A group of people working in art, architecture and history have formed a new nonprofit organization with an ambitious mission to tell the stories of Indianapolis in dramatic ways. With a name that matches the scale of its plans, Monumental Gestures aims to promote the kind of art that can become a cultural fixture, synonymous with the city’s identity.
Led by Sarah Urist Green, a local art educator and curator, the new nonprofit has big goals: It strives for the depth of artworks, the power of their message and, when necessary, their physical size.
“The idea of the monumental has many associations,” says Urist Green, artistic director of Monumental Gestures. “We are a city of monuments; we have many of them. But we don’t have many new ones.”
She envisions works that focus on the history of the Circle City and whose power and significance are comparable to that of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the Joe Louis Fist in Detroit and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Alabama.
The nonprofit works collaboratively—what Urist Green calls the connective tissue that brings together institutions, city government, community members, artists, architects and designers to find the best art experience for a given space. Organizers hope the results reflect the complexity and history of the Circle City.
The event kicks off with public art projects along the White River and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.
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Monumental Gestures grew out of a question Urist Green posed to civic leaders in 2022 when she participated in the Mitch Daniels Leadership Fellowship program: “How can an ambitious, iconic, large-scale public cultural institution emerge in Indiana?”
She approached the subject with a wealth of art experience. After working in Chicago and New York, Urist Green moved to the Circle City in 2007 to take a job in the contemporary curatorial department of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. She worked there for six years and became part of the team that developed the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, which features the famous sculpture “Funky Bones.” Since then, she has written “You Are an Artist,” created the PBS web series “The Art Assignment,” and is host and consulting producer of “Crash Course Art History,” part of a YouTube channel founded by her husband, author John Green, and his brother Hank Green.
With Monumental Gestures, Urist Green wanted to embark on a project that would improve the quality of life for Indiana residents and make Indiana irresistible to talented job seekers. The new nonprofit is designed to complement the creative work already happening in the city — ideally, raising ambitions and budgets and increasing people’s willingness to invest in thoughtful art, she said.
Urist Green outlined the initiative in a spring 2024 workbook developed through discussions with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, government and tourism officials, cultural nonprofits and the cultural development firm Ganggang.
Monumental Gestures is part of the Landmark Columbus Foundation’s program arm, the Columbus Design Institute. The Institute collaborates on projects that connect design and historic heritage with sustainability, growth and community investment. Landmark Columbus also operates Exhibit Columbus, which features art installations inspired by the city’s famous architecture.
By joining the Institute, Monumental Gestures was able to begin projects immediately. Urist Green had previously worked with Richard McCoy, founding director of the Columbus Foundation, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
“We’re launching Monumental Gestures at a time when the city is thinking about the south side of downtown and how to make it more livable. How do you actually make Indianapolis more than just a place that’s about big conventions and sporting events?” said McCoy, who is also executive director of Monumental Gestures.
“Today you see us competing for creative talent – that’s what people want from a city. And I think Indianapolis is a little behind in that respect. I think this is an opportunity to catch up.”
In addition to Urist Green and McCoy, the new firm’s leadership includes experts with deep roots in Indiana, including design director Merritt Chase, a landscape architecture firm; director of cultural equity Rokh, a research and design studio that has catalogued public art in Marion County; and research director Rasul A. Mowatt, a former Indiana University professor now at North Carolina State University who studies the geography of race and violence and public space; and cultural researcher Jordan Ryan, an architectural historian and city and county archivist of Indianapolis.
The Herbert Simon Family Foundation donated an undisclosed amount to Monumental Gestures to launch, McCoy said.
One of the team’s first projects is to use art to solve problems in high-traffic areas of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.
A plan for public art to calm busy places along the cultural trail
Since the Cultural Trail opened in 2013, the nonprofit’s executive director, Kären Haley, has seen new businesses spring up around it and has highlighted the need to improve increased foot traffic in some areas.
The Washington Street corridor in particular has become a hotspot, with the decorative pavers and plant beds taking a beating. Customers heading to Chipotle and Chick-fil-a add activity to the path. Pedestrians wander onto the section of the path designated for cyclists. Nearby, where Virginia Avenue and Pennsylvania Street meet, people stroll through the “rooftop gardens” — so named because the flat plantings were designed to thrive on underground basements that extend into the right-of-way.
“How can public art be a solution to continue to provide this amazing experience on the Cultural Trail that includes public art, while also being a way to better deliver that experience without negatively impacting maintenance?” Haley said.
For this and other projects, Urist Green envisions a collaborative approach that draws on historical context and builds relationships with the people who use the spaces.
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“We’re trying to organize things so that you find the right things in the right places, rather than just looking at another city and saying, ‘I like that. Let’s do that,'” Urist Green said.
So what might new art experiences – both along the trail and elsewhere – look like? They could be sculptures, murals, a series of performances, architect-designed structures, temporary or permanent works. Whatever the art, it will be free and accessible, according to the nonprofit’s mission on its website.
Monumental Gestures will submit recommendations to the nonprofit Cultural Trail, and a planning grant from the Lilly Endowment is funding the process, Haley said. The trail also continues to work with Forecast Public Art of St. Paul, Minnesota, to plan programming and art for the new additions.
But the trail is just a canvas that can artistically tell the stories of Indianapolis.
The history of the White River through art
A decade of research has shown Visit Indy how much tourists want to enjoy the White River and its surrounding areas. And a number of projects along the water – including the expansion of White River State Park and the Henry Street Bridge – will provide fertile ground for the installation of stunning artwork that will delight residents and visitors, said Chris Gahl, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Visit Indy.
Visit Indy and the Capital Improvement Board have partnered with Monumental Gestures to develop a concept to turn ideas into iconic art and architecture. The process is funded by the CIB, Gahl said. While visitors have said they love the art at Indianapolis International Airport, they have also told Visit Indy that the canal, from north of the Indiana Historical Society to its northern tip, offers additional opportunities for public art and activities.
New artwork can draw on the city’s rich history. Gahl mentioned the former Bethel AME Church, now a Homewood Suites by Hilton Indianapolis, and the USS Indianapolis National Memorial just off the canal. Urist Green mentioned Native American history and the area’s manufacturing roots.
“We as a city deserve continuous, thoughtful design and development that changes the skyline,” said Gahl.
These ideas are just the beginning. Monumental Gestures is starting with projects downtown, but Urist Green and McCoy said they aren’t setting any limits.
“Now is the time for us to really think about complex stories and how we represent those stories in public spaces in artful and beautiful ways,” McCoy said.
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Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or [email protected]. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.
