Without a watchful eye, it’s easy to miss some of Indianapolis’ most daring and engaging artwork.
Large-scale public paintings are tucked into neighborhoods, on fences and the sides of buildings and beside schools. Sculptures appear unexpectedly on the corner of busy avenues and sedate streets. Public performances and literary pieces on video appear out of nowhere.
Everywhere you could look, art has flooded the city.
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“We really wanted to highlight and bring more public art to Indianapolis, in particular to neighborhoods that don’t traditionally get a lot of public art invested in them,” said Ashley Haynes, director of marketing for Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, a public beautification organization. “There is a lot of amazing public art downtown, in Broad Ripple, Irvington, a lot of the cultural districts. Some of the other neighborhoods across the city do not.”
The flood of public artwork is the result of a new project, Indy Art & Seek, created through a partnership between Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and the Arts Council of Indianapolis. More than 100 pieces — from mini-installations to performances and literary pieces to individual artwork — have been placed in neighborhoods where people can encounter them. Six additional large-scale installations can be found in green spaces created by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.
“These artistic installations are meant to provide unexpected ‘moments of delight’ for our residents and visitors alike,” said Kristina Uland, senior vice president for development and external affairs at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. “The artists have created incredible pieces that are not only meant to be appreciated on their own, but to also call attention to how art plays an important part in everyday life.”
Enlarged catepillars made out of neon vinyl are hidden around the Sheldon Heights neighborhood. Custom-made cushions offer a place to rest at the foot of a generations-old tree in Brookside Park.
Using an interactive map or a mobile application, people can explore places throughout Indianapolis, immersing themselves in the culture of unique places that maybe they’re never experienced before.
“It really is a kind of citywide hide-and-seek game for art,” Haynes said. “Your traditional art museum meets Pokemon Go.”
Indy Art & Seek was created through a Lilly Endowment grant project, the 2018 initiative, Strengthening Indianapolis Through Arts and Cultural Innovation. With Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and the Arts Council of Indianapolis working together on past projects, murals and art installations, leaders from the group thought it would be appropriate to apply together for the grant.
The $674,520 grant allowed organizers to recruit artists to create different pieces, including “art interventions” — temporary, usually small-scale, artistic installation or performances that reflect a neighborhood’s sense of place, while also promoting equity and inclusiveness.
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful reached out to its established network of local leaders and neighborhood associations, while the Arts Council of Indianapolis worked through its roster of artists to take part.
Those local artists worked with members of the community and used existing spaces and conditions to create fun, thoughtful and beautiful installations that encourage communities to see their surroundings in new ways, Haynes said.
“We really wanted to make this a reflection of the community, for and by those in the neighborhoods, as much as possible,” she said. “We did really extensive outreach to identify places for really good public art, but then also for finding artists who lived in those neighborhoods to create pieces.”
A pilot phase installing a small amount of artwork was conducted last year, before the majority went up around the city throughout 2020. With the art in place, the next challenge was engaging the community and directing them to the wide variety of art experiences.
“One of the things that was really important to us was to make the project accessible to everyone,” Haynes said.
The key component of the project was through the mobile app Otocast, which provides guides and digital tours to travelers at sites all around the world. Users can specifically pick Indy Art & Seek, and find pinpointed locations for the art on their mobile devices.
Using the app, people can see photos and videos of the artists at work, watch live performances that were recorded on site, take selfies and share their experiences with the art they find. They can also earn badges to win real-life prizes as they experience them.
For those who don’t have access to a mobile device, a more traditional digital map is located on Keep Indianapolis Beautiful’s website, and printed maps will be forthcoming in September, distributed to neighborhood associations, libraries and other public places, Haynes said.
The project launched on Sept. 5, and people have already fanned out throughout Indianapolis to take in the art. Seeing the work come together has been incredibly rewarding, even as the COVID-19 pandemic has altered much of their planned unveiling and programming, Haynes said.
“What’s really great about this project is that everything is outdoors. It’s a really nice activity that people can do safely and socially distanced. You don’t have to be close in an enclosed space. You can go at your own pace and your own schedule,” she said.
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Indy Art & Seek
What: A public art experience featuring more than 100 mini-installations, performances, literary pieces and individual artworks placed in neighborhoods throughout Indianapolis.
Who: Organized by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and the Arts Council of Indianapolis
How to get involved: People can find a map of all of the artwork online at www.kibi.org/indy-art-and-seek. They can also download a special mobile app, Otocast, to find the art, see photos of it, watch live performances, share selfies and earn badges to win real-life prizes.
Cost: Free
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