Home is where you make it.
And for three renowned contemporary artists, they’ve made one of Indianapolis’ most unique public art spaces the site of their work.
“We really want to enrich people’s lives through encounters with art and nature,” said Jonathan Wright, the director of The Garden and Fairbanks Park. “Fairbanks Park is one of our biggest ways to do that, because it’s free and open to the public every day of the year. I hope people come and make the park their own, and take time to explore and interact with these pieces.”
Newfields has unveiled its new series of outdoor public art installations at The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park — three dynamic large-scale artworks united under the banner of “Home Again.” The works, created by artists from Indianapolis and New York, are centered around the concepts of home and shelter.
Visitors are encouraged to explore, investigate and, in some cases, climb all over. In doing so, Newfields officials hope people gain a new perspective on the places we live, work and play.
“Together the works take the form of different kinds of homes, temporary dwellings and gathering places. Each work is interactive in its own fashion and constructed to promote thoughtful dialogue related to concepts of home, shelter, displacement and refuge,” said Belinda Tate, director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.
The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park is a 100-acre swath of forest, pollinator meadow, wetlands and a lake adjacent to the Newfields’ campus in Indianapolis. A living sculpture park, the idea behind it is offering artworks focused on experimentation, public interaction and community engagement.
When we opened Fairbanks, the vision was this incredible art park where contemporary works of art would come and go over time, so there’s always new energy,” Wright said. “Much like art is changing every season, we want the art to be dynamic.”
Since opening in 2010, countless visitors have walked over the 20 bone-shaped benches that make up the massive “Funky Bones,” or situated themselves under the hovering metal rings of “Team Building (Align), Type A.”
But for nearly a decade, Newfields officials had not made any new additions to the art park. That changed with an offer from longtime Newfields patron Kent Hawryluk.
“This has been many years in the making. (Kent) has been a trustee and longtime supporter of the museum, and he said he really wanted to see what we could do to kick-start more art in the park,” Wright said.
The transformative $3 million gift from Hawryluk — which established The Hawryluk Collection of Art in Nature and The Hawryluk Sculpture Green — will allow Newfields to continuously refresh The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park with the installation of new artworks.
That effort debuts with the three sculptures of “Home Again.”
“‘Home Again’ is really a revitalizing of the original vision for Fairbanks Park, which was a rare opportunity in the heart of downtown Indianapolis to have this incredible oasis where you can interact with art and nature, and change your perspective on the places around us,” Wright said.
Though the three artworks in the installation are inspired by a common theme, each approaches the concept of “home” in a different way.
“Oracle of Intimation” is an installation by Brooklyn-based artist Heather Hart that encourages people to engage and interact with it. Resembling a buried house with just the rooftop sticking out, the sculpture invites people to clamber over and on it. In doing so, people can activate different experiences, such as music, spoken word and other sounds.
To accompany it, Newfields is also planning a wide-ranging series of public programs including performances, workshops, gatherings and other engagements with community partners to take advantage of it.
“You’re invited to go in it, you can plug your phone into it, and even play your own soundtrack. You’re literally to just climb up it, over it. It’s been amazing to see people interacting with the pieces,” Wright said.
“This is NOT a Refuge” was created by Pakistan-born, Indianapolis-based artist Anila Quayyum Agha. The piece reflects on the loss and displacement experienced by refugees from various regions of the world.
People can sit on a bench inside the white filigree house-shaped structure and listen to recordings of over a dozen immigrants and refugees living in Indianapolis who share stories that provide hope or humor within cultural differences, while others illustrate the reality of living within a system where the cards are stacked against them. The patterns created in the metal structure were inspired by her mother’s Quran.
“You go in and it casts these incredible patterns of light and shadow on you. It’s a very thoughtful and poetic piece,” Wright said.
“The Pollinator Pavilion” is an interactive and collaborative architectural sculpture by Catskills-based artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood. The ornate 21.5-foot-tall gazebo is surrounded with native pollinating flowers and hummingbird feeders and decorated with original paintings by Sherwood.
In art and nature park, the installation will include plantings indigenous to Indianapolis, complementing the work Newfields has done through the Wild Birds Unlimited Native Pollinator Meadow and other efforts to support pollinator populations and expand native species.
“You’re really inviting nature to come to you, getting these up-close encounters with birds and hummingbirds and insects,” Wright said.
Moving forward, Newfields officials envision a rotation of new artwork every few years, to keep the energy “Home Again” has fostered and showcase a space that is constantly evolving.
“The idea is that, over time, you don’t even need to hear from us that we did something New. It’s just part of the evolution, as time goes on and the seasons change, there’s something dynamic happening at Fairbanks Park,” Wright said.
IF YOU GO
“Home Again”
What: A new exhibition featuring three brand-new sculptures centered around the notion of home and shelter.
Where: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park at Newfields, 1850 W. 38th St., Indianapolis
When: The park is open seven days a week from dawn to dusk. Admission is free.
Artwork:
“Oracle of Intimation” by Heather Hart, a canary yellow interactive rooftop that appears as if it has fallen from the sky.
“Pollinator Pavilion” by Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood is a colorful gazebo is designed for humans and insects alike to slow down and become part of nature.
“This is NOT a Refuge” by Pakistan-born, Indianapolis-based artist Anila Quayyum Agha illustrates the hope, humor, challenges, and heartbreaks of dozens of refugees who are living in Indianapolis.
Information: discovernewfields.org/homeagain
