Everyone’s a Winner!

IRT Facade

IRT Facade

I recently got the chance to go see Crowns at the Indiana Repertory Theatre. It was great- the actors had good voices, the hats were compelling and fun and funny, the set was interesting and transitioned well for the actors from scene to scene. Most importantly, the audience loved it and really got into the story. To my surprise, there were a lot of kids there who enjoyed it, too. Way to go, Indy people, for taking your kids to the theatre.

But, I’m not actually interested in making this a theatre review. I have been thinking lately, spurned on by the recent culture rally Indy Culture Matters, about the large amount of cultural offerings we have available to us here in Indy. I have also been thinking about how much this defines the city as a thriving, important global community with an invested, artistic population. Most of our residents care about culture, and support it. But, I think the part that some people forget about is that fact that the institutions and organizations that comprise the local arts scene all actually support Indianapolis residents. Jobs, tourism, revenue- and more than our sports teams bring in, too.

So, get out and see the newest show at IRT, Interpreting William (which is based on the story of the founder of Conner Prairie.) If you aren’t into theatre, try something else.  Some events have shockingly cheap tickets. Indianapolis has countless offerings: Museums, gallery walks, historical houses, gardens, the zoo, the symphony. We have so much going on all the time, and it’s a shame to let all that amazing culture be wasted on JUST the tourists.

Feel free to comment and let me know of all the cool Indianapolis hot spots I left out!

Fashion in Bloom in the Gardens

Fashion often finds inspiration in nature as illustrated by these designs created from actual plant material.

image from trendhunter.com

image from trendhunter.com

image from trendhunter.com

image from trendhunter.com

More often however designers are only inspired by plants when they are creating fabric for their work. That fact is the focus for the exhibition Fashion in Bloom put together by Niloo Imami-Paydar, IMA’s Curator of Textile and Fashion Arts. The exhibition opens Saturday April 4 and runs through January 30, 2010. The items in this exhibition go all the way back to the 1700’s, but the four I’m blogging about are from the late 1950’s to the 70’s. Read the rest of this entry »

Gardens for All

March is Disability Awareness Month so I thought for this week’s blog I would cover some of the ways we make the gardens at the IMA more accessible to visitors.  When the Accessibility Taskforce formed we decided that access at the IMA meant more than physical access so it must include emotional and intellectual access as well. Let’s take a look at how these play out in the gardens.

large-poster

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Rock Stars

Stone Mason, courtesy of old-picture.com

Stone Mason, courtesy of old-picture.com

This fall the folks in Horticulture, led by Geoff Von Burg, proved once again they know more than plants by completing two important hardscape projects. The first came about when The Toby was renovated and the handicap emergency egress ramp had to be added into the existing landscape.  This left a 2-3 foot grade change along the path. To prevent erosion and save as many trees as possible a beautiful stacked limestone wall was installed. This project required Geoff’s considerable skills and the handy work of several other garden staff to cut and lay the stone.  The area will be planted in the spring and will make a nice transition between the building and the gardens.

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It Only Feels Like Winter

Brrrrrrr. It’s bloody cold for November. Daytime temps have been closer to what normally would be our nighttime temps. Normally. It’s not as though normal actually exists anyway.  So I’ve been thinking a bit about what is going on in the gardens and what looks good despite the early cold spell, who out there is laughing at their misfortune rather than crying.

Speaking of laughing, this made me laugh out loud – for a good while.

Anyway, back to the gardens.

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