which depicts her life and art at age 15. Inocente now supports herself as a professional artist and motivational speaker, while also working as an after-school art teacher. For more information on Inocente please visitoriginalinocenteart.com.
Made possible by the Central Indiana Alliance Against Hate and the The Clowes Fund Inc. Held in partnership with Heartland Film, who screened the Oscar winning documentary, Inocente, in 2016, CHIP Indianapolis andImmigrant Welcome Center.
Say you’re going on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1459726704094733/

July Art Workshops for ages 6 +
2017-07-05 16:00 - 17:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Themed art classes for children 6 + every Wednesday of July. Classes will be mostly in English but Spanish can be used for children who are bilingual/Spanish speaking. Every week will be a new, dynamic and sensory adventure with a small lesson at the beginning. We will learn about patterns, shapes, rhythm, texture, image, line and color through a variety of media and engaging projects. Inspiration for art projects is drawn from the 50 Grand exhibition currently in the gallery at Tube Factory.
Your child can join any time. New registrations will take place before class each week, so plan to come a little early if it is your child’s first time in the class. Children will be broken into age groups and given an activity for their skill level. There is no fee for classes.
RSVP at: email hidden; JavaScript is required
Wednesdays 4-5:30pm
(July 5, July 12, July 19, July 26)
Clases del arte para niños de edades 6+
A Tube Factory artspace: 1125 Cruft St Indianapolis, IN 46203
GRATIS
Clases del arte de diferentes temas cada miércoles en Julio. Clases estará por la mayoría en inglés pero español puede ser usado si hay niños bilingües o hispanohablantes. Cada semana es una nueva aventura dinámica y sensorial con una lección pequeño al principio. La inscripción va a continuar durante el curso de clases, entonces su niño puede juntar en cualquier momento. Inscripciones nuevos tomará lugar antes de la clase cada semana, entonces planea venir un poco temprano si es la primer clase para su niño. Los niños van a estar separados en grupos por sus edades y los acividades van a estar apropiados para sus niveles de habilidad. Clases son totalmente gratuitas.
Dos opciones para la clase:
Los miércoles 4-5:30pm
( Julio 5, Julio 12, Julio 19, Julio 26)

Carlos Rolón/Dzine: 50 GRAND, LIVE Fights
2017-07-07 19:00 - 21:00
50 GRAND, LIVE Fights is a newly commissioned performative installation consisting of Golden Gloves Sanctioned live fights.The participating fighters will wear Rolón’s 50 GRAND robe. The robe is on display in the ring when the ring is not in use. The overall art exhibition, also titled 50 GRAND, is open 6-10 p.m. the same evening.
Seating is limited but fights will be streamed on YouTube Live.
Made possible by Herbert Simon Family Foundation (a Central Indiana Community Foundation affiliate), The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Top Rank Boxing, and Sun King Brewing Company.

Portrait Making Meet-up
2017-07-08 11:00 - 15:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Bring your own art supplies and get paired up with someone to do portrait studies in our open, concrete-floor community space. Describe your partner in your own medium (can be paint or charcoal, of course, but also can be writing, clay, or any type of abstraction! Realism is not necessary). We will have basic art supplies like paper, markers, crayons, and such.
All creatives, professional or amateur, are welcome. Even if you just want to come to be a model and hang out, you are welcome!

Art Workshops for ages 6+
2017-07-12 16:00 - 17:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States

Art Workshop for ages 6+
2017-07-19 16:00 - 17:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States

Pop Up Opera
2017-07-21 19:30 - 23:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Join Whitney Cleveland, Benjamin Holbrook, Toiya Lister, Andrea Tulipana, Julia Gries, Jeremiah Marcéle Sanders, Meghan Bartcsch and the Chamber Ensemble for a night of opera and fun!

Art Workshop for Ages 6 +
2017-07-26 16:00 - 17:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States

Larissa Hammond: the / a mind the b mind
2017-08-04 18:00 - 2017-10-21 22:00
the/a mind the b mind, is a fully commissioned exhibit featuring four large scale paintings, one in collaboration with poet Ariana Reines.
The exhibit is several years in the making. “Through the years this show has evolved, my body has been attacking itself through my immune system,” says Hammond. “I went down many paths with both my art and physical body before I finally reached a turning point.”
The paintings happened after a series of conversations with Reines. “We spoke about the silence women carry, what it really means and feels like to give consent, communications that result from being mixed race and culture in America, the importance of ownership and protection over one’s own body, taking care, how crucial it is to identify as sane, and the importance of relating to other people with love and humor as a way through any kind of opposition,” says Hammond.
The paintings themselves are an exploration in communication using a collective unconscious that Hammond built through her writings alongside conversations with Reines. “This collective unconscious is a combination of my matrilineal cultural heritage (Afro-Caribbean), past experiences, and direct feedback from my body as I recovered from a brain injury,” says Hammond.
Born in Indianapolis, IN, Larissa Hammond studied Architecture and Linguistics at the University of Cincinnati before earning her BA from Portland State University. In 2012, Hammond earned her MFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art + Oregon College of Art & Craft. Since graduating, her thesis was purchased by conceptual artist Luis Camnitzer and she was named by Modern Painters Magazine as 1 of 25 Artists to Watch. Her first solo edition, THE REDDENING, was featured by Monograph Bookwerks and Triangular Press at the Codex International and LA Art Book Fairs. THE REDDENING was also purchased by the University of Iowa, Indiana University, and Oregon College of Art & Craft Rare / Artist Book Collections.
Born in Salem, Massachusetts, poet, playwright, and translator Ariana Reines earned a BA from Barnard College, and completed graduate work at both Columbia University and the European Graduate School, where she studied literature, performance, and philosophy. Her books of poetry include The Cow (2006), which won the Alberta Prize from Fence Books; Coeur de Lion (2007); and Mercury (2011). Her poems have been anthologized in Against Expression (2011) and Gurlesque (2010). Known for her interest in bodily experience, the occult, new media, and the possibilities of the long or book-length form, Reines has been described as “one of the crucial voices of her generation” by Michael Silverblatt on NPR’s Bookworm.
Made possible by the Herbert Simon Family Foundation and Sun King Brewery.

Belladonna of Sadness
2017-09-20 20:30 - 22:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
One of the great lost masterpieces of Japanese animation, never before officially released in the U.S., BELLADONNA OF SADNESS is a mad, swirling, psychedelic light-show of medieval tarot-card imagery with horned demons, haunted forests and La Belle Dame Sans Merci with J.R.R. Tolkien influences.
We will be discussing this film, the role witchcraft and superstition have played in gender roles throughout history, all in relation to our exhibit Larissa Hammond: the/ a mind the b mind.
The last film in the Animerama trilogy produced by the godfather of Japanese anime & manga, Osamu Tezuka and directed by his longtime collaborator Eiichi Yamamoto (ASTRO BOY and KIMBA THE WHITE LION), BELLADONNA unfolds as a series of spectacular still watercolor paintings that bleed and twist together. A young woman, Jeanne (voiced by Aiko Nagayama) is assaulted by the local lord on her wedding night. To take revenge, she makes a pact with the Devil himself (voiced by Tatsuya Nakadai, from Akira Kurosawa’s RAN) who appears as a sprite and transforms her into a black-robed vision of madness and desire.
Extremely transgressive, BELLADONNA is fueled by a mind-blowing Japanese psych rock soundtrack by noted avant-garde jazz composer Masahiko Satoh. The film has been newly restored by Cinelicious Pics using the original 35 mm camera negative and sound elements and including over 8 minutes of surreal footage cut from the negative. On par with Rene Laloux’s FANTASTIC PLANET and Ralph Bakshi’s WIZARDS as an LSD-stoked 1970s head trip, BELLADONNA marks a major rediscovery for animation fans. If Led Zeppelin had a favorite film, this would be it. In other words, Stairway to Hell.

Ariana Reines
2017-10-21 13:00 - 15:00
Join us for a reading and talk with Ariana Reines. Named one of Flavorwire’s 100 best living writers and “a crucial voice of her generation” by Michael Silverblatt, Ariana Reines lives in Queens, mostly. Text from a Reines poem was used in the Larissa Hammond piece, Initiation. Hammond’s exhibit, The / a mind the b mind, is currently on display at Tube Factory. This event will mark the close of the exhibition. To ensure a seat, RSVP at email hidden; JavaScript is required
More about Ariana Reines:
Her books include The Cow (Alberta Prize, 2006), Coeur de Lion (2007); Mercury (2011), A Sand Book (2017), from FENCE, and The Origin of the World (2014) from Semiotext(e). TELEPHONE, her first play (2009) was commissioned by The Foundry Theatre and received two Obie Awards; a Norwegian translation will premiere in Mollebyen, Norway in 2017. FRANCESCA, a play by Nathalie Rozanes based on writings & performances by Reines premiered at the National Theatre of Belgium in 2016. Other performance & theatrical works include: MORTAL KOMBAT (2015), commissioned by Le Mouvement Biel/Bienne & performed at The Whitney Museum, New York, NY, USA, & Gallery TPW, Toronto, CA, and LORNA (2013) at Martin E. Segal Theatre, New York, USA, both in collaboration with Jim Fletcher, The Origin of the World (2013) at Modern Art, London UK, & many others. Art exhibitions include PUBIC SPACE (2016), a collaboration with Oscar Tuazon at Modern Art in London, UK, EXHAUST (2016) at Contemporary Art Tasmania, AU, and JANE DARK (2014) at Western Front, Vancouver, CA. Reines is the translator of Baudelaire’s My Heart Laid Bare (Mal-O-Mar, 2009); Jean-Luc Hennig’s The Little Black Book of Grisélidis Réal:Days and Nights of an Anarchist Whore(Semiotext(e) 2009); and Tiqqun’s Preliminary Materials Toward a Theory of the Young-Girl (Semiotext(e) 2012). She has taught at Columbia University, the European Graduate School, NYU, Tufts, Naropa, The New School, & many other places. In 2009 she was Roberta C. Holloway Lecturer in Poetry at the University of California-Berkeley. She astrologizes at lazyeyehaver.com.
This event is in partnership with University of Indianapolis and made possible by a grant through Indiana Humanities.

LaShawnda Crowe Storm with Maria E Hamilton Abegunde: Keeper of My Mothers’ Dreams
2017-11-03 18:00 - 2018-01-20 15:00
November 3-January 20
Open every first Friday 6-10 p.m.

Keeper of My Mothers’ Dreams expands the dialogues began in Crowe Storm’s works Her Name is Laura Nelson and Be/Coming with newly commissioned pieces: Poems, Origin and Sister Song.

On the South wall of the main gallery is Her Name Is Laura Nelson. It is Quilt I from The Lynch Quilts Project Series which explores the history and ramifications of racial violence in America, particularly lynching, through the textile tradition of quilting. Crowe Storm started the series 15 years ago. Her Name is Laura Nelson explores the intersection of lynching and gender violence.

In the North section of the main gallery is Be/Coming, the first in the series Masquerade Americana, a collaboration between Crowe Storm and Maria Eliza Hamilton Abegunde that began in 2007. This piece is rooted in the various masquerade traditions found throughout Africa, particularly Gelede (Gail-lah-day) and Egungun (Ay-goon-goon) of the Yoruba in Nigeria. Gelede celebrates female mystical power, while Egungun honors one’s ancestors.The Masquerade Americana series addresses historical and contemporary social ills and in/justices rooted in the American context from a Black / African-American lens.

Origin, in the west section of the main gallery, is a bronze casting of the pelvic bone of an unknown African American woman.

On the East wall is the poetry of Abegunde. The poems Be/Coming, Laura Nelson Speaks, Origin, and Birth Song were written specifically for the ongoing collaboration with Crowe Storm. The remaining poems, The Answer to Your Question and Supplication, are earlier works that call attention to the historical erasure and disappearance of young Black girls and women. Supplication is also a prayer to the Yoruba deity Osun that combines elements of oriki for Osun (praise names) with a plea for guidance to find, in this case, Tionda and Diamond Bradley who were reported disappeared/missing on July 6, 2001.

The writings and libation bowl add new layers to the experiences of remembering words and performances that examine how the abuse, loss, and commodification of one’s womanhood and humanity can be transformed through processes that lead to healing and the rebirthing and re/making of identity.

In the installation room is Sister Song, grounded within the context of community co-creation efforts, the bronze womb shapes were given to selected artists to complete their transformation.

Each piece exhibited in Keeper of My Mothers’ Dreams was developed with the hands of many.

About Lashawnda Crowe Storm
If life were a photo, then Crowe Storm’s artwork would be its negative, seeking to explore those aspects in our society that have been ignored or forgotten such as history, lynching, misogyny, slavery and suicide. Her art is a form of social work and she uses it to open doorways to community dialogue, which is the first step to healing, which in itself leads to wider social change. Through her work, a voice is given to the marginalized people and disregarded aspects of our society.
About Maria E Hamilton Abegunde
Maria E Hamilton Abegunde is a Memory Keeper, poet, ancestral priest in the Yoruba Orisa tradition, and a Reiki Master. Her research and creative work respectfully approach the Earth and human bodies as sites of memory, and always with the understanding that memory never dies, is subversive, and can be recovered to transform transgenerational trauma and pain into peace and power. She is a visiting lecturer in the department of African American and African Diaspora Studies and the founding director of The Graduate Mentoring Center at Indiana University.
A series of events accompany the exhibition:
December 3, 3-5 p.m.
BeComing Whole: It Takes a Village to Heal a Community
Join artists featured in Sister Song for a discussion about how the project developed and what it means to become whole through the process of making art that represents their own births. The artists will share why they accepted the invitation to participate, why they selected the “womb” that they did, how and why they selected the materials, what they learned about themselves in the process, and what was the most transformative part of this creation.
December 9, 3-5 p.m.

January 13, 3-5 p.m.
Afriye Wekandodis: Telling Our Stories to Be Free
Songs for Laura Nelson (Performance)
Singer, performer and Sister Song womb-maker, Afriye We-kandodis will present a two-part performance examining the themes present in Keeper of My Mothers’ Dreams. Sista Yo Mama U n Me Too shares the story of violation then reclamation and transformation as an enslaved woman grapples rape and how she spoke life into the spirit of a fellow tribesman who was used to violate her. Through the performance,I Am Laura Nelson she’ll bring voice and life to Laura Nelson.

January 20, 3-5pm
Keeping our Mothers’ Dreams Alive
For many of us, our mothers never spoke their dreams out loud. Sometimes, they did not dare dream them. We, however, are the ones they waited and are waiting for. We also have our own dreams. The power of dreamtime and the word are this: to remind us who we are, to soothe our souls, and to create futures that break away from the past but do not forget them. The exhibition will end with poetry readings, spoken word performances, and ritual to remember and give gratitude to all our Mothers’ Dreams.
This exhibit was made possible by the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, Alan Mills and Sun King
Pictured: LaShawnda Crowe Storm,”Untitled”(2017), bronze casting of pelvic bone
Image courtesy of Polina Osherov and the artist.

BeComing Whole: It Takes A Village To Heal A Community
2017-12-03 15:00 - 17:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
As part of the exhibition, Keeper of My Mothers’ Dreams, join artists featured in the installation, Sister Song. Sister Song is an interactive installation grounded within the context of community co-creation efforts, bronze womb shapes were given to selected artists to complete their transformation
Afriye We-Kandodis, Breon Tyler, LaShawnda Crowe Storm, Maria E Hamilton Abegunde, Marilyn Michele Kunkle, Monica Johnson, Patricia Williams, Phyllis Viola Boyd and Tysha Ahmad will discuss how the project developed and what it means to become whole through the process of making art representing their own births. The artists will share why they accepted the invitation to participate, why they selected the “womb” that they did, how and why they selected the materials, what they learned about themselves in the process, and what was the most transformative part of the creation.
Image: Sister Song: Sapphire & Crystals by Patricia Williams

Artist Talk: LaShawnda Crowe Storm and Maria Hamilton Abegunde
2017-12-09 15:00 - 17:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
How and why do a visual artist and poet come together to create new works through individual and community practices? What guides them to make art that could lead to community healing? Why do they view the community as an essential component of art making, resistance, healing, and transformation? Join Lashawnda Crowe Storm and Abegunde as they share their history of art making and the potential of the arts to help individuals and communities heal from historical and personal traumas.

Sometimes A Wind Blows
2018-01-05 18:00 - 22:00 | Listen Hear, 2620 Shelby St, , Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
A live sound art installation with artists Mark Tester, Adrian Caldera, Ian Donkin, Zech Baumhover, Ron Castillo, Tyler Sharp and Casey Synesael.

The Fiber Initiative
2018-01-06 11:00 - 15:00, 2018-02-03 11:00 - 15:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Organized by Tiana N. Cain, owner of i feel like dyeing, The Fiber Initiative is a program for all fiber lovers looking to network and learn with others who have similar interest.
For more info see: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ifeellikedyeing/
About Cain:
“I discovered knitting about five years ago; one of my coworkers gave me a book, yarn and needles! (how cool right??) One night visiting my parents, i was up late and couldn’t sleep. Thankfully I took my knitting; it was a beast at first but I GOT IT YALL!!! It all snowballed from there into EVERYTHING else!! I just couldn’t get enough!!! There is so much to the world of fiber and I want in on ALL of it! Any and every opportunity I get to play in fiber, I take it! Recently, I taught myself to spin!! I first started with a drop spindle and eventually graduated to a wheel! (both are my babies) Let me tell you…Oh my goodness!! It is so addicting. I can sit for hours on my porch and spin, sip coffee or tea, have a cocktail or glass of wine and LIVE!! It’s probably my favorite thing to do!!”

Afriye We-kandodis: Telling Our Stories To Be Free
2018-01-13 03:00 - 17:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Selma, AL based singer, performer and Sister Song womb-maker, Afriye We-kandodis will present a two-part performance examining the themes present in Keeper of My Mothers’ Dreams. Sista Yo Mama U n Me Too shares the story of violation then reclamation and transformation as an enslaved woman grapples rape and how she spoke life into the spirit of a fellow tribesman who was used to violate her. Through the performance, I Am Laura Nelson, We-Kandodis will bring voice and life to Laura Nelson, a woman that was lynched with her 12 year old son, LD, on May 25, 1911.
Made possible by the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, Alan Mills and Sun King Brewery.
Image: Afriye We-Kandodis by Kathryn Mayo from her We Are Selma Project.

Keeping Our Mothers' Dreams Alive
2018-01-20 15:00 - 17:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
For many of us, our mothers never spoke their dreams out loud. Sometimes, they did not dare dream them. We, however, are the ones they waited and are waiting for. We also have our own dreams. The power of dreamtime and the word are this: to remind us who we are, to soothe our souls, and to create futures that break away from the past but do not forget them. The Keeper of My Mothers’ Dreams will end with poetry readings, spoken word performances, and ritual to remember and give gratitude to all our Mothers’ Dreams.
With readings/performance from:
Manon Voice
Breon Tyler
Maurisa Li-A-Ping
Kimberly Licorish
Abegunde

About Abegunde

Abegunde is a Memory Keeper and ancestral priest who chooses to forget that words and days have limits. Instead, she chooses to remember – and live by – the words of a young Black woman in the 5th grade: Poetry can change the world. As a result, she spends her days and dream time chanting silenced memories into spoken histories. On the weekdays, when she isn’t birthing new words out of sound and images, she shapeshifts into an IU professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies and the founding director of The Graduate Mentoring Center.

About Breon Tyler
Tyler is a visual artist from Gloucester, Virginia who also writes poetry. Her favorite medium is lithography, a form of printmaking. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University and is wrapping up a master’s degree in African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University. Her research contemplates why and how Black people love despite the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual violence they have endured and are still enduring. Some of the things that bring her the most joy, aside from creating, include laughing, cooking, and dancing.

About Kimberly Licorish
Licorish has been writing poetry from the age of 11. She was born on the island of Barbados and moved to the United States when she was 16 years old. Her poems are inspired by her country—it’s traditions, music, history, food, people, and festivals.
Kimberly earned a BS in Psychology and a BA in Liberal Arts from IUPUI. It is there she developed her writing. Her poetic work has been published in the genesis Literary and Art magazine of IUPUI and has received numerous awards for her poetry, including the Best of scholarship for poetry. In 2013 she was invited to participate in The Borderlands Project spearheaded by Karen Kovacik, Indiana Poet Laureate and has been a featured poet at the IUPUI International Women’s Day celebration.
Kimberly is working to published her first book of poems. She is currently living in Indianapolis, Indiana with her daughter.

About Manon Voice

Manon Voice, is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana and is a poet, spoken word artist, event host, freelance writer, hip-hop emcee and social justice activist. Manon Voice seeks to use her art and activism to create a communal space where dialogue, transformation, discovery and inspiration can occur.

About Maurisa Li-A-Ping

Li-A-Ping is an Afro-Caribbean Black Queer Woman. She’s a storyteller and educator that utilizes poetry to promote student success. Maurisa is currently continuing her education as a Master’s student at IU and you can find her work published in (or forthcoming) in Black Diasporas, On Sisterhood Anthology and more.

Justin Brown:Same Old Sh*t Reboot or #FreeMe from my Epigenetic FX
2018-02-02 18:00 - 22:00 | Listen Hear, 2620 Shelby St, , Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
In game theory and economic theory, a zero-sum game is a mathematical representation of a situation in which each participant’s gain or loss of utility is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the utility of the other participants. Evolutionary game theory (EGT) is the application of game theory to evolving populations in biology. It defines a framework of contests, strategies, and analytics into which Darwinian competition can be modeled. Game theory has been applied to contexts in war. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene function that do not involve changes in the DNA sequence.
Brown is focused on how the trauma of repetitive existential threats (lynchings/police shootings/abuse) is encoded in a peoples’ DNA in order to help them preserve themselves in inhospitable environments such as the United States of America.
The show will consist of mixed media collages focused around the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 24th amendments, the national anthem, and FBI case files for Malcolm X and James Baldwin. For this exhibit Brown will create 3D pieces that coincide with audio and visual imagery.
His work is most inspired by Carl Pope, Angelbert Metoyer, Clayton Hamilton, science, and history repeating itself. Justin is a former member of General Public Collective and a cofounder of Future Friends : Holographic Magic Club cooperative art gallery in the Murphy Arts building. Justin uses mixed media in an attempt to bring the consciousness of street art to the gallery world.

Audrey Barcio: Under Influence
2018-02-02 18:00 - 2018-04-14 15:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Heritage is a pressing concern to our generation. Should we allow the past to influence us—are we bound to ancient tools, materials and techniques? Or should we endeavor to make work that is specific to our time, embracing technology and its untested, ambivalent ramifications? If we do, are we at risk of becoming complicit in a catastrophe, or a pale reflection of something fleeting?
In her solo exhibition Under Influence at Tube Factory Artspace in Indianapolis, Audrey Barcio explores these questions in a new series of paintings that examines where the heritage of Modernism intersects with the tools of the Virtual Industrial Age. Her starting point for this body of work is the iconic grey and white checkerboard pattern recognized by contemporary digital designers as a symbol for emptiness waiting to be filled. Transforming that virtual nothingness into concrete form, Barcio employs it to empower interpretations of the iconographic legacy of our Modernist forbearers.
This is a vision of an aesthetic symbology as futuristic as it is rooted in the constructed languages of the past: Suprematism, Geometric Abstraction, Futurism, Orphism, Color Field Painting, Post-painterly Abstraction, Minimalism. The work transcends the accepted cultural raison d’être of this century—the cult of self—to evoke instead the universal.
Under Influence speaks to something ancestral, universal, infinite, and essential. It is a conversation arising not from coteries but from the unifying elements of a common world: shape, color, line, form, material, surface, and the infinite potentialities that arise from relationships.
Commission of these new works were made possible by the Herbert Simon Family Foundation.
Read more about Barcio in this Pattern Magazine story.
Audrey Barcio received her BA from Herron School of Art and Design and her MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She attended the Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art in Brittany, France, and completed a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in 2017. Her work has been published in New American Paintings and has been featured in multiple group exhibitions around the U.S., including Art in America at the Art Miami Satellite Fair and GLAMFA at UC Long Beach. She has had solo exhibitions at Syracuse University in New York, in the Las Vegas Government Center, and at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work is included in several private collections and in the permanent collection of the Barrick Museum of Art. She currently lives and works in Chicago.
Image: Audrey Barcio, Second Choice, 2017

Post It
2018-02-09 18:00 - 22:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Photo:Mackenzie Loosemore, medium – resin, stickers, glitter, post-it
Artists Nick Witten and Danielle Graves will be hosting their inaugural event and fundraiser for Sugar Space. Artists from across Indiana will create unique works on post-it notes that will all be priced at $10 each. Twenty percent of sales will go to Sugar Space for supplies and funding future shows, while the rest will go back to the artist.
– Participating Artists –
Aaron Dodd
Abby Mendoza
Abigail Chestnut
Addeline Griswold
Alec Stewart
Alex Norris
Alexa Adamson
Alyson Love
Alyssa Deck
Alyssa Sellers
Angie Brooks
Annabella Habegger
April Knauber
Ash Windbigler
Ashley Woodrum
Auna Winters
Babelon Williams
Brent Lehker
Brian C Johnson
Brian Stovall
Briget Carroll
Brit Fukushima
Brooklynn Dischler
Caitlin McCready
Carly Purvis
Cassondra Graves
Chloe Karayiannis
Christina Hollering
Christine Plantenga
Claire Sweitzer
Cody Coffman
Cory Carpenter
Daniel Balmer
Daniel Jewett
Danielle Graves
Dave Lough
Dominic Senibalbi
Ellery Diaz
Emma Fiandt
Emma Hall
Emma Soukup
Erik Lundorf
Erin Case
Geraldine Diaz
Graham Marshall
Gustavo Ayala
Hailee Smith
Hannah Schriner
Hannah Thompson
Helen Ip
Henry Johnson
Iryna Bondar
Ivonne Carley
Jacob Mullins
Jennifer Gray
Jessica Kartawich
Jessica Springman
Jim Walker
Joelle Stille
John Clark
Jon Love
Jordan Thomas
Josh Haines
Joshua Mark
Kaitlyn DeSpain
Kara Heingartner
Kat Silver
Kate Lockhart
Katie Nocco
Kelli Renae
Kelsey Simpson
Kimberly McNeelan
Kitty Taylor
Kyle Agnew
Kylie Kinkoph
Lauren Ditchley
Lauren Dodge
Lauren Neely
Liz Wierzbicki
Lorie Lee Andrews
Lydia Crouse
Mackenzie Loosemore
Marck Ferrari
Maria Iqbal
Marissa Cohen
Mary McClung
Megan Kelley
Merideth Brooks
Michael Mirabile
Michael Moskaliuk
Michell Howard
Nat Russell
Nick Witten
Nicolas Cunningham
R.A. Buys
Rachel West
Rob Young
Ryan Felton
Sam Murphy
Sarah Mercado
Sarah Spomer
Serena Boehmer
Sharon Brooks
Shaunte Lewis
Shelby Alexander
Sidney Henry
Spencer Hannowsky
Stephanie Bunch
Tara Miller
Terrance Majors
Tori Weyers
Victoria Jenkins
Waxingmoon Temptress
Zach Carrico

Adults Only-Creativity Workshop
2018-02-11 16:00 - 18:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
We’re partnering with The Outlet to bring you an afternoon of naughty creativity. Join us for a creativity workshop at Tube Factory Artspace.
This workshop is great for groups of friends, dates, valentines and others. Each participant will create a unique, collage, resin fetish box using naughty images and ephemera. Your one-of-a-kind artwork will be suitable for giving as a gift or keeping, and the box can be closed for privacy, or displayed as you wish. After all, we’re artists. We aren’t about to censor you!
The Tube Space Bar will be open for adult refreshments while you create your masterpieces.
We’re offering a reduced rate for any +1 participants when you register together. Individual registrations are $60, or two for $100.
This event is 21+

Frugal Fugazi
2018-02-21 18:30 - 20:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Make fashion art knock offs in this series of workshops with artists Sean Oreo and Nick Witten. Please RSVP to email hidden; JavaScript is required as you will need to purchase supplies to make the works. If you want, works you make during this workshop series will be part of the Left Show exhibition at Guichelaar Gallery opening May 4.
Image still from Kreayshawn video “Gucci Gucci”
Directed By: @JOSEPHZENTIL
Produced By: @STRANGEARMAND
KREAYSHAWN.COM/
kreayshawn.tumblr.com
@KREAYSHAWN

Jim Walker-Brick Street Poetry Series
2018-02-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Brick Street South Poetry Series is run by JL Kato. The series features a poet and an open mic the third Wednesday of every month. February features poet, Jim Walker.
Jim Walker is CEO of Big Car Collaborative, onprofit social practice art and placemaking nonprofit. Walker — who received his MFA in poetry from Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C. — has worked as a teacher, journalist, designer, and public artist. He also currently teaches in the University of Indianapolis Social Practice Art and Placemaking graduate program. He has published Poetry Report, a book about writing poetry that featured interviews with several renowned poets. His poetry has appeared in Painted Bride Quarterly, Hanging Loose, Cream City Review, Flying Island, and others.

Beer and wine available for purchase.

De Aquí y De Allá (From Here and There)
2018-02-24 14:00 - 15:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
De Aquí y De Allá (From Here and There)
Latino artists talk about their experiences living in two culture and how it shapes their art practice. This session will feature Ronald David Lora-Castillo.
About Ronald David Lora-Castillo.
Ronald’s influences are simple. He looks for the writing on the wall. Growing up he was always fascinated by the subversive political graffiti of Dominican Republic, and Brooklyn, NY as much as by the cave paintings of Lascaux, in France. His primitive, and brut style dances with topics such as mental health, ecology and technology through his personal experience. He is inspired by artists such as Basquiat and Dubuffet for their treatment of street and outsider art. Ronald seeks to touch on universal emotions and situations through the language of primitive man, Art.

Moderated by Eduardo Luna
