Jason Wesaw: Sovereign Spirits
2025-03-07 18:00 - 2025-08-25 19:30 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Potawatomi (Turtle Clan) artist Jason Wesaw’s exhibit consisting of sculpture, drawings, prints, and installation is linked to the beliefs of his culture related to land, specifically the ground where Tube Factory now sits. This land has been part of Potawatomi lands at different times in history before the United States existed. For this reason, Wesaw used earth and materials from Terri Sisson Park on the Tube Factory campus to create some of the works in this fully commissioned show.
Tube Factory’s chief curator, Shauta Marsh, looked to Wesaw because she felt his work offers a form of time travel — connecting us to a time before and to the present and ways to envision a future with shared connections and value tied to the land. And, in doing so, Wesaw brings people together today and across generations. “An overarching tenant of my practice is a commitment to examining relationships,” he said. “Relationships act as a guidepost for me, whether it’s connecting to family and community, to spirit and my observations in the natural world, or to materials: those which are considered modern art mediums, or found and harvested materials.”
Two pieces anchoring Wesaw’s Sovereign Spirits exhibit to the place where the Tube Factory sits are the tall flowing installations of shimmering satin and taffeta ribbon.
“They address the way that I interact with the underside of life, the places beneath the surface where spirit moves in subtle and powerful ways that only focused reflection and observation can reveal,” Wesaw said.
Wabshkya Sen or White Stone, is a piece about the help we receive through ceremonies that bring us healing and good health, both physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Bean Creek draws attention to the urban stream just outside the walls of the gallery, where we can be reminded that the cleansing, moving spirit of the water can often be found sharing its life force if we simply pause long enough to let our senses guide us to her flowing banks for a quiet moment.
Wesaw will also create an installation composed of black ash baskets or Gokpenagenek. A quintessential and ancient art form amongst the Potawatomi, black ash baskets are not merely functional or decorative objects, they weave together ancient cultural knowledge about the importance of maintaining relationships to the land and each other with a value system based upon reciprocity.
“These baskets are a reflection of our community’s ongoing presence on this Land and they remain a treasured art form practiced by the Potawatomi and many other Tribal Nations. Many of the baskets on view in this collection were made by ancestors of the Pokagon Potawatomi people of northern Indiana and southwest Michigan, with others having been made by their descendants who now carry on this beautiful, customary art form,” Wesaw said.
The intimate, small-scale oil pastel drawings that line the wall illustrate Wesaw’s process of observation and structure, ideas that often are fleshed out even further in his larger works. The textile pieces from his ongoing Blanket Series explore ideas around the transfer of knowledge that occurs between spirit, nature, and human beings, what he sees as a subtle, gentle ceremony of offerings and giveaways.
In the textile and ceramic works, lies an interest in the power of ornamentation, with materials like dyed deer tail and shiny, small objects drawing your gaze closer into the work. Collectively, the work in Sovereign Spirits shows a wide breadth of materials being used, but there is a united spiritual aesthetic of the pieces, regardless of the time, space and dimension in which they are constructed.
“In a quest for connection and common ground,” Wesaw said. “Where is it you look to find the source which helps you move with meaningful purpose, fulfillment, and Love? With Sovereign Spirits, I hope to take you on a journey where you can explore the power of Self, including the connections we have to the communities around us, the longing we feel to belong, and our desires to understand our place amongst all of creation. As we so casually ask for help or guidance from a higher power in difficult times throughout our lives – we must also understand that when spirit comes looking for something from us – that we need to be ready to give back without hesitation or fear; in essence, to have faith. The work in this exhibition recognizes the role of land, water, and skies as we seek a deeper, clearer understanding of Spirit and Self.”
The exhibition’s title, Sovereign Spirits, resonates with meaning across history. “Sovereign is a word most-often used to describe the undisputed authority of political entities, or to imply supreme power and autonomy. Indeed, this is a word that the Potawatomi — and all Tribal Nations — have become eerily familiar with in our centuries-long fights to maintain our traditional culture and inherent human rights, in a country founded on freedoms for all,” Wesaw said. “By stripping away themes centered around history or distinguishing labels like ‘Indian’ and ‘Native American’, what we may find as those layers are peeled back is a deep awareness of the natural world around and within us, and the connection we have to beings other than humans. In an increasingly fast-changing world where the land and people are being eaten up as a resource, there is a humble acknowledgement we can make in understanding the power of reciprocity and the place Spirit holds in the physical world we are living.”
About the Artist: Jason Wesaw works in an array of media including ceramics, textiles, works on paper, and traditional cultural pieces. His projects relate stories about the Potawatomi people’s ancient and evolving connection to the Land, the Sky, the Water, and Beyond. He balances being an artist with working in his Tribal community as a Peacemaker and participating in traditional cultural ceremonies across the Great Lakes. Wesaw is Potawatomi (Turtle Clan) and lives near the historic Pokagon Potawatomi settlement of Rush Lake in southwestern Michigan. His work is in the permanent collections of the Eiteljorg Museum, Grand Valley State University in Michigan, the University of Notre Dame, the Field Museum in Chicago, the Indiana State Museum, and many other regional institutions. He was recently a Mellon Artist-in-Residence at the Newberry Library for the ‘Indigenous Chicago’ exhibition and is a core artist in the current “Woven Being” group exhibition at The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University.
Learn more about Wesaw by visiting his Instagram account @jasonwesaw.
The exhibition is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Efroymson Family Fund, the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The show is part of a long term project, Social Alchemy, conceived by Big Car co-founders Shauta Marsh and Jim Walker and artist and philanthropist Jeremy Efroymson, explores historical and contemporary examples of utopian experiments, fictional utopias and dystopias, and social and cooperative-living design projects.
About Tube Factory artspace: Tube Factory is a contemporary art campus and community center. There are four galleries on the campus, two are commissioning galleries. Admission is free. It is also the home base for Big Car Collaborative’s work across Indianapolis and beyond. Tube Factory features rotating exhibits, interactive projects, community space, a reference library, an outdoor gathering space, and much more to find through exploring. Tube Factory is an independent, noncommercial, nonprofit public place.
Tube Factory is run by the 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit, Big Car Collaborative. As an artist-run nonprofit organization, we utilize tools of culture and creativity to build community and social cohesion — connecting people as a way to boost quality of life. We support our community by supporting artists.
Much of our work happens on a single block where we own or co-own more than 20 properties — including a long-term affordable housing program for artists and Tube Factory — a contemporary art museum with a cafe, studios, and community space. At our campus of adaptive reuse buildings and public greenspace, we host community and cultural programs to promote social connectivity, cooperation, and creativity.
We also facilitate people-focused placemaking and place keeping projects across the city and beyond through Spark. Tune in to our experimental, community-focused radio station, WQRT 99.1 FM — also streaming at wqrt.org. Learn more at BigCar.org and TubeFactory.org.
About Indiana and Tribal Land (from the Indiana State website):
There are two tribes that have land in Indiana.
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi received a small portion of their land back from their removal in Indiana. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi is a federally recognized tribe. It is one of 573 federally recognized tribes in the United States. The Bureau of Indian Affairs contacted Chairman John Warren to state that their tribe, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, had been approved on November 18, 2016 to receive 166 acres of land in trust in South Bend, Indiana. The tribe successfully put a few housing units and tribal government buildings to assist their tribal members living in Indiana. It also built a 175,000 square foot and 1,800 Class II gaming devices, four restaurants, a player’s lounge, a coffee shop, two bars, a retail outlet and approximately 4,500 parking spaces including an enclosed parking structure.
The second tribe that has land in Indiana is the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. The tribe was given land to put a Cultural Extension Office for their tribal members living in Indiana to attend specific gatherings, ceremonies and education events at this office located in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
There are approximately 25,000 other tribal members who live in Indiana, from the Apache, Cherokee, Navajo, Comanche, Lakota Sioux, and other federally recognized tribes.
Information via: faqs.in.gov/hc/en-us/articles/360033547051-Are-there-any-Native-American-tribes-in-Indiana

Davis Henderson: BODEWADMI NDAW
2025-03-07 18:00 - 2025-08-25 19:30 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Video Room Gallery

BODEWADMI NDAW is a documentary about the efforts of the Potawatomi people to revitalize their language, Bodwéwadmimwen. The title is a declaration. It means I am Potawatomi.
“My people have spent centuries unable to be ourselves lest we face malice, persecution, and death. It has only been 25 years that the federal government has recognized us as our own people and it is through our distinct language and culture. Our language, however, has been rapidly disappearing,” says Henderson. “To my knowledge, there is no other film in the world that covers this subject. This story needs to be told. Our language is beautiful. My people are beautiful. We do not deserve to disappear.”

About the artist
Davis Henderson is a filmmaker, voice actor, and storyteller. As a citizen of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians (also known by the community as the Gun Lake Tribe). Kalamazoo born and based, they wish to share stories about the land that we gather on that are not written in history books.

Ben Hall: Trunk Rattle Sound Bath
2025-05-02 18:00 - 2025-06-15 17:00 | IN
Trunk Rattle Sound Bath merges ongoing areas of Ben Hall’s research into polyrhythm (the simultaneous use of two or more contrasting rhythms), sonic immersion, and ancestral resonance through the lens of embodied listening. The title draws from the cultural experience of low-end frequencies booming from car trunks — windows shaking with no discernible rhythm, the body absorbing it all. “Vibrational frequencies are in everything,” Hall says. “Our bodies. We are observing by vibration even when we shut down. Our nervous system is still there, thrumming.”
With this new body of work, Hall focuses on not just what is played or heard, but what is felt, what is transferred through vibration, what buzzes and rattles in the body long after the source has passed. The body is a resonant shell for the vibrations that occur all around us. “The 17th-century Dutch physicist Christian Huygens observed the entrainment of pendulums,” Hall explains. “He noted in 1655 that if two pendulum clocks were placed near each other, they would synchronize. They wanted to be in rhythm with each other — but it was, and is, not instant. That move toward synchronization, toward harmony… The experience of rhythm, of immersion in sound, of allowing your body to be an entire resonating chamber is to allow that process to begin each time — and allow for the vibration to be you.”
Inspired by the mbira, a traditional African thumb piano with metal tines and built-in buzzers used in spiritual ceremonies to connect with ancestors, Hall draws a throughline from West African sonic cosmologies to Midwestern street corners. “Those buzzes are supposed to be the actual frequencies that cut through to the ancestors,” he says. “The consequence of the sound is what communicates with another world.” In this way, the sound bath is not a cleansing ritual in the New Age sense, but a full-bodied immersion in histories.
Hall makes the connection between the mbiras of tradition and the trunk rattle of modernity. “When you are at the red light next to the Buick,” Hall says, “you’ll notice that the rattling and buzzing is not consistent with the rhythm created by the bass frequencies coming from the vehicle. Often, it will seem that the rattling of your windows — a different distance, a different material from the sound maker — is not even related at times to the rhythm, as though the frequencies you’re hearing in the passing vehicle are somehow coincidental to the vibration in your home.”
Trunk Rattle Sound Bath invites visitors to consider rhythm not only as musical but as a way of knowing, of feeling, of remembering. “When a frequency, a sound (but also a rhythm, a repetition) occurs to us at a different frequency than the one we live in,” Hall says, “we are receiving energy. Frequency is just another way to say energy.” Whether through sound, image, or movement, Hall’s work opens a space for that energy to circulate — and for the body, buzzing like a loose antenna, to receive it. “Vibrational frequencies are in everything,” Hall declares.
About the artist: Ben Hall is an artist and composer based in/from Detroit, Michigan. He was profiled in Fred Moten’s 2017 book, Black and Blur and frequently works as a critic and essayist with a research focus on the visionary American composers Milford Graves and Bill Dixon. He formerly served as a senior research fellow at the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College from 2018-2022. He has presented prints, drawings, film, sculpture and works for sound in numerous exhibitions including the solos Jives & Gambles at Essex Flowers in NYC and Slow An Alarm Until It’s A Tone at MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit). He is currently compiling material for the forthcoming publication, A Black Liberation Music Guide.
Curator: Landon Caldwell
Live performance: June 8, 12pm by Hall’s ensemble, Oceanic Beloved.
This exhibition is made possible by the Indy Arts Council and the City of Indianapolis, the Indiana Arts Commission, Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Fund, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Efroymson Family Fund.

Power Plant Grant Applications Open
2025-05-05 08:00 - 2025-07-18 23:30 | IN
Power Plant Grants — run by Big Car Collaborative and funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts — support visual artists who live or work in Indianapolis with project grants of $12,000.
Each year — based on selections by an independent panel — five individual artists or teams will receive awards of $12,000. Round 5 applications are scheduled to open on Monday, May 5 and close Friday, July 18 this year.
2025 Power Plant Grant Deadlines & Important Dates:

Monday, May 5 – Application opens via Submittable

Monday, June 23, 7 - 8 p.m. – In-person information session (at Tube Factory artspace)

Friday, June 27, 5-6 p.m. – Online Zoom information session (Link coming soon)

Friday, July 18 – Applications close online, at 11:59 p.m. EST

Monday, Aug. 11 – All applications notified if they will proceed to the final round

Saturday, Aug. 23 – Artists’ presentations at Selection Panel meeting in-person in Indianapolis

Monday, Aug. 25 – Award recipients Notified

Friday, Sept. 12 – Public Announcement of the 2025 Round 5 Awards

Friday, October 10 — Gathering & Celebration Dinner with all Power Plant Grant recipients

Lockerbie Place Pop-up | May 27
2025-05-27 11:30 - 13:30 | Needler’s Fresh Market, 320 N New Jersey St, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, United States
Lockerbie Pop-Up Public Place
May 27: Peyton Womock + FILLERS Stuffed Burgers food truck
Lunchtimes at Lockerbie Place
Stop by to enjoy the peace and quiet and various activities that this downtown green space has to offer — along with a soundtrack provided by live musicians or a WQRT FM DJ from right here in your city. It’s free to attend! Challenge a friend to a game of ping pong , play giant Jenga, and find your new favorite musician or food truck.
When? Every Tuesday from May 5 through Sept. 22, 2025. Food trucks and activities on site from 11:30 am-1:30 p.m. and live music or WQRT DJ (alternating weeks) 12-1 p.m. Games are out all of the time!
Where? This program happens at 320 N New Jersey Street in the greenspace right off the Cultural Trail, next to Needler’s Fresh Market.
Who? This creative placemaking project is by Big Car Collaborative and made possible by CitiMark and Gershman Partners.
Check @SparkPlaces on Instagram for Lockerbie lineups + updates!

SPARK on the Circle 2025 Opening Weekend
2025-05-31 09:00 - 2025-06-01 21:00 | Monument Circle, 50 Monument Circle, Indianapolis, 46204, United States
SPARK on the Circle is BACK for 2025!
To kickoff the 2025 season, SPARK will host the Big Gay Pride Market on the Circle from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1.
In addition, SPARK will be open from 9 a.m. until dusk from May 31 through Sept. 28. SPARK offers shaded seating, fun games, free activities, artist workshops, live music, and more.
SPARK is a partnership with Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, Inc., and the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development — with support from the Indiana War Memorials Commission. It is a continuation of Big Car’s work in 2024, 2023, 2022, 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.

Open Bocce Ball!
2025-06-01 12:00 - 15:00, 2025-06-08 12:00 - 15:00, 2025-06-15 12:00 - 15:00, 2025-06-22 12:00 - 15:00, 2025-06-29 12:00 - 15:00 | Terri Sisson Park, 1125 Cruft Street, Indianapolis
Grab some friends or neighbors and come by to enjoy Tube Factory’s Bocce court! The outdoor court is located to the left of 1207 Cruft Street, down Cruft past Tube Factory. Enjoy the weather, Terri Sisson Park, and our community with open bocce ball!

Lockerbie Place Pop-up | June 3
2025-06-03 11:30 - 13:30 | Needler’s Fresh Market, 320 N New Jersey St, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, United States
Lockerbie Pop-Up Public Place
June 3: 99.1 WQRT FM DJ Mix + 3 Marias Mexican food truck
Lunchtimes at Lockerbie Place
Stop by to enjoy the peace and quiet and various activities that this downtown green space has to offer — along with a soundtrack provided by live musicians or a WQRT FM DJ from right here in your city. It’s free to attend! Challenge a friend to a game of ping pong , play giant Jenga, and find your new favorite musician or food truck.
When? Every Tuesday from May 5 through Sept. 22, 2025. Food trucks and activities on site from 11:30 am-1:30 p.m. and live music or WQRT DJ (alternating weeks) 12-1 p.m. Games are out all of the time!
Where? This program happens at 320 N New Jersey Street in the greenspace right off the Cultural Trail, next to Needler’s Fresh Market.
Who? This creative placemaking project is by Big Car Collaborative and made possible by CitiMark and Gershman Partners.
Check @SparkPlaces on Instagram for Lockerbie lineups + updates!

June 2025 First Friday at Tube Factory artspace
2025-06-06 18:00 - 22:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Join us at Tube Factory artspace to celebrate June First Friday!
All-new exhibit:

Will Higgins’ Museum of Fabulosity opens in Guichelaar Gallery

Continuing exhibits:

Jason Wesaw’s Sovereign Spirits in the Main Gallery
Davis Henderson’s BODEWADMI NDAW in the video room
Ben Hall’s Trunk Rattle Sound Bath in the Efroymson Gallery

In addition, Normal Coffee will be offering beverages for purchase and 3 Marias food truck will be on-site serving up delicious Mexican food. ☕️ 🌮
Free to attend and welcome to all ages.
*Please note that the “Picnic at the Park” wearable art performance by Mo Gio has been rescheduled to Friday, Sept. 5 due to rain.

Will Higgins: Museum of Fabulosity
2025-06-06 18:00 - 2025-09-21 15:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
June 6 through Sept. 21 | Guichelaar Gallery at the Tube Factory artspace campus | 1135 Cruft St.
“It’s widely held that Indianapolis is a boring place with a dull, vanilla past.
That notion is wrong.
Yes, the city is a “good place to raise a family” and yes, it’s a “sports capital.”
But it’s also freaky.
People don’t realize this because staid, well-meaning chamber-of-commerce types have swept the weird bits of Indianapolis’ history, the truly interesting and truly human stories, under the rug.
Finally, along comes the Museum of Fabulosity to look under the rug.
Included in this pop-up museum, made to resemble a small-town history museum, are 16 amazing stories, many so strange they may seem made-up. But they are not made up. They are all absolutely true. They are paired with amazing photographs and also fabulous objects that approximate long lost Indy icons — boxing gloves worn by Lou Thomas the night he killed Arne Andersson; the chair Cannonball Adderly tipped back in the night he discovered Wes Montgomery; James Snow’s Panama hat; Jinx Dawson’s skull; Max Emmerich’s spikes…”

— Will Higgins

2025 Levitt VIBE Indianapolis Music Series: June Concert
2025-06-08 12:00 - 15:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
RAIN OR SHINE — CONCERTS WILL MOVE INSIDE TUBE FACTORY IF THERE IS POOR WEATHER
Big Car Collaborative and Arte Mexicano en Indiana are thrilled to continue as part of a national program to bring FREE, high quality, live concerts through the Levitt VIBE Indianapolis Music Series! In this — the second year of the series here — we’ll bring the free musical entertainment to our Tube Factory campus once a month over seven Sundays. We’re also adding cultural aspects like traditional dance performances and opportunities for local artists and artisans to sell their work as part of these lively community events.
When: Noon to 3 pm on April 13, May 18, June 8, July 13, Aug. 10, Sept. 14, Oct. 12.
Where: Tube Factory campus, on the near southside of Indianapolis, at 1125 Cruft St. — Concerts will happen at the amphitheatre in our Terri Sisson Park greenspace and move inside Tube Factory in bad weather. While there will be some provided seating at this outdoor event, we encourage visitors to bring blankets or other lawn seating for them to enjoy during the event.
Who: Big Car Collaborative and Arte Mexicano en Indiana collaborating with partners, sponsors, and local and national musicians, local vendors, artists, and creatives.
Why: To bring additional liveliness to an underused area of our neighborhood with free outdoor music experiences and neighborly, inclusive, fun, and creative social gatherings.
June 8’s lineup:

Heaven Honey (indie pop)
Mariachi Band Zelaya (traditional Mexican folk)
Ballet Folklorico Mosaicos (traditional Mexican folk dance)
Oceanic Beloved (avant garde jazz)
Food Truck: RMY’S Soul/Comfort Food (Southern-style/comfort food

And:

APLR Market (Big Car artist residents market)
Open picnicking (people can bring their own food and drink) is encouraged
Fun games will be on-site
Tube Factory galleries will be open
Bean Creek Outlook and Terri Sisson Park nature spaces will be open

Learn more about the series here.
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Thanks to the Levitt Foundation, Efroymson Family Fund, Lumina Foundation, MIBOR REALTOR Association, Eskenazi Health, and Penrod Society for their generous support of Levitt VIBE Indianapolis!
The Levitt VIBE Indianapolis Music Series is supported in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, which partners with changemakers and nonprofits across the country to activate underused outdoor spaces, creating welcoming and inclusive destinations where the power of free, live music brings people together, fosters belonging, and invigorates community life. www.levitt.org

Lockerbie Place Pop-up | June 10
2025-06-10 11:30 - 13:30 | Needler’s Fresh Market, 320 N New Jersey St, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, United States
Lockerbie Pop-Up Public Place
June 10: Keith Beaty + The Garnacha Spot food truck
Lunchtimes at Lockerbie Place
Stop by to enjoy the peace and quiet and various activities that this downtown green space has to offer — along with a soundtrack provided by live musicians or a WQRT DJ from right here in your city. It’s free to attend! Challenge a friend to a game of ping pong , play giant Jenga, and find your new favorite musician or food truck.
When? Every Tuesday from May 5 through Sept. 22, 2025. Food trucks and activities on site from 11:30 am-1:30 p.m. and live music or a WQRT DJ (alternating weeks) 12-1 p.m. Games are out all of the time!
Where? This program happens at 320 N. New Jersey Street in the greenspace right off the Cultural Trail, next to Needler’s Fresh Market.
Who? This creative placemaking project is by Big Car Collaborative and made possible by CitiMark and Gershman Partners.
Check @SparkPlaces on Instagram for Lockerbie lineups + updates!

Lockerbie Place Pop-up | June 17
2025-06-17 11:30 - 13:30 | Needler’s Fresh Market, 320 N New Jersey St, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, United States
Lockerbie Pop-Up Public Place
June 17: 99.1 WQRT FM DJ Mix + Heine’s food truck
Lunchtimes at Lockerbie Place
Stop by to enjoy the peace and quiet and various activities that this downtown green space has to offer — along with a soundtrack provided by live musicians or a WQRT FM DJ from right here in your city. It’s free to attend! Challenge a friend to a game of ping pong , play giant Jenga, and find your new favorite musician or food truck.
When? Every Tuesday from May 5 through Sept. 22, 2025. Food trucks and activities on site from 11:30 am-1:30 p.m. and live music or WQRT DJ (alternating weeks) 12-1 p.m. Games are out all of the time!
Where? This program happens at 320 N New Jersey Street in the greenspace right off the Cultural Trail, next to Needler’s Fresh Market.
Who? This creative placemaking project is by Big Car Collaborative and made possible by CitiMark and Gershman Partners.
Check @SparkPlaces on Instagram for Lockerbie lineups + updates!

NIGHTJAR: Lewis Freedman
2025-06-18 18:30 - 21:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Doors at 6:30 pm, Reading at 7 pm
Open mic prompt: Write a poem using only language from Page 6 and/or 18 of a book that has been formative for you.
Read a poem or short piece that is 317 words maximum, and challenge yourself to share new work!
—
About Freedman:

Lewis Freedman is today considering the surface of the desk as one of the surfaces in play in writing this bio. The thought stays right here as he types, goes nowhere. It’s 10:25am in Milwaukee in late May and it’s frankly cold and rainy outside. He is the author of Residual Synonyms for the Name of God and I Want Something Other Than Time (both from Ugly Duckling Presse) as well as many chapbooks and ephemera.
NIGHTJAR co-host Michelle here adds that Lewis earned his PhD in English at the University of Wisconsin and now works at Woodland Pattern, a poet- and artist-run nonprofit book center, gallery, and performance space in Milwaukee, which is very cool and which you should go visit.

—
NIGHTJAR creates an inclusive space for all by bringing together spoken-word performers and page-based poets writing in narrative, lyric, and experimental forms. Every third Wednesday, C.S. Carrier and Michelle Niemann host a reading and invite audience members to share their own poetic responses.

Lockerbie Place Pop-up | June 24
2025-06-24 11:30 - 13:30 | Needler’s Fresh Market, 320 N New Jersey St, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, United States
Lockerbie Pop-Up Public Place
June 24: Jessica Dunn (A.K.A. Sesseka) + The Grub House food truck
Lunchtimes at Lockerbie Place
Stop by to enjoy the peace and quiet and various activities that this downtown green space has to offer — along with a soundtrack provided by live musicians or a WQRT FM DJ from right here in your city. It’s free to attend! Challenge a friend to a game of ping pong , play giant Jenga, and find your new favorite musician or food truck.
When? Every Tuesday from May 5 through Sept. 22, 2025. Food trucks and activities on site from 11:30 am-1:30 p.m. and live music or WQRT DJ (alternating weeks) 12-1 p.m. Games are out all of the time!
Where? This program happens at 320 N New Jersey Street in the greenspace right off the Cultural Trail, next to Needler’s Fresh Market.
Who? This creative placemaking project is by Big Car Collaborative and made possible by CitiMark and Gershman Partners.
Check @SparkPlaces on Instagram for Lockerbie lineups + updates!

Sketch Club with India Hines
2025-06-25 15:00 - 17:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
If you love sketching and are looking for community, come hang out and draw with our longterm artist in residence, India Hines.
India Hines, a self-taught artist from Denver, CO, and raised in Indianapolis, IN, uses ink, watercolor, and oil paints to explore spirituality and the subconscious. Their intuitive process results in figurative faces and organic shapes that reflect a journey of growth, resilience, and love. India’s art is deeply meditative, rich with emotional depth, and narrates stories of overcoming adversity. Active in community projects and exhibitions, India believes in art’s power to unite and continues to push creative boundaries while exploring personal growth and self-discovery.

Lockerbie Place Pop-up | July 1
2025-07-01 11:30 - 13:30 | Needler’s Fresh Market, 320 N New Jersey St, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, United States
Lockerbie Pop-Up Public Place
July 1: 99.1 FM WQRT DJ Mix + Books Bourbon & Bacon food truck
Lunchtimes at Lockerbie Place
Stop by to enjoy the peace and quiet and various activities that this downtown green space has to offer — along with a soundtrack provided by live musicians or a 99.1 FM WQRT DJ Mix from right here in your city. It’s free to attend! Challenge a friend to a game of ping pong , play giant Jenga, and find your new favorite musician or food truck.
When? Every Tuesday from May 5 through Sept. 22, 2025. Food trucks and activities on site from 11:30 am-1:30 p.m. and live music or WQRT DJ (alternating weeks) 12-1 p.m. Games are out all of the time!
Where? This program happens at 320 N New Jersey Street in the greenspace right off the Cultural Trail, next to Needler’s Fresh Market.
Who? This creative placemaking project is by Big Car Collaborative and made possible by CitiMark and Gershman Partners.
Check @SparkPlaces on Instagram for Lockerbie lineups + updates!

July 4th at SPARK on the Circle
2025-07-04 11:00 - 21:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
SPARK will be open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday, July 4, 2025. Please note that we close an hour early on the holiday.
Drop by and see us on Monument Circle, and check out Downtown Indy’s Fourth Fest at the American Legion Mall and Indiana War Memorial Grounds. The festival runs from 6 p.m. to 10:30 pm, and fireworks begin at 10:15 p.m.!

Lockerbie Place Pop-up | July 8
2025-07-08 11:30 - 13:30 | Needler’s Fresh Market, 320 N New Jersey St, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, United States
Lockerbie Pop-Up Public Place
July 8: Fred Miller III (A.K.A. MFFRED) + The Latin Flavor food truck
Lunchtimes at Lockerbie Place
Stop by to enjoy the peace and quiet and various activities that this downtown green space has to offer — along with a soundtrack provided by live musicians or a 99.1 FM WQRT DJ Mix from right here in your city. It’s free to attend! Challenge a friend to a game of ping pong , play giant Jenga, and find your new favorite musician or food truck.
When? Every Tuesday from May 5 through Sept. 22, 2025. Food trucks and activities on site from 11:30 am-1:30 p.m. and live music or WQRT DJ (alternating weeks) 12-1 p.m. Games are out all of the time!
Where? This program happens at 320 N New Jersey Street in the greenspace right off the Cultural Trail, next to Needler’s Fresh Market.
Who? This creative placemaking project is by Big Car Collaborative and made possible by CitiMark and Gershman Partners.
Check @SparkPlaces on Instagram for Lockerbie lineups + updates!

2025 Levitt VIBE Indianapolis Music Series: July Concert
2025-07-13 12:00 - 15:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Big Car Collaborative and Arte Mexicano en Indiana are thrilled to continue as part of a national program to bring FREE, high quality, live concerts through the Levitt VIBE Indianapolis Music Series! In this — the second year of the series here — we’ll bring the free musical entertainment to our Tube Factory campus once a month over seven Sundays. We’re also adding cultural aspects like traditional dance performances and opportunities for local artists and artisans to sell their work as part of these lively community events.
When: Noon to 3 pm on July 13 (+ Aug. 10, Sept. 14, & Oct. 12)
Where: Tube Factory campus, on the near southside of Indianapolis, at 1125 Cruft St. — Concerts will happen at the amphitheatre in our Terri Sisson Park greenspace and move inside Tube Factory in bad weather. While there will be some provided seating at this outdoor event, we encourage visitors to bring blankets or other lawn seating for them to enjoy during the event.
Who: Big Car Collaborative and Arte Mexicano en Indiana collaborating with partners, sponsors, and local and national musicians, local vendors, artists, and creatives.
Why: To bring additional liveliness to an underused area of our neighborhood with free outdoor music experiences and neighborly, inclusive, fun, and creative social gatherings.
July 13’s lineup:

Wife Patrol (alternative rock)
Technicolor Band (jazz)
Florelis Jimenez (traditional Venezuelan folk)
Food Truck: Fiesta on the Go #2 (Mexican)

And:

Chreece Pop-up (Chreece hip-hop festival pop-up shop)
Open picnicking (people can bring their own food and drink) is encouraged
Fun games will be on-site
Tube Factory galleries will be open
Bean Creek Outlook and Terri Sisson Park nature spaces will be open

Learn more about the series here.
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Thanks to the Levitt Foundation, Efroymson Family Fund, Lumina Foundation, MIBOR REALTOR Association, Eskenazi Health, Penrod Society, and Rundell Ernstberger Associates for their generous support of Levitt VIBE Indianapolis!
The Levitt VIBE Indianapolis Music Series is supported in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, which partners with changemakers and nonprofits across the country to activate underused outdoor spaces, creating welcoming and inclusive destinations where the power of free, live music brings people together, fosters belonging, and invigorates community life. www.levitt.org

Lockerbie Place Pop-up | July 15
2025-07-15 11:30 - 13:30 | Needler’s Fresh Market, 320 N New Jersey St, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, United States
Lockerbie Pop-Up Public Place
July 15: 99.1 WQRT FM DJ Mix + The Garnacha Spot food truck
Lunchtimes at Lockerbie Place
Stop by to enjoy the peace and quiet and various activities that this downtown green space has to offer — along with a soundtrack provided by live musicians or a a 99.1 FM WQRT DJ Mix from right here in your city. It’s free to attend! Challenge a friend to a game of ping pong , play giant Jenga, and find your new favorite musician or food truck.
When? Every Tuesday from May 6 through Oct. 7, 2025. Food trucks and activities on site from 11:30 am-1:30 p.m. and live music or WQRT DJ (alternating weeks) 12-1 p.m. Games are out all of the time!
Where? This program happens at 320 N New Jersey Street in the greenspace right off the Cultural Trail, next to Needler’s Fresh Market.
Who? This creative placemaking project is by Big Car Collaborative and made possible by CitiMark and Gershman Partners.
Check @BigCarPix on Instagram for Lockerbie lineups + updates!

Sketch Club with India Hines
2025-07-15 15:00 - 17:00 | IN
If you love sketching and are looking for community, come hang out and draw with Big Car longterm artist in residence, India Hines.
Open to all levels and artists of any kind! Beginners are welcome, just come & draw 🙂
…
India Hines, a self-taught artist from Denver, CO, and raised in Indianapolis, IN, uses ink, watercolor, and oil paints to explore spirituality and the subconscious. Their intuitive process results in figurative faces and organic shapes that reflect a journey of growth, resilience, and love. India’s art is deeply meditative, rich with emotional depth, and narrates stories of overcoming adversity. Active in community projects and exhibitions, India believes in art’s power to unite and continues to push creative boundaries while exploring personal growth and self-discovery.

NIGHTJAR: Corey Ewing
2025-07-16 18:30 - 21:00 | Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), 1125 Cruft St., Indianapolis, IN, 46203, United States
Doors at 6:30 pm, Reading at 7 pm
Open mic prompt: Write a poem to a place you needed during a hard time, but not anymore.
Read a poem or short piece that is 317 words maximum, and challenge yourself to share new work!
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About Ewing:
Corey Ewing is a native of Indianapolis, IN, who pursued a love of poetry across the country on a whim. He would return home to support various poetic projects including Word As Bond, Fighting Words Poetry, Cafe Creative and currently curates VOCAB. His poetry and photography has led him to work with National Geographic Photo Camp, BUTTER Art Fair, Indy Arts Council, CICF, and the Herbert Simon Family Foundation. He is a former Artist At Work with KHEPRW Institute and continues to teach, coach, and create as a multi-disciplinary artist.

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NIGHTJAR creates an inclusive space for all by bringing together spoken-word performers and page-based poets writing in narrative, lyric, and experimental forms. Every third Wednesday, C.S. Carrier and Michelle Niemann host a reading and invite audience members to share their own poetic responses.

All-Star Live Musical Performances at SPARK on the Circle
2025-07-17 16:00 - 18:00 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
All-Star Live Musical Performances at SPARK on the Circle
Live Performances 4 – 6 pm

4 – 4:45 pm — Reagan Shalome
5 – 5:45 pm — Hey Judy

SPARK on the Circle is a social practice art and creative placemaking project by Big Car in partnership with Downtown Indy, Inc. and the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, in cooperation with the Indiana War Memorials Commission. SPARK on the Circle has been part of Big Car’s Spark placemaking program since 2015.

All-Star Arts & Culture at SPARK on the Circle is made possible through the SPARK partners (Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, Inc., and the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development — in cooperation with the Indiana War Memorials Commission), Indy Arts Council with the City of Indianapolis, and the WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee.

All-Star Arts & Culture at SPARK on the Circle — Day 1
2025-07-18 11:00 - 21:30 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
All-Star Arts & Culture at SPARK on the Circle Day 1 — Friday, July 18:

SPARK All-Star Art Market Day 1 — 12pm – 5pm
Live Performances — 11am – 5pm

– 11 – 11:30 am — Akustico
– 1 – 1:30 pm — Hannah Hadley
– 2:45 – 3:15 pm — Mina Keohane
– 4:30 – 5pm — Kara Cole

Bubble Jim — 2pm – 4pm
Bracelet Making — 11am – 6pm
Free Postcard Activity 11am – dark
Forensic Friends — 2 – 6pm

SPARK on the Circle is a social practice art and creative placemaking project by Big Car in partnership with Downtown Indy, Inc. and the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, in cooperation with the Indiana War Memorials Commission. SPARK on the Circle has been part of Big Car’s Spark placemaking program since 2015.

All-Star Arts & Culture at SPARK on the Circle is made possible through the SPARK partners (Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, Inc., and the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development — in cooperation with the Indiana War Memorials Commission), Indy Arts Council with the City of Indianapolis, and the WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee.

All-Star Arts & Culture at SPARK on the Circle — Day 2
2025-07-19 11:00 - 21:30 | 1 Monument Circle, South Facing Steps, United States
All-Star Arts & Culture at SPARK on the Circle Day 2 — Saturday, July 19

SPARK All Star Art Market Day 2 — 9am – 2pm
Live Performances — 1pm – 6pm

– 12:15 – 12:45 pm — Sister Sinjin
– 2 – 2:30 pm — Sofi Parker
– 3:45 – 4:15 pm — Jennasen
– 5:30 – 6 pm — Allison Victoria

Face Painting with Meg — 9am – 12pm
Free Postcard Activity — 9am – dark
Bracelet Making — 9am – 6pm
As You Wish — 9am – 3pm

SPARK on the Circle is a social practice art and creative placemaking project by Big Car in partnership with Downtown Indy, Inc. and the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, in cooperation with the Indiana War Memorials Commission. SPARK on the Circle has been part of Big Car’s Spark placemaking program since 2015.

All-Star Arts & Culture at SPARK on the Circle is made possible through the SPARK partners (Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, Inc., and the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development — in cooperation with the Indiana War Memorials Commission), Indy Arts Council with the City of Indianapolis, and the WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee.
