Indy Airport Celebrates Black History Month with ‘Funky Naptown’ Exhibition and Art & Soul Festival Tribute
Music, soul, history and art take center stage at IND in February
INDIANAPOLIS, IN, 2023-Feb-14 — /Travel PR News/ — The Indianapolis International Airport (IND) will pay tribute to local arts and culture during Black History Month, kicking off a soulful prelude to Spring with music, art and history.
As part of the month-long celebration, the Indy airport’s KIND gallery will honor Indy’s historical contribution to R&B music, with an exhibition entitled Funky Naptown: Celebrating the Legacy of Indianapolis Soul Music. The exhibition will feature contemporary and vintage photography depicting important figures in the history of Indianapolis R&B music. QR codes will allow viewers to access music playlists, and interview clips compiled by the exhibition’s curator, music journalist and host of WFYI’s Cultural Manifesto Kyle Long. Photographers featured in the exhibition include Indianapolis-based Jes Nijjer, Ted Somerville, Herb Miller, and Ernest Stuart.
In addition, the Indy Arts Council’s Art and Soul Festival is back and it’s coming to the Indy airport on Feb. 17 with a Black History Month tribute from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., featuring a lineup of some of the city’s best emerging musical and creative talent and local legends. Indy musicians such as Brenda Williams, Brandon Douthitt and Valerie Phelps will perform throughout the day.
Images of Hoosier legends like Madam C.J. Walker and Mari Evans also have a significant presence among the terminal’s art displays, telling the story of Black history, experiences, culture and community.
“The Indy airport is a crossroads for travelers from all walks of life, from all around the world, and our IND Arts & Culture program demonstrates Indy’s cultural sophistication and tremendous Hoosier talent from every background,” said IAA Executive Director Mario Rodriguez. “Our art, music and creativity say, ‘you’re welcome here’ to the 8 million travelers who pass through IND each year.”
The Indianapolis Airport Authority works in partnership with the Indy Arts Council to showcase a full range of Indiana-based artists and their artwork at the Indy airport.
The following exhibits, featuring diverse artists, will also be on display during Black History Month and through April 2023.
The Spider’s Tale. This exhibit is a compilation of ten artworks by Samantha Ortiz, using childrenswear made by her grandmother, French lace that was in her family for more than 100 years, and a doll and mirror belonging to her husband’s grandmother. Ortiz created the compilation in homage to all the women who came before her who also had the call to create objects from thread with their own hands. Ortiz has had her work exhibited at the Venice Bienniale, and has lectured and exhibited in art museums, galleries, design stores and art institutions in Lisbon, New York, Madrid, Valparaíso, Indianapolis and many cities in Brazil. She currently lives in Indianapolis. Ortiz’s creations are on exhibit at IND in Concourse B and a video, I Carry My Loved Ones With Me, is on view until June above the main escalator/staircase down to Baggage Claim.
Shattered Tessellations. Artist Madiha Siraj joyfully uses patterns and shapes to pay homage to the perfection of God’s universe. In this series, Siraj recontextualizes and reinterprets traditional Islamic patterns seen across the Islamic world using her chosen medium of polymer clay. Siraj takes patterns and shapes that traditionally fit closely together (“tessellated”) and “shatters” the tessellation by interpreting specific aspects of the pattern. Her project is part of a larger examination of Islamic patterns and her own identity as a first-generation Pakistani American. Based in Indianapolis, Siraj is the recipient of multiple awards, has exhibited her work in both solo and group shows locally, in the United States, and in the United Kingdom, and has been featured in numerous publications. Shattered Tessellations is on exhibit at IND in Concourse A.
Flight + Mode. Take a group of soulful artists, collectively flying through the atmosphere, soaring to new heights, creating a brilliant display of imaginative, unrestrained creativity. Marry it to a particular form, a variety of ideals, transporting new modes of communication, expressing a different mode of living and a manifestation of an underlying substance, style and status. Together, they create Flight + Mode, an exhibit combining the talents of Indianapolis-based artists Hector Del Campo, Cierra Johnson, LaToya Marlin, Amiah Mims, Andre Parnell, Omar Rashan, Mechi Shakur, Israel Solomon, Will Watson and Kevin West – and curated by Gary Gee. Flight + Mode is on display at IND in the Ticketing Hall.
To learn more about the featured artists and the IND Arts & Culture Program, click here.
Media Contact:
Email: mediarelations@ind.com
Phone: 317-487-5025
Source: Indianapolis Airport Authority
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