10 spots where you'll find hidden-gem art and contemplation in Indianapolis
Sometimes you're walking under a bridge, through a park or in a back alley when a stunning piece of art just quietly slides into view. You stop, your heartbeat slows, your thoughts turn a little gentler.
I always feel like I've discovered a secret when that happens, and each time, my bond with Indianapolis grows a smidgen stronger. It's like the city has rewarded me for spending more time here.
The same goes for my colleagues at IndyStar — both for those who are Indiana transplants and who are native Hoosiers. I recently asked our staff their favorite hidden arts gems, and it turns out we're a contemplative bunch.
One reporter told me about her journeys to a tiny Victorian pocket park. A photographer noted an out-of-the-way mural by a well-known artist who uses the walls to experiment. Several people mentioned Broad Ripple's painted flower garden. An editor related her love of a particular Indiana State Library World War II photo archive.
Now, we pass these moments on to you. Here are 10 arts encounters that are, at least mostly, off the beaten path. Whether you consider them to be the same, of course, depends on your own bond with the city and its art.
The fountain at Great Oak Commons
1427 N. Park Ave.
In the center of the tiny Victorian walking park is a three-tiered fountain with winged, beaked canine-looking creatures. Given the park's goal to support contemplation and reflection, I imagine they're just protecting visitors' peace. The Old Northside park was born from two previously vacant lots and opened in 1991.
It contains a sensory park area as well as at least one bench held up by an eager pair of bear sculptures. Nearby, the book-filled old newspaper vending box will win any reporter's heart.
The goat
3137 E. 10th St.
The sculpted creature surveys its domain atop a doorway overhang, a gentle grin on its face. It is a loner with no name. It is altruistic, using its status as a rare sight to draw attention to the multipurpose 10 East Arts Hub.
The goat was a gift to then 10 East Art Director Joanna Nixon, and she thought it would inspire interesting conversations and help people find the stretch of art-making along East 10th Street. After all, there's a lot to point to with a popup art space, galleries, printmaking shop, outdoor plaza for creative events and more.
The Idle
Just off the Cultural Trail on Virginia Avenue above where I-65 meets I-70
The little gravel perch full of chairs has, in its five years of life and even before it was born, overcome such hurdles as vandalism and a punchline turn on NPR's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me."
Nonetheless, the brainchild of Tom Battista remains, welcoming us to sit and ponder our lives to the soundtrack of traffic's zooms and rumbles. It's nice, for at least a little while, to be above the rat race instead of in it.
'Kwazar-verse'
On the building behind IUPUI Campus Services Building #4 at 1838 W. 16th St.
Artist Kwazar Martin uses his cousin's building as a canvas for new ideas, so lucky us. Over the past three years, he's painted musicians and artists Benny the Butcher; Ye, who was formerly known as Kanye West; Jay-Z; Nipsey Hussle; and Issa Rae.
What do they have in common? Martin has been moved by their work at some point in his life.
Flower Alley
Between Carrollton and Guilford avenues off 61st Street in Broad Ripple
A cornfield, a bee and the joyful explosion of sun-kissed yellow, deep red, rosy pink and verdant green flowers will beckon anyone down this alley of homes and garages. Once there, you'll realize you're in an outdoor exhibit of sorts, complete with plaques describing the art by creators including muralist Jules Muck, Abigail Staffelbach and Megan Jefferson.
Even better than the art is the community the alley brings between neighbors and visitors who discover it by accident and via its Instagram page.
317 Project: A mural garden, cultivated by neighbors, sprouted up in Broad Ripple
'The Elements of the People'
Underpass at 32nd and Clifton streets
Nothing preserves the memories of a neighborhood like a mural, and Michael Alkemi Jordan captured people, and landmarks of the near-northwest-side community. Singing, dancing, hair-braiding, gardening, reading and more bring to light the lifeblood of activities.
Paired with dynamic greens, yellows and reds, the best way to take it all in is by foot or bike because whooshing by in a car doesn't leave much art-appreciation time. Fortunately, it's just a few blocks from the bike lanes on 30th Street.
Lobby ceiling at Indiana Repertory Theatre
140 W. Washington St.
With gold-encrusted doorways and balconies that make you crave a sea-salty Mediterranean vacation, the whole building is a bombshell. But the attribute that humble brags most is the west elevator lobby's ceiling. It's easy to miss when you underestimated downtown traffic and are rushing to get to your seat.
Next time, plan a few extra moments to simply look up. You'll see a geometric galaxy awash in gold, red, green and blue hues that holds hanging octagonal star lights in orbit.
Landmark for Peace
601 E. 17th St. in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park
Given the stature of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., our staff didn't find this artwork hidden so much as contemplative. It's near the site where, on April 4, 1968, Kennedy expected to deliver a campaign speech but instead announced the devastating news of the civil rights leader's assassination as the nation reeled in pain.
The two men reach an arm toward one another — a gesture that has a double effect because their outlines are cut out of massive Cor-Ten steel walls. The concept belongs to Greg R. Perry and was executed by Daniel Edwards.
Statue-ghosts downtown
Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown Union Station, 123 W. Louisiana St.
Finding your room in a hotel doesn't usually involve side-stepping life-sized statues of nuns conversing, a shoe-shiner, a flapper or a tuxedoed gentleman. But the experience is actually quite charming. The Crowne Plaza's stark white residents are meant to be ghosts of travelers past in a nod to the train station.
They were designed in the 1980s by Sallie and Dick Rowland, and artist Gary Rittenhouse shaped them into mannequins. Before the hotel, the nomadic group lived in the old festival marketplace that was in the converted train station.
Camp Atterbury World War II photos
Indiana State Library, 315 W. Ohio St. in.gov/library
The portion of the collection that shows Black service members during World War II was a staff favorite for its depiction of hard work and joy in the midst of trials. William J. Moriarty Sr. captured the men and women in their everyday lives: in USO shows, inspection, salvaging tin materials and attending dances.
You'll want to reach out to the Indiana State Library to request to see them.
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Contact the reporter at d.bongiovanni@indystar.com or 317-444-7339.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 10 hidden-gem spots ripe with art and contemplation in Indianapolis
