Exhibitions and First Fridays are subject to change from in-person to virtual experiences due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please visit our website or social media @GPACIndyParks for updates.

Main Exhibitions

October 2 - 30

Main Gallery

SALI National Abstract Art Exhibition XVI

The Garfield Park Arts Center in partnership with the Southside Art League is pleased to

feature the artists juried into the Annual SALI National Abstract Art Competition.

Celebrating its sixteenth year, this unique exhibit is dedicated to showcasing the best

two-dimensional abstract paintings from across the United States. The artworks represent

a wide variety of contemporary media and techniques. The awards will be presented

during First Friday.

2019 Best of Show
Palimpsest by Tresa Steenberg

November 5 - 19

Virtual Exhibition

Indy Parks Throughout the Years

Celebrate Indianapolis’s Bicentennial by sharing in well-known, quirky, and even

difficult stories connected to Indy Parks through an exhibit of historical narratives

and images. Learn more about how our greenspaces have created a space for

civic pride, community, and culture across Indianapolis for over 140 years.

Reflect on the future of Indy Parks as we continue to create accessible, equitable,

and inclusive experiences for all audiences in our public spaces. You’re sure to

find out something new about your favorite park in this exhibit, or learn about

a park you’ve never visited before!

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Enjoy the exhibit online from November 5 - 19 with extra First Friday programming on November 6 featuring local historians, friends, and neighbors of Garfield Park.

Broad Ripple Park Swimming Pool, 1925, Bass Photo Co. Collection, Indiana Historical Society (Image Cropped and Altered)

December 4 - 26

Main Gallery

Localized: Garfield Park Artists Celebrate Indy’s Bicentennial

Curated by a committee of neighborhood artists in collaboration with the Garfield Park Arts

Center and Big Car, this exhibition will feature artwork in a variety of mediums by local

artists that reside in Garfield Park. The pieces aim to celebrate Indianapolis’ Bicentennial

through the lens of these artists by exploring history, culture, and the environment of

Indianapolis and Garfield Park, Indianapolis’ oldest park. Furthermore, artists will reflect on

2020 current affairs including the pandemic and protests. Artwork will be displayed in two

galleries across the neighborhood: Garfield Park Arts Center and Big Car’s Tube Factory artspace.

Solo Exhibitions

October 2 - 31

Virtual Exhibition

Garfield Porch Portraits: Neighborhood Pride During a Pandemic

Despite the current coronavirus pandemic, the Garfield Park community has found a way to stay connected and demonstrate civic pride in our historic neighborhood. View a collection of neighbor porch portraits, taken from a safe distance, by local Garfield Park neighbor and photographer Kelley Jordan Schuyler. This project grew during the pandemic as a way for Garfield neighbors to showcase their front porch and neighborhood pride, while connected during a time of social isolation. Garfield Park has always been a people-focused community – view the smiling faces that make up this neighborhood in this online show.

October 3 - December 30

3rd Floor Hallway

I Remember There Were Hills

Claire Sweitzer Hawkins is a mixed media painter based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

She graduated from the Herron School of Art and Design in 2015. Nature has inspired

Hawkins all of her life. She spent her childhood swimming in lakes, digging in the earth

and talking to the trees. Hawkins creates her own worlds influenced by dreams, feelings,

and memory on the canvas. 

Color has also been a fascination of Hawkins’ for many years now, particularly the way

memories can feel both muted and vibrant at the same time. Mixing colors on palettes

and even right on the canvas allow her to explore and continue to learn and be

surprised by color. 

Hawkins’ most recent body of work has been influenced by recurring dreams. Layers of hills and flashes of maroon on top of green are all that she remembers when waking up from one of the repeated dreams. Water is nearby; sometimes in the form of a lake, sometimes a river. The feeling of the dream is what starts each new painting. Once started, Hawkins paints intuitively to finish the piece. Each brushstroke informs the next until a sense of balance is reached. 

I Remember There Were Hills by Claire Sweitzer Hawkins

October 2 - November 27

Literary Arts Room

Suspension

“Suspensions” is a solo exhibition featuring paintings made by the artist during

quarantine, capturing the emotions brought on by isolation, as well as observations of

the mundane. Kylin Brown is an Indiana born artist currently residing in Plainfield, IN.

She attended Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, where she earned her

Associates in Fine Art degree. While her personal work is mainly oil paintings, Kylin

enjoys incorporating charcoal and graphite into her work as creating window displays

and public art. When she is not working in her studio, sharing her love for art with kids

of all ages, or creating public art, Kylin enjoys yoga and staying active with her two children.

Feeling the Weight by Kylin Brown