Artist Andie Arana Gomez organized 'Cuentos del Centro,' an art exhibition at the Indianapolis Public Library's Central Library featuring paintings, drawings, and mixed-media works by Henry A. Garcia, Leyda Melgar, and Oscar Toloza. The opening reception on May 9 includes music by El Marimbaso and David Avila, with performances by Ballet Folklorico Mosaicos and Maconda. The show runs through May 30.
Four Indianapolis-based artists—Salma Taman, Alejandra Carrillo, Bailey Jörk, and Iryna Bondar—are creating work that directly responds to contemporary political and social crises, including the war in Gaza, immigration, and political division. Their art, ranging from Taman's Arabic calligraphy painting promoting forgiveness to Carrillo's digital drawing protesting a migrant detention center, serves as a form of personal and communal expression in a fraught global climate.
The Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi) is set to open its doors from May 1-3 in a renovated 125-year-old dairy barn in Garfield Park. Managed by the Big Car Collaborative, the 40,000-square-foot facility features six exhibition spaces, 18 artist studios, and various community hubs including a cafe and storefronts for local creative businesses. The opening weekend will feature the main exhibition “Campo de Resonancia” by Puerto Rican painter Ivelisse Jiménez, alongside sound installations and experimental documentaries.
Ceramicists Savannah Jacob and Abby Jo Elle are co-curating "Respect Your Mother," a group exhibition at Patina Gallery dedicated to climate change and environmental activism. Opening in honor of Earth Day, the show features works from over 50 artists across various mediums, including sculptures, collages, and paintings, with a strict prohibition on artificial intelligence to emphasize human-centric craft.
A 125-year-old dairy barn converted into a contemporary art museum will open May 1 in Indianapolis's Garfield Park neighborhood. The Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi), founded by Big Car Collaborative co-founders Jim Walker and Shauta Marsh, spans 40,000 square feet and includes six exhibition spaces, 18 artist studios, five storefronts for creative businesses, a performance space, a cafe, and a culinary arts area. The museum will be free to the public, with its inaugural exhibition featuring Puerto Rican painter Ivelisse Jiménez in the Jeremy Efroymson Gallery. CAMi aims to offer a welcoming, barrier-free environment—no security guards, no stern signage—and will focus on paying artists to create work rather than acquiring a permanent collection.
Artist Janet Fry discovered a 150-year-old pocket diary belonging to her great-great-grandmother, Caroline Currey Kelso, which had been stored in a nightstand drawer for nearly two decades. In May 2024, Fry decided to create an exhibition titled "The 1875 Diary Project" at Storage Space Gallery, opening October 17. The show features recorded diary excerpts read by 12 women artists, enlarged reproductions of the diary pages, and Fry's own artistic responses. Fry transcribed the diary using a magnifying glass, revealing Kelso's experiences as a 19th-century Illinois housewife, including her loneliness, daily chores, and repeated pregnancies.