The “gateway” projects show here are just one element of the cultural district effort being underwritten by the city’s Cultural Development Commission.
 

'CONVERGENCE'

A new gateway helping to mark the Canal and White River State Park actually has two components - a street-level sculpture and a second piece on the Canal itself. The artist team of Bernie Carreno, Luis Morales and David Thomas completed the design, fabrication and implementation of the artistic gateway.

The street level piece is a tall, vertical art work placed on the south side of the Indiana Avenue / Michigan Street bridge over the canal.  The canal-level art work is a rendition of an old canal lock.  It also includes historical information, a water fountain and a bench for visitors to sit and enjoy the art and canal.

Two huge artistic signs have been erected at key spots along Massachusetts Avenue, helping to let visitors know they are passing by the Mass Ave Arts & Theatre District.

The “gateway” project is just one element of the cultural district effort being underwritten by the city’s Cultural Development Commission. In the Mass Ave Arts & Theatre District, other projects have included the installation of nine art display cases that not only show the works of local artists, but also feature calendar items to let people know what else is happening on the Avenue. The initiative is also responsible for the Mass Ave “window statics” seen in many merchants’ windows;the sidewalk applications that are also designed to remind visitors they are in the Mass Ave Arts & Theatre District; a website (www.discovermassave.com) and a comprehensive district guide.
 

One adorns the top of the building at 314 Mass Ave, easily visible to motorists headed northbound on Delaware Street or eastbound on New York Street.

The other installation hangs on the north face of The Chatterbox Jazz Club, clearly visible to motorists passing by on busy Michigan Street.

Both installations were designed by Indianapolis artist William Denton Ray  and installed by Expo Design. A third installation has been commissioned for the East End of Mass Ave, but the final location has not yet been determined. Members of the Mass Ave cultural district committee hope that artwork will be clearly visible from the interstate.

‘WISHFUL THINKING’

The Fountain Square Cultural District has a new “gateway,” in the form of a three-sided sculpture by artist Dick Luten. The work stands along  Virginia Avenue in what will soon by a small plaza. By day, the work by  features panels depicting past and present photos of Fountain Square, along with a map that explains how the neighborhood is working to recover from the damage done by the interstates slicing through the area.