Public Art in Garfield Park
Click one of the buttons below to go to a specific project, or scroll to view all the wonderful public art around our building!
In September 2021, Lilly and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc., along with local artists, worked together for the Lilly Global Day of Service 2021: Focusing on Racial Justice, Education, and Health Care Workers. At seven different Indy locations, Lilly employees, in partnership with local communities and artists, painted vibrant murals to inform and celebrate differences within the community, creating a more culturally connected and equitable city.
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In December 2021, this mural project was highlighted in the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) newsletter. The NRPA is a national non-profit organization that champions and supports the field of parks and recreation through professional development, advocacy, grants and programs, research, publications, and more. Learn more about them here.
Tania Wineglass
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Bio: Ms. Tania Wineglass has been teaching art for 23 years in public schools. She has taught workshops all over the city of Indianapolis: The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana Black Expo, Madame Walker Center, North Central High School Evening School program, Arts for Learning, Wayne Township 4-H, and various other organizations. She has been recognized as an artist and art educator in local and international publications. As a professional artist, Ms. Wineglass has exhibited her artwork across the Midwest for the past 30 years. She has created commissioned work for private citizens as well as local businesses throughout her artistic career.
Mural Inspiration: My mural pays homage to the many social inequities we face in America. From the black man's plight to be seen as human to the paper airplanes representing angels that are always watching over us with each angel protecting a specific movement such as the #MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter's "I can't breathe", and the rainbow for LGBTQIA+ equality, to the scales of justice and knowledge, and the Black power fist. I wanted to make sure that I touched on as many aspects of society as possible. The black woman is the central figure in clouds and has no hair because as black women, society tries to tell us how to wear our hair, which is often a battle in society trying to control us-- even protected by legal legislation.
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Located on the patio of the Arts Center, on the west side of the building.
Rae Parker
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Bio: Rae Parker has always created artwork to speak with integrity, awareness and power. There isn't a collection of work that remains the same. Each piece has its own meaning and purpose. It is to create with a dare to have multiple dimensions to make the audience change their perspective in some way or another. Graduating from the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago, Rae earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Visual Communications. Using digital and traditional applications to create, Rae still seeks to learn more to develop as their career continues.
Most recently, Rae's artwork has been based on two factors: Awareness and Empowerment. The awareness is shown through pieces that represent social, political, and injustice. Other bodies of work are represented with powerful images of women. One of Rae's favorite creations is the painting, “My Sun Shall Shine Forever”. This particular piece has a image of the Holy Black Madonna and Child (or Isis and Horus) with sculpted bullets as Madonna's halo. My Sun Shall Shine Forever simply represents the numerous killings of Black men, through police brutality and gang violence.
Rae Parker's art isn't here to make people feel content and blind to truth. The work speaks to everyone that comes across it. Sometimes words aren't necessary to make a powerful statement or impact. Nina Simone once said, “You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.” Since their youth, Rae has used this mantra, Reflect the Times. Not to “give folks what they want to see” because it's popular at the moment and bright. Rae would rather give what's chaotic one moment and unexpected with the next. Rae has been featured in art shows around central Indianapolis and publications. Recently, Rae was one of the 18 artists that created the Black Lives Mural on historic Indiana Avenue.
Mural Inspiration: For my mural, I created a piece dedicated to a dear friend that passed away a year ago. Adriea Hawkins. She was a visual artist and musician. She loved to whistle when she played her guitar. Dearly missed.
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Located on the patio of the Arts Center, on the west side of the building.
Boxx the Artist
The Women in Between
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Bio: Boxx the artist synthesizes interactive art through paintings, digital art, and installations. She is a local Indianapolis visual artist and full-time creative practicing for approximately 4 years professionally, yet a lifetime artist in various elements. Boxx's visual artwork uses acrylic, digital, mixed mediums, and public installations to capture different elements of life from the African diaspora promoting health, wealth, and wellness. Her public art initiatives are to share interactive art and offer art that serves as a facilitator and connector of community. Boxx has exhibited in a host of exhibits and installed different murals located throughout Indianapolis participating in the High Art Billboard Project, Murals for Racial Justice Project, and the Indy Art & Seek with a community interactive mural installation. She recently completed an artist apprenticeship for the Bicentennial Major Taylor mural installation, painting a 5-story civic mural.
Mural Inspiration: This mural was inspired by focusing on women of color from different walks of life. With diversity and inclusion in mind, it is my belief that if women are provided equity that makes room to uplift society. Garfield Park Art Center offers a safe space for the community, installing this piece here offers an opportunity to keep the conversation going toward inclusiveness and provide representation for the underrepresented.
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Located on the patio of the Arts Center, on the west side of the building.
Ess McKee
Park Here
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Bio: Ess McKee is a multimedia visual artist native to Arizona and based in Indianapolis, IN. Ess has been involved in the Indianapolis arts scene as a muralist, designer, studio manager, organizer, instructor and curator for nearly a decade. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Ball State University (Muncie, IN) in Industry & Technology and a Studio Art minor with an emphasis on printmaking. Inspired by an appreciation for graffiti art and hip hop culture, her artistic expression manifests in the form of abstract paintings, character illustrations, digital design, and the combination of all three within murals. Her work has journeyed from pen and ink, to graphic prints, and currently to mixed media and acrylic paint on a variety of surfaces.
Mural Inspiration: As a visitor to Garfield Park for many years, "Park Here" was inspired by the many sights, sounds and people I've come across. I've been greeted by friendly squirrels, crossed paths with a biker or few, and played many a basketball game - and I've always felt like it was a place for anyone.
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Located on the patio of the Arts Center, on the west side of the building.
Gary Gee
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Bio: Gary Gee is a Visual Artist working in mixed media, ceramics, and murals. His work is inspired and influenced by his travels, music, and inner-city countercultures.
Gee is a Teaching Artist, Adjunct Professor, Life & Object Drawing 1 & 2, Ivy Tech Community College, Arts 4 Learning (2020) , and recipient of the 2019 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the 2018 Ivy Tech Alum of the Year - Indianapolis Campus. Gary’s work has been prominently featured in Art & Soul (2018), High Art Billboard (2017), and awarded recognition of distinction in Flava Fresh (2014).
To further his artistic profession, Gee has participated in the On-Ramp Creative Entrepreneur Program (2019) and is a standing member of the We Are Indy Artist Collective, and the Eighteenth Artist Collective, Gee holds a BFA in Integrated Studio Practices from Indiana University’s Herron School of Art and Design (IUPUI) and an AFA in Fine Arts and AAS in Visual Communications from Ivy Tech Community College.
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Located on the patio of the Arts Center, on the west side of the building.
Andrea Haydon
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Bio:
Andrea Haydon owns and operates Studio Haydon a private art and design studio located in Garfield Park. She creates anything from custom commissioned paintings, to murals to printed graphic design needs. As alumni of Herron School of Art and Design, she studied experiential art and design in Germany, was named one of the Top 100 Best Young Advertisers in the Country by the Art Directors Club of New York, and was a part of the design team that created the graphics for Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. In addition to Studio Haydon, she serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Herron School of Art and Design.
Mural Inspiration:
My inspiration behind this piece was to highlight outdoor sports that occur in our wonderful park/neighborhood while making the once eyesore of a shipping container into something very bright and eye-catching.
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Located on the west side of the park, off Pagoda Drive.
Benches
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In 2021, GPAC partnered with the Latinas Welding Guild, a nonprofit organization that helps low to moderate income Latinas and non-Latina women gain access to welding skills and certification preparation. The Guild created artistic benches for GPAC’s back patio area from colors and shapes reflected in our logo. The benches add extra seating for parkgoers to enjoy Garfield Park. Look for a new, artsy bike rack to be installed in front of GPAC in 2022!
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Located on the patio of the Arts Center, on the west side of the building.
Entryway and Lobby Mural
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In 2018, GPAC worked with local artist and designer Kris May to create a new mural for our entryway in partnership with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB). As part of KIB’s Great Indy Cleanup day, several community members volunteered to help paint the mural. Kris drew inspiration from Garfield Park by including iconic imagery such as the Pagoda and Conservatory, as well as nature and park elements, on an abstract background made up of colors from the GPAC logo. Kris also designed, fabricated, and painted a mural of GPAC’s logo with metal 3D elements that hang in our lobby.
Located at the entry of the Arts Center, on the east side of the building.
Located in the lobby of the Arts Center.
