Upcoming events as part of ongoing #IndyKeepsCreating Series

Details of upcoming events as part of the ongoing #IndyKeepsCreating Series are now available at www.indykeepscreating.org. The series, supported by The City of Indianapolis and the Arts Council of Indianapolis, features music, art installations, and cultural programs happening through March 2022 to support the Indianapolis arts community. 

• Fast Facts about the #IndyKeepsCreating Series

– The #IndyKeepsCreating Series engages artists and arts and culture partners with paid opportunities to support the vibrancy, beautification, and activation of Marion County’s neighborhoods and public spaces, reconnecting residents and visitors with the places and experiences they’ve been missing during the pandemic.

– Marion County-based visual artists and performers, community organizations, and neighborhood businesses applied to participate in three programs administered by the Arts Council of Indianapolis; Big Car Collaborative; and GANGGANG:

– #IndyKeepsCreating Cultural Connection Grants

– Grants supporting community-centric cultural programs, festivals, and events in Marion County. Administered by Big Car Collaborative.

– #IndyKeepsCreating Music Series & Naptown Next Up Fellowship Program

– The Music Series features artists performing live at signature downtown locations, in neighborhoods, and other public spaces. Curated by Smart Girl Creative Co. The Naptown Next Up Fellowship program is a professional development program for rising Marion County performing artists. Ten fellows will be announced in February. Administered by GANGGANG.

– #IndyKeepsCreating Sidewalk Galleries

– About 100 visual and literary/poetry artworks, mostly located outdoors, will create welcoming spaces throughout Marion County. Curated by the Arts Council of Indianapolis.

– The Series is powered by a $500,000 allocation made possible through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, unanimously approved by the Indianapolis City-County Council.

– Currently, nearly $220,000 has been awarded supporting 250 artists engaged in paid opportunities across 16 city neighborhoods, including collaboration with more than 30 community partners to support existing art and culture events or create new ones.

– To date, 56 percent of all grants and paid engagements have been awarded to artists of color.

• Recently Announced & Upcoming Events

All events and programs supported by #IndyKeepsCreating Series funding are open to the public, free or affordable, and take place in Marion County. Visit www.indykeepscreating.org for updates.

– Featured Now: Sidewalk Galleries

23 murals from local artists, displayed at Circle Centre Mall.

– Ongoing: Classical Music Indy’s CMI City Sounds

Free, site-specific music video performances at iconic Indy locations.

– December 27: Frozen Frequencies

Free, 4-7 p.m. at Listen Hear (2620 Shelby St.)

Frozen Frequencies is an event to launch two semi-permanent augmented reality soundtracks for walking around Garfield Park created by Rob Funkhouser and Landon Caldwell. Using the freely-available platform echoes.xyz, which allows for the creation of cost and ad-free GPS-driven soundscapes, Caldwell and Funkhouser will each create a work that highlights their favorite walking paths through Garfield Park, and use sound to bring attention to points of beauty and interest that each artist has grown fond of therein. An opportunity to experience the entire park as the landscape of a dynamic and changing musical universe. Enjoy warm refreshments, a chance to ask questions and learn a little more about the specifics of the works. This is a one-time opening event, but the pieces will be up for as long as possible, accessible via QR codes that will be posted at Listen Hear and in the park. Printed maps will also be available.

– Dec. 29: Snuggy Bear Presents… (Community Art Music and Education Day)

Free, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Garfield Park Arts Center (2432 Conservatory Drive)

Taking place during the week of Kwanzaa, this event will highlight some of Indy’s most-renowned Black visual and performing artists. During the first half of the day, artists provide educational activities for visitors. The public can also purchase these artists’ work directly and commission-free. In the second half, the event will transition into a performing arts space featuring an all-star lineup of local performers.

– End of December: Norwood Notes: Portrait Project

Free, online platform TBD

Artist Kaila Austin will work in the Norwood neighborhood to record the oral histories with five elders in the community and complete their portraits to be passed down as family heirlooms. The oral histories will be available in a community archive.

– Post-Game Buskers on Georgia Street

Hosted by the Indianapolis Cultural Trail following Colts games on Jan. 2, and Jan. 16 or 17 (playoff date TBD)

– Flurries on the Canal: A Performance Series by the Indianapolis Cultural Trail

Free, 1-5 p.m., Downtown Central Canal, Walnut Street / Orange Bridge Featuring Emma Peridot, Jason+Joy, Kelly Mills, Circle City Orchestra

Saturday, Jan. 29, 1-5 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 19, 1-5 p.m.

Saturday, March 19, 1-5 p.m.

– TBD 2022 Dates: Girls Rock! Indianapolis Showcase and Lunchtime Performances

Free, The AMP at 16 Tech

• Past Events:

#IndyKeepsCreating Series grants supported events that began happening in August 2021 and that featured Marion County artists and performers. Programs have included:

– Gen Con Block Party

– Indy Jazz Fest

– IndyVolved 16 Presented by AES Indiana

– Downtown Indy, Inc.’s Fall Arts Market on the Circle

– Monster Bash, featuring a gallery show & market hosted by the artist-owned Chromatic Collective

– Blacktoberfest, an outdoor music event featuring Soulful Muzik, Okara Imani, Allison Victoria, The Girl Called Books, Renee King, Terrence Anderson, and June

– Benefit concert for the construction of the Indianapolis Music Cooperative

– Dia de los Muertos celebration at the Eiteljorg Museum

– Handpicked Indy

– Indy ArtsFest

– Lafayette Square Coalition’s Latino Heritage Festival and Taste the Difference Festival & Sister Cities Fest

– Indianapolis City Market’s Jingle & Mingle

– Holiday Arts Market on Monument Circle

– Babehouse Indy Holiday Gala

– Le Alta Moda, a night with art / fashion designer Katy Newton

More Information:

All #IndyKeepsCreating Series programs and events will take place in Marion County before March 31, 2022; be free or affordable and accessible to residents of all ages; pay artists a competitive wage; and prioritize the use of public spaces across Indianapolis, including downtown locations such as Monument Circle, Georgia Street, Lugar Plaza, and the Canal, Indy’s Cultural Districts, Indy Parks, Lift Indy communities, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Indianapolis’ five Great Places neighborhoods, and Reconnecting to our Waterways (ROW)’s six waterway districts.

For more information, visit www.indykeepscreating.org.