"Installation Nation" at College Avenue and Michigan Street vacant lot

The local photo blog The Heidelberger Papers presents a regular visual exploration of Indianapolis through photographs and captions. The upcoming IMA exhibition Judith G. Levy: Memory Cloud will employ plastic photo viewers containing 35 mm slides to conjure memories, many of which visitors will have the chance to peer through, others of which will be out of reach. These two items prompted me to post my snapshots from the past weeks. Do we have some shared experiences?

Metal shipping container lit up at "Installation Nation"

Watching a vacant lot transform into a small village of warmly lit installations and speckled crowds, all from my living room window, was a delight. But it was the people, not the art that charmed me. “Installation Nation” was presented by the Indianapolis-based arts nonprofit Primary Colours.

Street view of downtown by The Maxwell condos

The Maxwell is one of several new condo buildings downtown. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether this one will fill up.

Italian Street Festival

The 26th annual Italian Street Festival near Fountain Square was packed with people eager to taste some real Italian heritage. I got my hands on homemade spaghetti, fettuccine and a chocolate cake dessert and was literally encircled by welcoming families.

Some dogs can't hold their pasta.

Let’s just say the trip home from Italian Fest involved some heavy lifting.

Summer Nights June 12th film "Roman Holiday"

Highly recommended by my mom, “Roman Holiday”, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, was one of this year’s Summer Nights films. It sold out within an hour at the IMA so I’m happy I watched it from the comfort of my couch thanks to Apple TV.

"European Design" billboard on Delaware and 15th Streets

One of my favorite billboards from the “European Design Since 1985″ advertising campaign, the location of this message staring you head on while driving up Delaware is ideal. The Whippet Bench, even cooler. (The exhibition closes at the IMA June 21 — take your dad! Tickets are 2 for $10.)

Independent Music + Art Festival

The Independent Music + Art Festival presented by the Harrison Center for the Arts hosts countless talented bands and artist. Why did I choose to highlight one? Not only is his work fun to photograph, but I was entertained by Michael Altman’s paintings on cardboard last year. Altman creates his robots, dogs and other funky characters on found cardboard for two purposes. 1) To create an entry point for young collectors. Cardboard is cheap and so is the art. 2) To be green. Painting on cardboard gives each work character and also prevents it from going in the trash.

Work by artist Michael Altman at IMAF

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