Artist Workshop With Christina Hollering
2024-07-26 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Join artist Christina Hollering in an all-ages cut paper collage workshop celebrating the creative possibilities of paper. Learn how to intuitively create compelling compositions using the principles of design. All materials are provided; just come prepared to cut, paste, and play!
Christina Hollering is a cut paper artist and associate professor at Herron School of Art and Design. Her artwork centers around themes of biology, the environment, and the interplay between art and science, inspiring viewers to contemplate their relationship with nature.
At Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

Hatis Noit at Tube Factory artspace
2024-07-29 20:00 - 21:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
“Words cannot describe everything we feel. How can one accurately verbalise the sensation we feel when we’re a newborn and our mother holds us in her arms, and we feel her skin on our cheek. We clearly feel her warmth and humidity, some feeling of love from her, but it’s tough to verbalise it perfectly. Music is a language that can translate that sensation, feeling, the memory of love.” — Hatis Noit
There isn’t a more unique entry into a musical journey than that of Japanese voice artist Hatis Noit. Her musical awakening took place at the tender age of sixteen during a trek to Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal. One morning when staying at a women’s temple she came across a female monk singing Buddhist chants whose otherworldly sounds moved her so intensely that she was instantly aware of the visceral power of the human voice; a primal and instinctive instrument that connects us to the very essence of humanity, nature and our universe. From that moment she knew singing was her calling.
Her newest album, Aura was inspired by the German philosopher Walter Benjamin who used this term to describe the fundamental essence of art, which he believed is strongest in its original form, only happening once. Hatis agrees with this particular aspect as she realised, “during the pandemic, I really struggled. As a singer, I’m not very good at working on the computer. I much prefer doing live performances in physical spaces. Being with people, sharing the same space with them and feeling the atmosphere and energy of that moment, inspires me every time. To me art is that — that shared moment.”
The gravitas of the pandemic caused Noit to look inwards and reflect. This resulted in the album becoming a remedy for what was going on in the world and ultimately to remember the joys and richness of life. Hatis adds to this sentiment, “we cannot live forever, do everything or be everywhere. But that makes our lives unique and invaluable. I wanted to be focused on our limitations and show how precious life is.”
The name Hatis Noit itself is taken from Japanese folklore, meaning the stem of the lotus flower. The lotus represents the living world, while its root represents the spirit world, therefore Hatis Noit is what connects the two. For Hatis, music represents the same netherworld with its ability to move and transport us to the other side; the past, a memory, our subconscious.
Through the opening piece ‘Aura’, which shares its title with the album, she evokes a haunting memory of getting lost in a forest in her birthplace Shiretoko, Hokkaido. “I felt as if I was close to my death, I could feel myself dissolving into and becoming a part of nature rather than just being an individual. This sense of awe and peace found there is always the place where I start making music from,” she remembers.
Years of perfecting her craft via live performances led her to the creation of this debut album which follows on from the introductory 2018 EP, Illogical Dance. An autodidact with an impressive range, Noit is inspired by Gagaku — Japanese classical music — folk music, operatic styles, Bulgarian and Gregorian chanting, as well as avant-garde and pop vocalists to create her inimitable style. Hatis creates wordless music, unique song worlds with transcendent vocal interpretations of epic proportions — most evident on ‘Jomon’ where she channels the fierce, dynamic energy and power of prehistoric culture during Japan’s Jomon period.
Astonishingly all songs on this record were created using her voice only. The single exception being ‘Inori’ for which she took a field recording of the ocean only one kilometre away from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. Hatis Noit had been invited there for a memorial ceremony which marked the re-opening of the area for local people to return to their homes. The emotive and compassionate song is dedicated to the lives lost due to 2011’s tsunami, but equally to the many beautiful memories people have of their hometown.
The album was recorded in Berlin where Noit laid down her vocals in just eight hours, before the pandemic forced her and producer Robert Raths to stay local and mix it in East London, which led to working with a new collaborator: engineer Marta Salogni. Between lockdowns it was decided to take the recordings and reamplify them in a local church to bring them closer to that moment of live performance.
“It was almost like a miracle when Robert came up with the idea. That was the moment that changed everything for the album as the physical space with its organic ambience brought everything to life,” Hatis Noit recalls.
An important part of her practice and something she missed dearly during lockdown, her impressive live performances have included headline and festival shows across Europe, including a sold-out London show accompanied by the London Contemporary Orchestra at Southbank Centre, a special live performance at Milan Fashion Week and she was also invited by the revered director David Lynch to perform at his Manchester International Festival takeover in 2019. Her collaborations have seen her work with Kevin Richard Martin aka The Bug, the NYX Electronic Drone Choir and she appeared on recordings by fellow countryman Masayoshi Fujita as well as Ukrainian pianist and Continuous Music pioneer Lubomyr Melnyk.
Previous press:
“One to watch: Hatis Noit — with her ethereal crossover of mystical and modern,
this Japanese artist has been moving audiences to tears” — The Guardian
“Mixes childlike purity and digital pointillism” — The New York Times
“Truly extraordinary… An exquisite piece of work” — Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6 Music
“Words don’t really do it justice — an extraordinary piece of music” — Clash
“The magic in ‘Illogical Dance’ lies squarely in the human voice itself; Hatis Noit bends her vocals into so many shapes that other instruments simply seem redundant” — Drowned In Sound
“The voice is capable of incredible nuance. Case studies: Björk’s Medulla, Tanya Tagaq’s Inuit throat nsinging, Janis Joplin. Add Hatis Noit to the list” — Tiny Mix Tapes
“Our perception has been altered” — A Closer Listen
“Astonishing” — Uncut

Artist Workshop With Mary Jo Bayliss
2024-08-02 17:00 - 19:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
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.
We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

Big Gay Market
2024-08-11 11:00 - 15:00, 2024-08-12 11:00 - 15:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Come Join SPARK at Monument Circle for this 2-day long event!
Learn more here!: https://www.indygaymarket.com/

SPARK is a partnership with Downtown Indy @downtownindy the City of Indianapolis @indy_dmd 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 and creative placemaking project. The SPARK on the Circle pop-up park was collaboratively designed with Indianapolis-based Merritt Chase to be a restorative public place where people of all walks of life can relax, play, socialize, and engage with art and artists in the heart of our city.

Artist Workshop: Fiber Art and PomPoms with Mary Jo Bayliss
2024-09-04 11:00 - 14:00, 2024-09-07 10:00 - 13:00, 2024-09-11 11:00 - 14:00, 2024-09-14 11:00 - 14:00, 2024-09-18 11:00 - 14:00, 2024-09-21 11:00 - 14:00, 2024-09-25 11:00 - 14:00, 2024-10-12 11:00 - 14:00 and 3 more dates | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Come to SPARK and join artist Mary Jo Bayliss to learn how to create pompoms and contribute them to her Taylor Swift inspired community artwork titled, “The Village”. Visitors will be able to make pompoms that will be used in Mary Jo’s final piece! Come join in on this collaborative artwork and make sure to stop by the circle later to see the final finished piece when Taylor Swift enters her “Indy era” and performs in Indianapolis!
A statement from Mary Jo Mayliss about this piece:
“The Village” is about the power of women working together to create a better, more equitable society. The iconography and rallying point for the activities is inspired by Taylor Swift, and without her presence in Indianapolis, this community artwork, and its far reaching scope, would not be possible–Thank you Taylor! The 13 elements that compose the artwork will be auctioned off at the end of Taylor’s Eras Indianapolis venue, with proceeds being donated for Arts for Learning, Big Car, and Ivy Tech Art Department, Indianapolis.
Mary Jo Bayliss specializes in creating environments that help people feel at ease using space, light and color to achieve these goals.
We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

Lunch Break Live! With Kara Cole Presented by Lake City Bank
2024-09-04 12:00 - 13:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Come Join us at SPARK for a lunch time concert with local musician Regan Shalome, presented by Lake City Bank!
Kara Cole is a soulful, heart wrenching, story teller. The desire to connect experience with song is very important. Music is the 1 thing that bridges the gap in every avenue of life. Be kind xx
We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

Artist Workshop With Stephanie Williams
2024-09-06 12:00 - 14:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Come join us at SPARK for an artist workshop with Stephanie Williams, Make and Take Painted Ceramic Pinch Pots!
In this artist activation, visitors will be able to make their own ceramic pinch pot out of clay through William’s guidance, or paint a ready to take home pot pinched and fired by the artist previously. Pinch pots that are made at this workshop will be taken home by the artist, fired, and kept to be used at the next Make and Take Pinch Pot event! Come join us to paint and pinch at Monument Circle!

We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place

Artist Workshop With John Clark
2024-09-06 17:00 - 19:00, 2024-10-11 17:00 - 19:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Make Art and Write Poetry with John Clark!
Join Indianapolis-based visual artist, Big Car co-founder and writer John Clark to make drawings, poems, and short stories…or a combination of all three! And we’ll also show you how to make zines, too!
We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.
SPARK on the Circle is an ongoing partnership between Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, the Capital Improvement Board, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission.

Cyanotype Workshop With Aurora PhotoCenter
2024-09-13 11:00 - 15:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Cyanotype is a camera-less photography made out in the sun, rather than in a darkroom. You place objects — such as plants — on top of a piece of photo-treated paper, and then use the sun to expose the paper. The result is an image that is an exact outline of the object. It’s a fun and magical way to engage photography! Although it may be new to modern people, cyanotype has been around since photography was invented in the 1800s.
Come explore the creative possibilities of this fascinating process!
We will have some objects on hand to experiment with, but feel free to bring your own objects. Flat items usually work best, and cyanotype can be messy, so precious things like family heirlooms should probably stay at home. All other necessary materials will be provided free at the workshop.
In partnership with Aurora PhotoCenter for SPARK on the Circle.
This activity is best suited for artists 7+ years old; minors must be accompanied by an adult.
We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

SPARK on the Circle is an ongoing partnership between Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, the Capital Improvement Board, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission.

Artist Workshop: Single Fancies With Joan Wyand!
2024-09-13 17:00 - 19:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Come join artist, Joan Wyand, on the circle to get a tiny painted masterpiece on one of your fingernails! The process involves painting a background color on the nail and once dry, Joan will paint an image of your choice. Past designs have included emojis, hearts, tiger stripes and more detailed imageslike Moby Dick and Godzilla! The artist loves a challenge, so feel free to suggest your own ideas. One nail per visitor!
More about Joan:
Joan Wyand recently received her Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in Integrative Studio Practice at IU’s Herron School of Art + Design. She received an undergraduate degree in Ceramics at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2005 and spent 20 formative years in Providence. Her social-minded experimental practice was recognized in 2012 as a recipient of AS220’s Free Culture Award. She participated in the Venice International Performance Art Week Workshop that coincided with the Venice Biennale in2017. Her work at Herron has been recognized with a Paul Zimmerman Fellowship, Graduate Teaching Fellowships, the 2024 Sherry Queener Award and a summer

We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

Artist Workshop With Giselle Trujillo
2024-09-20 17:00 - 19:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Come join us at SPARK for a FREE workshop with artist Giselle Trujillo!
About the Artist:
Inside of me, like inside of everyone, there are many characters waiting to come out in order to be somehow present in this world. They come out from a pencil and play with papers, from our mind and play with our life.
Once, when I was a child, I was close to the sea and I understood everything it said to me. then my hands made a face, a body; some faces, some bodies that watched me, touched me, and I watched them and touched them and then they abandoned me, leaving with the sea, melting themselves with all those characters who were born and going to be born from the sand and they had left with the breeze and with the sea (they are still my friends that I will never see again).
It happened the same with the mud, but the faces and the bodies wouldn’t leave. and here they were; I didn’t plan them, I didn’t make a sketch of them and they appeared. They wake me up any hour, any time talking to me, moving through my hands and when they say ” leave me like this ” I transform them in stone… …And my mind and my soul will rest in the stone, in the paper and in the sand, which had already gone.
We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

SPARK on the Circle is an ongoing partnership between Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, the Capital Improvement Board, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission.

Kids Day!
2024-09-21 14:00 - 16:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Come over to SPARK on Monument Circle for Kids Day!
Playworks will be bringing some of your favorite recess classics like four square, hopscotch, jump rope, and hula hoops!
Visitors will be able to make friendship bracelets and get their faces painted!
The Indianapolis Synphony Orchestra will be hosting their instrument petting zoo and holding a make your own instrument work shop, followed by story time!
We hope to see you out at SPARK for this FREE and kid centred event!
We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

SPARK on the Circle is an ongoing partnership between Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, the Capital Improvement Board, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission.

Artist Workshop: Pyrography with Nasreen Khan
2024-09-27 17:00 - 19:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Pyrography, commonly known as wood burning, is the art of drawing and writing using a burning tool for etching designs onto different surfaces, usually wood.
You can use pyrography to add drawings or writings to wood, gourds, leather, and any other material that wouldn’t be destroyed by the heat from the burning tool.

Khan will talk about the process, give examples and allow attendees to try it out (must sign a waiver).

Indianapolis-based artist Nasreen Khan grew up in West Africa and Indonesia and moved to the gritty American Midwest by way of New York City. She and her toddler son live in their bungalow on Indianapolis’ Near Westside. On a Friday night she can be found cooking various organ meats or chasing down a stellar mint julep.
Her Indianapolis art is all a tribute to Haughville. Since moving to Indianapolis and putting down roots, walking the streets of Haughville and becoming part of the fabric here has kept her grounded. Haughville has been the tableau for building community, exploring her queer identity, motherhood, and teaching her son about race.

We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

SPARK on the Circle is an ongoing partnership between Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, the Capital Improvement Board, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission.

Artist Workshop: Fiber Art and PomPoms
2024-09-28 11:00 - 14:00, 2024-10-16 11:00 - 14:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Come to SPARK and join artist Mary Jo Bayliss and her apprentices to learn how to create pompoms and contribute them to her Taylor Swift inspired community artwork titled, “The Village”. Visitors will be able to make pompoms that will be used in Mary Jo’s final piece! Come join in on this collaborative artwork and make sure to stop by the circle later to see the final finished piece when Taylor Swift enters her “Indy era” and performs in Indianapolis!
A statement from Mary Jo Mayliss about this piece:
“The Village” is about the power of women working together to create a better, more equitable society. The iconography and rallying point for the activities is inspired by Taylor Swift, and without her presence in Indianapolis, this community artwork, and its far reaching scope, would not be possible–Thank you Taylor! The 13 elements that compose the artwork will be auctioned off at the end of Taylor’s Eras Indianapolis venue, with proceeds being donated for Arts for Learning, Big Car, and Ivy Tech Art Department, Indianapolis.
Mary Jo Bayliss specializes in creating environments that help people feel at ease using space, light and color to achieve these goals.
We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place.

Artist Workshop: Fiber Art and PomPoms with Mary Jo Bayliss and Apprentices
2024-10-02 11:00 - 14:00, 2024-10-05 11:00 - 14:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States

Artist Workshop: Pyrography with Nasreen Khan
2024-10-18 17:00 - 19:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
Pyrography, commonly known as wood burning, is the art of drawing and writing using a burning tool for etching designs onto different surfaces, usually wood. You can use pyrography to add drawings or writings to wood, gourds, leather, and any other material that wouldn’t be destroyed by the heat from the burning tool.
Khan will talk about the process, give examples and allow attendees to try it out (must sign a waiver).
Indianapolis-based artist Nasreen Khan grew up in West Africa and Indonesia and moved to the gritty American Midwest by way of New York City. She and her toddler son live in their bungalow on Indianapolis’ Near Westside. On a Friday night she can be found cooking various organ meats or chasing down a stellar mint julep. Her Indianapolis art is all a tribute to Haughville. Since moving to Indianapolis and putting down roots, walking the streets of Haughville and becoming part of the fabric here has kept her grounded. Haughville has been the tableau for building community, exploring her queer identity, motherhood, and teaching her son about race.
What’s This?
We at Big Car are teaming up with Downtown Indy and the City of Indianapolis — with support from the Capital Improvement Board and the Indiana War Memorials Commission— to spark Monument Circle with human-scale activities like games, live music, artmaking, and socializing in a comfortable place. We’re based from the southwest quadrant in front of the Emmis.
