A Year at the HC: 2021
If COVID taught us anything, it was that we love our community of art enthusiasts, neighbors, community builders and friends. You are the motivation behind everything we do, and wow, did we miss you! While the Harrison Center’s work continued in surprising and exciting ways while we were apart, it was with so much joy that we reconnected with you in 2021. Here’s a look at our year:
Partnerships!
When the Indianapolis Recorder and InnoPower asked us to work with them on a networking series, we said “yes” immediately and The Art of Networking was born. This monthly gathering (which includes former professional sports figures, artists, and entrepreneurs) joins diverse professionals to grow and strengthen each other in their ventures.
500 Festival Parade canceled? Not a problem! We partnered with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to do a reverse parade, the Spectacle of Homes - a welcome complement to the Harrison Center’s popular, ongoing porch party movement. Local residents decked out their porches and 33 race car drivers motored out from Monument Circle into neighborhoods, bringing with them excitement and community celebration. Porching 101 classes held in May/June, shared tips on how to create the perfect front porch gathering and we capped off the porching season with the International Porch Placemaking Week in September.
We continued to develop our creative placemaking work through teaching at the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center and speaking at various conferences, both by Zoom and in person, working with over 20 communities locally and nationally.
Seeing your faces (in person!) was a major highlight of 2021 as:
Our annual Independent Music + Art Festival came back in full force. As part of our Cultural Entrepreneurship Program, 16-year-old Herron High School student, Amira Vanest, coordinated the event. In addition to the daylong art and music offerings, we celebrated Juneteenth with a pop up roller skating rink and a participatory drum circle.
Reimagined First Fridays returned, incorporating lessons learned during COVID to help us serve you safely. We offered special exhibit viewing hours for seniors, social distanced appointments, Instagram live artist talks, blood drives, art window walks and our online gallery.
Art Dish, our fine wine, dining and art experience, resumed for vaccinated guests. Tickets are now available for 2022. With the holidays approaching fast, think about gifting someone special with tickets to this unique event! (Word to the wise, this event sells out quickly.)
Our hoop “skirt” walking sculptures modeled social distancing with style. We continued taking neighborhood walks, but also performed at Newfields’ Art in Bloom, the Arts Council’s Start with Art, and the PACE Recovery Walk in addition to First Friday and Art Dish events.
Our Cultural Entrepreneur Program continued to thrive with interns working remotely and by social distance. We hosted interns from Herron High School, Riverside High School, Cathedral, Butler, IUPUI, Anderson University (SC), Indiana Wesleyan, Covenant and Alabama State.
Artists came from St Louis, Chattanooga, Aiken, Tampa, France, South Africa and beyond for residencies.
We continued to seek out and celebrate the stories of our neighbors by:
Producing our first film, Rasheeda’s Freedom Day, with Dija Henry of the Blue House, telling the triumphant story of Greatriarch JoAnna LeNoir’s family overcoming adversity (and a companion limited series podcast, “And Other Stories”).
Implementing new drawing classes to help artists refine technical skills, but also to hone their listening skills. Each class’s model is a senior citizen neighbor who shares their story while the artists sketch.
Implementing weekly social distanced art classes for our Greatriarchs, in partnership with Harrison Center artists and ArtMix artists.
Celebrating recent changes that have occurred in the Hillside neighborhood. They include: the iDream Center for Performing Arts, a barbershop, affordable and market rate housing units, a black-owned bakery and restaurant (opening in November), a body of visual art and film to honor and document the neighborhood story and an exciting new life for the historic Polk Stables building.
New insights and growth in serving the community:
We listened and learned from our community. A Belonging Coordinator now serves our artists, and works to help us to grow in diversity, equity and inclusion.
We strengthened our Board with new members, Ashley Scruggs (HR) and Kyle Dickerson (music).
We had very little studio artist turnover, but were delighted to welcome Ess McKee as a new Harrison Center artist and celebrated her many mural commissions and participation in the inaugural Butter event.
We created a 12 month fellowship program which added former intern, printmaker and creative placemaker, Yeabi Tabb to our staff and studio artist team.
Building improvements to better serve our community:
Not only were we able to complete the improvements to our building funded through the generosity of the Lilly Endowment, but other partners including Allen Whitehill Clowes Foundation allowed us to expand the project to include a new front porch, an expanded rooftop deck, an automated overhead door for the Harrison Gallery that improves foot traffic flow, an updated kitchen, and outdoor furniture.
Additional funding partners include the Central Indiana Community Foundation/Indianapolis Foundation, Arts Council of Indianapolis/City of Indianapolis, Indiana Arts Commission, Indiana Humanities, Dorsey Foundation, Indiana Youth Program Fund, Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, Speck Fund, Netherleigh Fund, Avis Foundation, Noyes Fund, Cowles Family, Divers Family Foundation, Herbert Simon Family Foundation, MIBOR Foundation, IHCDA, Senior Fund, Youth Working for Indy and generous people like you.
Please consider helping us to tell and build on the story of Indianapolis through a tax-deductible donation, which can be made online.
Thank you for partnering with us.