48 Hour Residency Goes to Market
The City Gallery at the Harrison Center loves bringing new and fresh perspectives to our city so that we might deepen our sense of place. This is often why our cultural entrepreneur interns come from other cities in the U.S. to experience Indianapolis, and this is also why we created the 48 hour residency. Through the 48 hour residency, residents use their two days in Indy to experience what the city has to offer. They then use their experiences as the inspiration to create something tangible such as a song about the canal, a video about Long’s Bakery, or a few coloring book pages that feature iconic Indy images.
This past summer City Gallery hosted a few visiting artists, and cultural entrepreneurs from all over the country. Beth Ann Fogal was one of them. As an oil painter from Charlotte, North Carolina, Fogal toured Indy as a participant in the 48 hour residency. After a trip downtown, she was inspired by the Original Farmers’ Market. Here’s what she had to say about her two-day adventure: “Before I even began my 48-hour residency, I knew I wanted to visit the Original Farmers’ Market at City Market. At the beginning of my first day, I headed to the market not really knowing what to expect. I arrived and found not only fresh fruit, vegetables, and baked goods, but also lots of beautiful, fresh flowers. “As I perused the booths, one clearly stuck out to me,” Fogal explained. “Three or four ladies were gathered around a colorful display of gladiolus, joking and chatting with the man running the booth. I overheard that most of them come and buy flowers at that booth every week, so I hopped in line and bought some myself. Not only were the flowers gorgeous, but the seller was personable and sweet.” After a bit more browsing, Fogal purchased some delicious peaches and freshly baked bread.
“Though it wasn’t incredibly early in the morning, the warm, soft, rising sun was falling so gracefully over the crowd that I couldn’t help but be inspired to create from that scene,” she said. So with her locally sourced goods in tow, Fogal decided to construct a still life featuring the elements of her trip downtown. With the light from the morning sun still fresh in her mind, she created a painting she called “A Morning at the Market.”