Arts Squared and {exurb} exhibit
The Annual Fountain Square Art Squared Fair was held on Sept. 21. Art Squared is an all-day event in Fountain Square involving a little more than 80 vendors set up along the street. The streets surrounding the event, from Virginia to Prospect, are blocked off to create a day for the community to come together and enjoy three events.
One of the events, Masterpiece in a Day, is a contest in which anyone can come and create a work of art — graphic or written — in a day for cash prizes. This event is free to the participants and a chance for people to see artists at work as they tent-shop from vendor to vendor.
Physical Therapy Graduate students Priyanka Krishnan and Shraddha Kadam painting at the vendor Wine and Canvas. Photo by Annisa Nunn
Junior psychology and pre-occupational therapy student Hanna Boone was impressed by all the artwork.
“It’s really amazing seeing the artwork people make with their hands and how creative they can get,” Boone said.
Among the many vendors were Art by DK, boris loved natasha, Global Gifts and Acceleration Art and Photography, which provided free items and a chance not only to see the art work, but for patrons to create their own. Vendor Wine and Canvas, located on the north side of Indianapolis, provided an opportunity to paint a pumpkin masterpiece in celebration of the upcoming season.
Physical therapy graduate student Priyanka Krishnan was able to take home a painting of her own and thought the atmosphere of the fair was “very nice and colorful.”
The fair included a parade and live entertainment affiliated with the Playing for Change Foundation. According to its website playingforchange.org, the foundation is “dedicated to creating positive social change through music education.” Playing for Change Foundation works with individuals who suffer from poverty, lack of medical and educational resources, and unstable governments.
Immediately following the fair was Exurb’s opening reception for the new interactive audio visual installation, waveForms, held at the Wheeler Arts Community.
Exurb is an art collective originally founded and based in Houston, Texas. Associate Adjunct Faculty Member Johnny DiBlasi is a co-founder of this organization along with Patrick Renner, Eric Todd, Stephen Kraig and Sam Singh. In the instillation waveForms digital video and audio synthesizers are manipulated by viewers’ movements within space.
Sophomore graphic design student Oreonna Shepherd said the exhibit took her back to her childhood memories.
“The installation was fun and creative, and I felt like a kid playing on a piano except I was using my feet, jumping from key to key,” Shepherd said.
The waveForms instillation will be exhibited until Oct. 4.
The Wheeler Arts Community is a collaboration between the University of Indianapolis and Southeast Neighborhood Development, which also participate in the city’s First Friday and holds an event every month. More information on WAC’s upcoming events is available at http://www.uindy.edu/arts/WAC
