364 past events with the exhibitions tag

Art in Bloom is an annual event and exhibition celebrating the David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA) through innovative  interpretations created by the region’s top floral designers. The Friday opening reception is a fundraiser supporting the museum’s programs and acquisitions, and the free, public exhibition is displayed throughout the weekend.

Art in Bloom 2019 begins with a fundraiser event at 5 p.m. May 18; tickets are $50 per person and include cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, entertainment, and the first look at the designers' artistic interpretations. The floral arrangements will remain on view for the public May 18 and 19 during normal open hours with free admission. Visit bsu.edu/DOMA for more information.

DOMA thanks our presenting sponsor Sursa Griner Wealth Management for their generous and steadfast support. Entrance decorations will be provided by our friends at Wasson Nursery.

Cornerstone Center for the Arts

520 E. Main
Join Cornerstone Center for Arts on Thursday, June 6 for the opening reception of Sparking Nostalgia Through Pop Culture, an art exhibition by Will Britton Jr. The reception will take place in the Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery on the second floor of Cornerstone from 5 to 7 p.m. in conjunction with June’s First Thursday events.

Sparking Nostalgia Through Pop Culture is a collection of pop culture icons. From the obscure to the more commonly known, Britton’s work brings forth nostalgia from childhood favorites. The work invokes those things that would get you up early on Saturday with a big bowl of cereal eager to turn on cartoons. Those things that when you see them, you remember time, place, taste, and smell. Britton’s work seeks to transport viewers back to the joy of childhood.

Will Britton Jr. was born and raised in Muncie, Indiana. He graduated from Muncie Central High School in 1997 and then went on to Vincennes University where he studied Fine Arts until he transferred to The Art Academy of Cincinnati. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with his specialty being printmaking. He has worked steadily making the art he loves while also working in social services. He lives in Muncie with his wife, children, an old dog and a bossy cat.  His everyday life consists of wrangling chaos and disorder, making items for local markets and a little D & D as time permits.

For more information about the exhibition call Cornerstone’s Department of Education & Communication at 765-281- 9503, ext. 23 or visit cornerstonearts.org.

Dame Leo (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson St. (2nd floor)
“No Más!” featuring mixed media paintings, sculpture, and wearable art by Dame Leo. 2nd floor, Madjax.

Delaware County Historical Society
Various locations downtown
The Delaware County Historical Society presents “Muncie Mystery” from 5-7:30pm.

A serious (and pretend) crime has been committed in Downtown Muncie! We are calling on all citizen sleuths to participate in a real-life Clue game as part of the First Thursday festivities on June 6.

Between 5 and 6:30 pm, visit ten participating downtown businesses for clues about suspects and weapons. At each location, you will have the chance to answer a Muncie trivia question to learn more about our city, complements of the Delaware County Historical Society.

The guilty party and facts about the case will be revealed at Muncie Civic Theatre at 7:00 pm. Sleuths who correctly identify the perpetrator and weapon will be entered into a drawing for great prizes, including an overnight stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Muncie at Horizon Convention Center, Muncie Civic Theatre tickets, a silver crystal pendant from Pazols Jewelers, and more! (Must be present to win.)

Event partners: Downtown Muncie, Muncie Civic Theatre, Indiana Public Radio, WIPB-TV, Ball State Office of Community Engagement, Muncie Neighborhoods, and Delaware County Historical Society

Participating businesses: Debbie's Handmade Soap, The Hayloft Boutique, Twin Archer Brewpub, Mulberry Street Uniques, Aw Yeah Comics- Muncie, Vintage Shoppe Thrift & Gift, Intersection, Olive & Slate, Muncie Map Co.

Elm Street Brewing (21+)
519 N. Elm
The opening reception for Life in Plastic, featuring artwork by Sarah Shaffer will take place at Elm Street Brewing Co on Thursday, June 6 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The opening of Life in Plastic will take place in conjunction with First Thursday’s events.

The smallest things can have the biggest impact. Our childhoods shape us, create us, and define who we will become. In the collection titled, "Life in Plastic," Sarah Shaffer has explored society's monumental impact through the form of its tiniest role models. Each piece is a depiction of a doll, focusing only on a portion of the body and recreated in a large scale. This collection of acrylic paintings portrays the objectification of and unrealistic expectations placed upon women.

Sarah Shaffer is a native of Indiana, growing up in Fort Wayne with a love of art from an early age. Sarah is a graduate of Ball State University's Art Department, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Metalsmithing earned in 2007. Sarah lives with her husband and daughter in Muncie, Indiana, and works at Cornerstone Center for the Arts as the Education and Marketing Coordinator as well as a visual arts instructor.

The opening reception of Life in Plastic will include live music by local artist Caleb Ferguson. After attending the reception, Elm Street Brewing Co invites you to stick around, order dinner and a beer, and enjoy the relaxed family friendly atmosphere. The Peterson and Dunn Project will perform following the conclusion of the opening reception. Life in Plastic will be on display, with work for sale throughout the month of June.

The Fickle Peach (21+)
117 E. Charles
Muncie Downtown Development will host outdoor “Afterhours Art Reels” following the First Thursday Gallery Walks, June-September.  Films will be projected onto the Mutual Bank wall on Charles St. at dusk.  Seating will be available on the Fickle Peach patio located at 117 E. Charles St. for guests 21 and up. June’s movie is Baby Driver from director Edgar Wright.

Forever Young Children’s Boutique
125 E. Charles
Forever Young will be open from 5-7pm for Sidewalk Day Sale. There will be a lemonade stand and all proceeds will be donated to First Choice for Women.

Gindhart (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson St. (2nd floor)
Local social commentary artist Debra Gindhart will feature two assemblage pieces titled TOOLS 4 SCHOOLS. Debra believes that guns have no place in our schools. We must reduce the possibility of any gunfire in schools, rather than concentrating on ways to keep all guns off school property. Ensuring the safety of children and school employees, school administrators should focus on measures that will create safe and supportive learning environments for students, faculty, and staff. 

Debra Gindhart will also feature wearable art, painted clothing, and painted handbags. There will be an opening reception where you can meet the artist and enjoy light refreshments from 5-8pm. Madjax, 2nd floor.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E. Main
Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company will open Natural Influences: Two Hoosiers, Nature, and Their Art. From topographically inspired jewelry by Lisa Walsh to floral designed silks by Carrie Wright, the influence of nature will be celebrated during June’s First Thursday on June 6, from 5:00 to 8:00. Carrie Wright, a Muncie silk painter, will give a short talk at 6:15. Light refreshments will be served, and the public is invited to attend. The exhibition will remain on view with works for sale throughout the summer.

Carrie Wright, a Muncie silk painter and newly minted Indiana Artisan, will be sharing her beautiful pieces of wearable art. Wright gives specific attention to several details, such as: where the design elements are likely to fall on the body when the scarf is worn; an appropriate color pallet within the design with careful consideration for the occasion or outfit for which the scarf might be worn; a balanced combination of floral and graphic elements maintaining visual tension and interest. Wright’s creativity is nurtured by combining the clean design disciplines of the Japanese kimono textile creators and the forward-thinking creativity of European designers.

“I was born and raised amid the fields in northern Delaware County,” says Wright. “I’ve always been inspired by the beauty of Indiana landscapes, fields that stretch to the horizons of both the rising and setting sun. Much of my work is influenced by the flora of the area combined in some way with a bold graphic design element to help balance the piece and prohibit it from becoming flowery or fussy.”

Lisa Walsh, a jewelry designer from Lafayette, will be showcasing pieces from her Topography Series. Walsh uses enamels and mixed metals to portray accurate contour lines from topographical maps. Conceptualized in 2015, this series has received four consecutive Arts in the Parks grants from the Indiana Arts Commission. The Topography Series includes work featuring Clifty Falls and Spring Mill State Park in southern Indiana, and recently expanded to include areas of Shenandoah National Park where Walsh was artist-in-residence in 2018.

Walsh’s influence is a “fascination with topographical maps which I have had since studying fire science many years ago, but hadn't incorporated them into my work until relatively recently.  Topography and jewelry are such an unusual pairing that it often opens discussions that lead into important land and conservation issues,” she says.  “Jewelry is the ultimate traveling art, and as such, a great medium for encouraging dialogue between people.”

Grace Episcopal Church
300 S. Madison
Come on down to Grace Episcopal Church (corner of Madison & Adams) for an awesome concert with singer song writer and recording artist Joan Hamilton. Tonight's concert begins at 7pm. Joan is a local favorite guitar and keyboard performer with deep roots in the Muncie and Indy music scene. There will be CD' for sale. This is a great way to start the summer music season.

Muncie Makers Market
Corner of Walnut and Adams
“First Thursday is SOON, on Thursday, June 6th! The Muncie Makers Market is happy to be a part of Muncie’s First Thursday community events, thanks to an invitation to take over the sidewalks in front of the Muncie Map Co., at 111 East Adams Street, in Downtown Muncie. We set up on the SE corner of Adams and Walnut Streets from 5-8p on the first Thursday of every month. Plenty of nearby free parking! I’m really excited for us to have this opportunity and I am really hoping we get a nice evening of weather for the 6th. I also invite everyone to see what we’ve got going on inside of the Muncie Map Co. as well. Lots of local themed shirts/magnets/stickers/books/music, excellent mappiness, and a Muncie Makers Market kiosk open there every day! 

First Thursday is a popular local tradition, going years back, with all sorts of vendors, artists, and entertainers set up throughout all of Downtown Muncie inside and outside of various shops, restaurants, bars, and other businesses. It’s fun!”

Muncie Makes Lab
628 S. Walnut
Join Muncie Makes Lab from 5-8pm for the following shows:

Fixer Upper
Erica Collins’ 6th grade Northside Middle School math class worked with Tom Collins from the BSU Department of Architecture on an documentation and redesign project for a single room in which the students took physical measurements, drew scale drawings, learned about architectural drawing conventions, proposed renovations to the room, and calculated the renovation costs for materials and labor. The results of the 6-week project were shown at the MCS Celebrate Excellence Show in May.

Solar Decathlon Design Challenge
A Spring 2019 architecture design studio taught by Tom Collins with the assistance of Walter Grondzik and Tarek Mahfouz that participated in the US Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Design Challenge. Two collaborative student-led teams developed net-zero energy ready housing proposals for sites in historic districts adjacent to downtown Muncie with community partners ecoREHAB and Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity.

Reimagining Memorial & Hoyt
A Summer 2019 architecture design studio/workshop co-taught by Pam Harwood and Tom Collins focused on reimagining, redeveloping, and reusing underutilized property in Muncie’s Southwestern neighborhoods to support neighborhood revitalization efforts to improve access to food, healthcare, housing, and transportation. The class is working with Building Better Neighborhoods and the 8 Twelve Coalition on this community design immersive learning project.

Silly Walk
Various locations downtown
Meeting Spot: In the back parking lot where The Muncie Escape Room is located. (Jefferson St and Adams St) Look for the Silly Walk Map in the comments!
Time: 5:15pm. Walk will begin around 5:30pm.
Attire: 1920s attire (this is optional but recommended to keep with the First Thursday of Muncie Theme)

First Thursday at Downtown is having a 1920s Mystery game at participating businesses (where our walk will happen). We may be having fun with our Silly Walk, but we are going to participate too! It's a real-life Clue game in Downtown Muncie! We'll take our Silly Walk to the Downtown Streets of Muncie and into these participating businesses (listed in the order our walk will happen: Olive & Slate, Twin Archer Brewpub, Intersection, Debbie's Handmade Soap, Aw Yeah Comics- Muncie, Vintage Shoppe Thrift & Gift, Mulberry Street Uniques, The Hayloft Boutique, Muncie Map Co.).

At 7pm, once was walk is over, head over to the Muncie Civic Theatre to see if you guessed the crime correctly to win great prizes!

Thr3e Wisemen Brewing Co.
625 S. High St.
Thr3e Wise Men will be doing $5 10" Cheese Pizzas and 1/2 off bottles of wine!

Valhalla  (21+)
215 S. Walnut
Valhalla presents “Blues Jam” every Thursday. “Blues Jam” is an open event with sign-up starting at 7pm and music from 8-11pm. Come show us your talent!

Wishbone Gifts, Inc.
201 S. Walnut St.
Wishbone Gifts, Inc. will feature works by Jeremy Babb and Erin Cox.

Since First Thursday fell on the Fourth of July this year, please join us for a Second Thursday event featuring the following:

Dame Leo (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson St. (2nd floor)
Mixed media paintings, Assemblage art, handmade paper, jewelry, and hand painted wearables.

Gindhart (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson St. (2nd floor)
Debra Gindhart local artist will exhibit her Second Thursday show, "Stencil Artist." Stencils are probably the most popular technique used in graffiti, street art, and wall art worldwide. Stenciled art has many different reasons behind it. The technique provides graffiti artists and contemporary artists with several important advantages, most significant being the possibilities to create more art and also be more visible and swift. 

Debra, started experimenting with multi-layered cut out stencils and pre-cut stencils to add more colors and illusion of depth to her pieces ten years ago. This artistic experimentation resulted in much more elaborate and highly sophisticated stenciled artworks. Debra believes stencil artists take art to a whole new level, both in terms of aesthetics and messages they are trying to convey. "Stencil Art" will include some text on art messages as well. 

Debra will also have a collection of Green Glam Studio jewelry, earrings and statement pendants. She will be donating 20% of all recycled jewelry sales to support Bailey for Mayor campaign. There is also a 20% off sale on wall art from previous exhibits. 

Meet the artist and enjoy light refreshments on July 11, second floor gallery in Madjax Muncie. 

5-8pm, this event is free and open to the public.

Madjax Muncie
515 E. Main St.
The mainhall of Madjax, 1st floor will feature art by Justin Brown, a 31 year old mixed media artist from Indianapolis, Indiana. His work focuses primarily on American intelligence agency psychological operations and surveillance. Justin Brown is the founder/executive director of Hoy Polloy Art Gallery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This collection of work is a fraction of a series wherein Justin makes portraits of individuals with their FBI surveillance files. Individuals range from pop icons to lesser known community organizers and artists. The purpose of the series is to highlight the diversity and depth of the government’s previous surveillance programs as we enter a modern awakening to surveillance capitalism.

Muncie Makers Market
Corner of Walnut and Adams
The Muncie Makers Market is happy to be a part of Muncie’s First Thursday community events, even when it’s now SECOND Thursday! (Just this one time, back to regulation in August.) Thanks to an invitation to take over the sidewalks in front of the Muncie Map Co., the Muncie Makers Market will set up on the corner of Adams and Walnut Streets from 5-8p on Thursday, July 11th in Downtown Muncie.

Come see our local Growers and Makers for fresh homemade food, locally grown fruit and vegetables, fresh and dried herbs, live plants, beautiful art, and handmade crafts of all kinds! First Thursday is a popular local tradition, going many years back. All sorts of vendors, artists, and entertainers set up throughout all of Downtown Muncie. It is a fun time for everyone - Kids too! - and a great opportunity to shop local and support the Muncie economy!

More information:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1627047027524961/ 

The Muncie Makers Market is open rain or shine. Our rain location for our First Thursday Markets will be inside of Madjax on the corner of Madison and Jackson in Downtown Muncie.

PlySpace
608 E. Main
Muncie Memories, a PlySpace and Muncie Arts and Culture Council project with PlySpace Resident Fellow Meredith Kooi, is a collaborative storytelling project that invites the residents of Muncie to share their experiences, memories, and stories of the place they call home. Muncie Memories will have a special Interview Booth set up on the first floor of Madjax from 5-8 PM. Come by and tell your stories about Muncie and be recorded for the living archive. The artist's studio will also be open on the second floor.  Learn more about the project at munciememories.tumblr.com or at plyspace.org/events.

Valhalla  (21+)
215 S. Walnut
Valhalla presents “Blues Jam” every Thursday. “Blues Jam” is an open event with sign-up starting at 7pm and music from 8-11pm. Come show us your talent!

The Brinkman Gallery
409 S. Walnut
Brinkman Gallery is featuring a collection of miniature sculpted animals and Buddhas from Gay Nation's travels in Europe and Asia. Come out and enjoy refreshments from 5-8pm. Also featuring a permanent collection of artist, Kevin Campbell - "Waterscapes" meticulously painted water landscapes. At a distance they appear photorealistic, but as you approach the pattern of the waves begins to break down into abstract forms and shapes. Also on display, original DOG portraits, new puzzle pieces and a section of "Sweet Thursday" by artist Kevin Campbell. Puzzles range from a single piece to a 730 piece puzzle.

Cornerstone Center for the Arts
520 E. Main
Join Cornerstone Center for Arts on Thursday, August 1 for the opening reception of Lessons in Color: A White Girl’s Education featuring art by Brenda Click. The reception will take place in the Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery on the second floor of Cornerstone from 5 to 7 p.m. in conjunction with August’s First Thursday events.

Growing up and spending most of her life in predominantly white communities, Click realized she had so much to learn about race and racism. Her research began by reading books both fiction and nonfiction, holding conversations (listening mostly), attending lectures, and watching documentaries.  Click’s exhibit tells a story of that self-study through acrylic paintings and celebrates the persons of color she has come to know and the gratitude for lessons they have taught her.

Lessons in Color: A White Girl’s Education will be on display and open to the public in the Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery throughout the month of August.

The Fickle Peach (21+)
117 E. Charles
Reservoir Dogs: Muncie Downtown Development will host outdoor “Afterhours Art Reels” following the First Thursday Gallery Walks, June-September.  Films will be projected onto the Mutual Bank wall on Charles St. at dusk.  Seating will be available on the Fickle Peach patio located at 117 E. Charles St. for guests 21 and up. August’s movie is Reservoir Dogs from director Quentin Tarantino.

Gindhart (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson St. (2nd floor)
“ANIMAL BAUBLES”: Local artist Debra Gindhart will feature her Green Glam Studio jewelry a line of recycled and repurposed accessories for August's First Thursday. The artist used wood, art glass, crystals, and metals for embellishments. 20% of all ANIMAL BAUBLES jewelry sales proceeds will be donated to Grateful Rescue & Sanctuary. This collection includes statement pendants and earrings all wires are hypoallergenic. Debra will also feature two assemblage art pieces, "Epstein Island" social commentary art addressing sex with children, a current crimes against humanity trend. She still has a $2 frames sale. Attend the reception and meet the artist at Madjax Muncie. 5-8pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E. Main
Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company will show Natural Influences: Two Hoosiers, Nature, and Their Art.  From topographically inspired jewelry by Lisa Walsh to floral designed silks by Carrie Wright, the influence of nature will be celebrated during First Thursday on August 1, from 5:00 to 8:00.  Lisa Walsh, a Lafayette jeweler, will give a short talk at 6:15.  Light refreshments will be served, and the public is invited to attend. The exhibition will remain on view with works for sale through Friday, August 30th. 

Lisa Walsh, a jewelry designer from Lafayette, will be showcasing pieces from her Topography Series. Walsh uses enamels and mixed metals to portray accurate contour lines from topographical maps.  Conceptualized in 2015, this series has received four consecutive Arts in the Parks grants from the Indiana Arts Commission.  The Topography Series includes work featuring Clifty Falls and Spring Mill State Park in southern Indiana, and recently expanded to include areas of Shenandoah National Park where Walsh was artist-in-residence in 2018.

Walsh’s influence is a “fascination with topographical maps which I have had since studying fire science many years ago but hadn't incorporated them into my work until relatively recently.  Topography and jewelry are such an unusual pairing that it often opens discussions that lead into important land and conservation issues,” she says.  “Jewelry is the ultimate traveling art, and as such, a great medium for encouraging dialogue between people.”

Carrie Wright, a Muncie silk painter and newly minted Indiana Artisan, will be sharing her beautiful pieces of wearable art.  Wright gives specific attention to several details, such as: where the design elements are likely to fall on the body when the scarf is worn; an appropriate color pallet within the design with careful consideration for the occasion or outfit for which the scarf might be worn; a balanced combination of floral and graphic elements maintaining visual tension and interest.  Wright’s creativity is nurtured by combining the clean design disciplines of the Japanese kimono textile creators and the forward-thinking creativity of European designers.

“I was born and raised amid the fields in northern Delaware County”, says Wright. “I’ve always been inspired by the beauty of Indiana landscapes, fields that stretch to the horizons of both the rising and setting sun. Much of my work is influenced by the flora of the area combined in some way with a bold graphic design element to help balance the piece and prohibit it from becoming flowery or fussy.”

Madjax Muncie
515 E. Main St.
The mainhall of Madjax, 1st floor will feature art by Justin Brown, a 31 year old mixed media artist from Indianapolis, Indiana. His work focuses primarily on American intelligence agency psychological operations and surveillance. Justin Brown is the founder/executive director of Hoy Polloy Art Gallery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This collection of work is a fraction of a series wherein Justin makes portraits of individuals with their FBI surveillance files. Individuals range from pop icons to lesser known community organizers and artists. The purpose of the series is to highlight the diversity and depth of the government’s previous surveillance programs as we enter a modern awakening to surveillance capitalism.

Muncie Makers Market
Corner of Walnut and Adams
The Muncie Makers Market is happy to be a part of Muncie’s First Thursday community events, thanks to a kind invitation to take over the sidewalks in front of the Muncie Map Co. at 111 East Adams Street in Downtown Muncie. We set up from 5-8p every month. 

The Muncie Makers Market is open rain or shine. Our rain location for our First Thursday Markets will be inside of Madjax on the corner of Madison and Jackson.

First Thursday is a popular local tradition, going many years back, where all sorts of vendors, artists, and entertainers set up throughout all of Downtown Muncie.  The Muncie Makers Market is a farmers market with fresh homemade food, locally grown fruit and vegetables, beautiful art, and handmade crafts of all kinds. Come enjoy the evening with us! 

PlySpace
608 E. Main
“Muncie Memories Exhibition”: The Muncie Arts and Culture Council & PlySpace Residency Program invites the public to the final exhibition event for the Muncie Memories project on First Thursday, August 1st, from 5-8 PM in the PlySpace Gallery (608 E. Main St, Muncie).  Muncie Memories is a collaborative, multi-media storytelling project led by PlySpace Resident Fellow Meredith Kooi, with assistance from Ball State University School of Art interns Ellie Phan, Jenna Mesker, Kai Cohen, Katie Strader, and Kitty Taylor. Muncie residents were invited to share their experiences, memories, and stories of the place they call home through a plethora of activities such as oral history interviews, fieldwalks, information gathering, soundwalking, archival research, and public engagement. The 10-week project engaged with over 100 participants from the community. The exhibition will feature highlights from the Muncie Memories project, including drawings by Cornerstone Summer Arts Camp students, interviews with Upward Bound of Ivy Tech students, archival material, artwork, photographs, audio and video documentation, interactive digital features, music and more. More information about the project can be found atwww.plyspace.org and munciememories.tumblr.com.

Savage's Ale House (21+)
127 N. High
Savage’s will feature Eli Shaw’s “Welcome Home,” an exhibition of acrylic paintings. 

Valhalla  (21+)
215 S. Walnut
Valhalla presents “Blues Jam” every Thursday. “Blues Jam” is an open event with sign-up starting at 7pm and music from 8-11pm. Come show us your talent!

The Muncie Arts and Culture Council invites the public to the exhibition event for the Muncie Memories collaborative storytelling project on First Thursday, August 1st, from 5-8 PM in the PlySpace Gallery (608 E. Main St, Muncie). Muncie Memories, led by PlySpace Resident Fellow Meredith Kooi, is a project that encourages residents of Muncie to share their experiences, memories, and stories of the place they call home. Light refreshments will be served, and the public is invited to attend.

Over a 10-week period, the Muncie Memories project engaged more than 100 participants from the community who shared their stories, feelings, thoughts, and memories about Muncie with Kooi and a team of Ball State University School of Art interns: Ellie Phan, Jenna Mesker, Kai Cohen, Katie Strader, and Kitty Taylor. The exhibition will feature highlights from the project, including drawings by Cornerstone Summer Arts Camp students, interviews with Upward Bound of Ivy Tech students, archival material, photographs, audio and video documentation, interactive digital features, and more. Much of the material for the exhibition was sourced through the Muncie Memories Interview Booth, a place for discussion and sharing, that was set up at various public events throughout July including the Minnetrista Farmers Market, the Muncie Makers Market, the Cardinal Greenways Bike Fest, Be Here Now, the Muncie Three Trails Music Series, the Delaware County Fair, and the Muncie Delaware County Senior Center, among other locations.  

The First Thursday opening reception is part of Muncie Arts & Culture Council’s 10 for 10 MACCtivity series of events highlighted throughout 2019 in recognition of the organizations first decade of celebrating and support arts and culture in Muncie. PlySpace Gallery will hold additional viewing hours for the exhibition on Friday, August 2nd from 3-7 PM, Saturday August 3rd from 2-6 PM and Sunday August 4th from 2-6 PM. Parking for the exhibition is available in the lot next to PlySpace at Main St. and Monroe St., or in the Madjax parking lot at Jackson St. and Monroe St.

In addition to the exhibition, Kooi will also speak about her work and process in a public artist lecture at the Ball State University Arts and Journalism Building (Room 225) on August 5th, from 6-7PM. As an artist who focuses on the importance of place, Kooi visited with numerous Muncie residents, organizations, and businesses, expressing her desire to connect with the community of Muncie. In order to explore the history of Muncie, Kooi led the intern team on fieldwalks and research visits at a variety of Muncie locations throughout the summer. Each visit was captured through photographs and narrative articles on the Muncie Memories website (munciememories.tumblr.com), where it will remain as a living archive of Muncie. Though this exhibition marks the end of Kooi’s residency experience, she hopes to continue the project through the Muncie Memories website and other virtual platforms. Participation in the project is still encouraged by contacting her at munciememories@gmail.com.

Kooi, a Chicago native hailing from Atlanta, is an artist, curator, critic, researcher, and educator working across mediums who is driven by curiosity and an eagerness to understand the places where she finds herself. Using performance, radio, audio, installation, drawing, writing, the web, and social practice, Kooi digs into the materials of history to uncover narratives of place. She was awarded Creative Loafing’s inaugural Influencer in Art & Culture award (2018), was a recipient of the 2014-2015 Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs Emerging Artist Award, and was a WonderRoot Hughley Fellow (2017-18). She has held residencies at Wave Farm (Acra, NY; 2016), Elsewhere (Greensboro, NC; 2015), and Hambidge (Rabun Gap, GA; 2014), among others. She is the founder and director of the curatorial platform ALTERED MEANS, the former director of development at The Bakery Atlanta (2018), and was the editor and assistant director of Radius (2011-2017), an experimental radio broadcast platform in Chicago. Kooi received her MA in Visual and Critical Studies from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently a PhD candidate in The Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts at Emory University. 

More information about Kooi and other PlySpace Summer Term events can be found on the PlySpace website at www.PlySpace.org/events and the PlySpace Facebook page. Questions or comments about the PlySpace Residency program, events, and community collaborations can be directed to the Residency Coordinator, Erin Williams, at hello@plyspace.org. Learn more about Muncie Arts & Culture Council at www.munciearts.org.

PlySpace is a program of Muncie Arts and Culture Council in partnership with the City of Muncie, Ball State University School of Art, and Sustainable Muncie Corporation. PlySpace is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Free family fun starting with drum circle, sidewalk chalk art competition, Bob Ross presentation, art exhibit, painting class, free Kindermusik class, Married Folk singers, Denise King mural event, Madjax piano, lunch, and more!

Beyond I Can (Madjax, 1st floor)
515 E. Main St.
Beyond I CAN is a creative day service for adults with special-needs. We will be on the 1st floor of Madjax selling items such as pottery, greeting cards, signage, mosaic benches, wreaths, paintings, and other gift items.

Book Arts Collaborative (at Madjax)
514 E. Main
Book Arts Collaborative welcomes a new semester of students who are learning and teaching letterpress printing and hand-sewn book binding. Stop by to meet our new class and learn about our community workshop offerings for fall.

Cornerstone Center for the Arts
520 E. Main
Join Cornerstone Center for Arts on Thursday, September 5 for the opening reception of A Family Affair featuring art by Linda, Jerry, and Eloise McKean. The reception will take place in the Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery on the second floor of Cornerstone from 5 to 7 p.m. in conjunction with September’s First Thursday events.

The McKean family is in love with the visual arts. Subscribing to art pages on Facebook, visiting art galleries and museums at every opportunity, and regularly attending First Thursday events in Muncie. Cornerstone has been their headquarters for training in drawing, painting, ceramics, and mixed media. They are grateful for the chance to share their love of art with others.

Linda studied art in college, then stepped away from it for many years.  Five years ago, she decided she was in a time in life when she could return to her art.  She started painting and taking classes at Cornerstone Center for the Arts.  While her earlier paintings were very abstract, she is surprised to find that her style has evolved into “Representational Abstract”. One thing that has remained constant though, is her delight in and focus on the excitement of color.

When he was seven years old, Jerry started copying Batman comic books.  Thus began a life long appreciation of comic art. He began painting landscapes in classes with Gini Deaton and Sarah Shaffer.  Most of his other training comes from napping during episodes of “The Joy of Painting” by Bob Ross.  Joy, he has found comes from the play of color, brush and canvas in making happy little trees, mountains, and skies. 

Eloise is a junior at the University of Delta High School. She takes many art classes at school and as well as at Cornerstone Center for the Arts. Her love for art started in elementary school and grew stronger as the years grew. She has taken glass, drawing, painting, ceramics and general art classes. 

In addition to the First Thursday gallery opening, The Muncie Chamber of Commerce will also be at Cornerstone for the ribbon cutting ceremony and reception for the Muncie Altrusa Foundation Beulah Frogge Digital Arts Studio on Thursday, September 5 at 5:30 pm. Please plan to attend both of these exciting events at Cornerstone.

A Family Affair will be on display and open to the public in the Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery throughout the month of September.

For more information about the exhibition call Cornerstone’s Department of Education & Communication at 765-281- 9503, ext. 23 or visit cornerstonearts.org.

Dame Leo (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson St. (2nd floor)
“Herstory/History”: Dame Leo is tellin’ storieZ! We are our stories and they deserve to be told. Our stories not only celebrate us but they serve to pass on cultural/tribal traditions, where we come from, lessons from our uniqueness, and serve as a most important tool to keep it all alive and growing. Also featuring portraits Dame Leo style!  Come have a look-see! Commission one of you or a loved one! 2nd floor, 5-8pm.

The Fickle Peach (21+)
117 E. Charles
Muncie Downtown Development will host outdoor “Afterhours Art Reels” following the First Thursday Gallery Walk. September’s movie is Bohemian Rhapsody. Films will be projected onto the Mutual Bank wall on Charles St. at dusk.  Seating will be available on the Fickle Peach patio located at 117 E. Charles St. for guests 21 and up. For more information, please visit our website @ downtownmuncie.org/events

Forever Young Children’s Boutique
125 E. Charles
Forever Young will have extended hours from 5-7pm for September’s First Thursday.

Gindhart (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson St. (2nd floor)
Local artist Debra Gindhart is channeling her inner Jean-Michel Basquiat in a new series GIRL POWER. Plus join her for “gindhART at madjax 67 pARTy!”: Debra turns 67 during the month of September. She has a long standing ART-birthday celebratory ritual with Downtown Muncie's First Thursday gallery walk event. There will be birthday treats and light refreshments. First Thursday at Madjax Muncie is an opportunity to meet the artist. See a new text collection of art featuring aerosols, acrylics, assemblage wall art. A new Green Glam Studio recycled jewelry PEACE, LOVE, AND WAR collection too. Recycle chic is the way of Real Babes Recycle art anthem of longtime artist/designer and educator Debra Gindhart. 2nd floor gallery, 5-8pm.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E. Main
Gordy Fine Art & Framing Company is one of a few picture framing studios in the Midwest that offers handmade, hand-gilded, and hand-decorated frames made from locally milled wood.   During the month of September, our gallery will feature new frames made from original and historical designs as well as a restored antique frame from our collection. The show will open on Thursday September 5, from 5-8pm. At 6:15, shop owner Carl Schafer will speak briefly about the work.  Light refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend. 

Examples on view will demonstrate many traditional techniques used for decorating picture frames. These include gilding with 24K gold leaf and 12K white gold leaf, carving, sgraffito, granito, and compo ornaments. Also included will be more modern designs which are less decorative with the focus on form and surface such as wood grain, metal leaf, or other laminate.  “Gordy Framing has a long history of reproducing historical designs, creating original designs, and offering museum quality work restoring antique frames,” said owner Carl Schafer. “We are carrying on the tradition and adding to the portfolio established by Brian Gordy, the company’s founder.” On view will be frames inspired by Dutch and Italian renaissance styles, 19th century French and American styles, the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century, and contemporary American styles. 

The exhibition will remain on view throughout the month of September. Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company promotes talented artists, provides appraisals, and offers expert design and craftsmanship for framing and displaying treasured family possessions and works of art.Business hours: Monday through Friday, 9 am – 5:30 pm, Saturday, 9 am – 3 pm. Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company is located at 224 East Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre.  For more information, visit www.gordyframing.com or call 765-284-8422.

Grace Episcopal Church
300 S. Madison
There is music in the downtown air. Come down to Grace Episcopal Church (corner of Madison and Adams) for an evening of great folk music. Ric Dwenger will be performing at 7pm some of your favorite folk tunes. Ric is a local musician who has performed throughout Muncie for many years. Come and hear his take on folk music played on both the guitar and banjo.

The Guardian Brewing Company (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson
The Guardian will feature "Characters From An As Yet Unwritten Book About Muncie " by artist David Johnson.

Madjax Muncie
515 E. Main St.
Eric Kroczek’s “Curb Furniture” consists of the framed and/or plastic-wrapped Instagram snaps of sofas and other furniture found abandoned on Muncie streets. He has been collecting these images on walks throughout town and posting them on social media over the past few years.Madjax, 1st floor gallery

Muncie Makers Market
Corner of Walnut and Adams
The Muncie Makers Market is excited to bring fresh homemade food, locally grown fruit and vegetables, fresh and dried herbs, live plants, beautiful art, and handmade crafts of all kinds to First Thursdays in Downtown Muncie! We’ll be near the *corner of Walnut and Adams Streets in Downtown Muncie, in front of Muncie Map Co at 111 East Adams Street, from 5-8p, during our town’s monthly celebration of local arts and culture, First Thursday! There is soooo much to do every First Thursday throughout Downtown Muncie, come see! Shop LOCAL and watch for our Markets year-round throughout Muncie! Please JOIN us on Facebook and Instagram, and please SHARE this information!

*The Muncie Makers Market is open rain or shine! Our First Thursday rain location is inside of MadJax on the corner of Madison and Jackson Streets in Downtown Muncie.

Muncie Makes Lab
628 S. Walnut
Please join us from 5-8 pm for Vultures and Violets, a two-person exhibition by Erin Colleen Williams and Jessica Calderwood at Muncie Makes Lab. Trained as metalsmiths but working in multiple media, Williams and Calderwood both create drawings and sculptures that use the devices of narrative and anthropomorphism. While vastly different in materiality and approach, both artists seek to express a complex spectrum of human experiences, including fear, love and loss. 

Erin Colleen Williams (www.erincwilliams.com) received her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Material Studies, focusing in metalsmithing and sculpture. Using interdisciplinary media and methods including drawing, printmaking, ceramics, and metalsmithing, her work examines the intersectionality of human and animal experiences. Her work has been exhibited nationally with solo exhibitions at the Anderson Gallery (Richmond, VA), and the Arlington Art Center (Arlington, VA), and with group exhibitions at the Philadelphia Art Alliance (Philadelphia, PA); the Virginia Arts Center (Richmond, VA); the Ford Gallery at Eastern Michigan University (Ypsilanti, MI); the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art (Wilmington, DE); among others. She is currently the Residency Coordinator for PlySpace, an artist residency program of the Muncie Arts and Culture Council, and is an Adjunct Professor at Ball State University. 

Jessica Calderwood (www.jessicacalderwood.com) is an image-maker and sculptor that works in esoteric craft media. She uses a combination of traditional and industrial metalworking processes as a means to make statements about contemporary life. She received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and her MFA from Arizona State University, with an emphasis Metalworking. Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout the U.S. and internationally. She has participated in artist residencies with the John Michael Kohler Arts/Industry Program, Ferro Corporation, and the Mesa Arts Center. Her work has also been published in Metalsmith Magazine, American Craft, NICHE, Ornament, the Lark 500 series, and the Art of Enameling. She is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Ball State University.

Spiral Bound Fine Art (Madjax, 2nd floor)
515 E. Main St.
Spiral Bound Fine Art will be located at MadJax on the 2nd floor, in the free range makers space. Due to popular demand, Spiral Bound will be demonstrating paint pouring methods on the hour at 5 and 6 pm. There will also be art and notecards by the artist and available to purchase.

United Way
Walnut Street Downtown
Join us for the United Way Campaign Kickoff Celebration w/ Cook and Belle from 6-9pm. An energized United Way enters the next phase of its 2019 fundraising campaign with a citywide block party combining First Thursday and live music on Walnut Street in the heart of Downtown Muncie. Local headliners, Cook and Belle, will take the Walnut Street stage at 7pm to get the celebration started. Last year, more than 5,000 people jammed the streets to dance, sing, and support United Way’s efforts to end generational poverty and change the trajectory of our community through literacy.

Valhalla  (21+)
215 S. Walnut
Valhalla presents “Blues Jam” every Thursday. “Blues Jam” is an open event with sign-up starting at 7pm and music from 8-11pm. Come show us your talent!

FINAL FRIDAY: NEW

Local emcees introduce PechaKucha* talks to Muncie to highlight what is unique, unexpected, and inspiring in our city.

Enjoy music by DJ Jannell, refreshments & cash bar, art, and a look at the special exhibition Recent Acquisitions: Connecting to the Past, Committing to the Future.

Check the Facebook event for details as activities and presenters are added to the lineup!

*PechaKucha, Japanese for "chit chat," is a concise presentation format where 20 images are timed to automatically advance every 20 seconds as a presenter talks along. Each presentation lasts only 6 minutes, 40 seconds. This is an informal and fun gathering where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, thoughts, snaps—just about anything, really—in the PechaKucha format.

#YART - A huge Yard Sale for Art held during ArtsWalk on the First Thursday of every May and October in Downtown Muncie! :) All Art under $40! Find us on Facebook for LOTS of event information!

Muncie Downtown Development Partnership (MDDP), in partnership with Muncie Arts and Culture Council and Ball State University’s Departments of Fine Art and Music, present ArtsWalk 2019. ArtsWalk will be held in the streets of DWNTWN Muncie on Oct. 3rd from 5-9 p.m. Please join us for an exceptional evening of art, food and performances.

In addition to the well-established DWNTWN “First Thursday” art gallery openings, Ball State students and faculty will share a wealth of musical talent and visual artistry, including a pottery throwing demonstration, dance exhibition and an artwork sale. Music will be presented by a variety of Ball State ensemble groups.

Muncie Symphony Orchestra, sponsored Raymond James and Associates, will perform from 6-7 p.m at the corner of Walnut and Charles St.

Prime Trust will host a “Soup Crawl” benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank at a variety of DWNTWN and other locally owned restaurants. Tickets are available in advance at all Prime Trust branches and Second Harvest Food Bank.

Old National Bank and IU Health will sponsor "Just Desserts" a fundraiser benefiting The Muncie Boys and Girls Club. The event will be held at IVY Tech and tickets are available in advance.

Muncie’s YART 2019 will be held in conjunction with ArtsWalk. This guerrilla art sale, with a goal of making art affordable and accessible to the community, brings together artists and art patrons in a casual and unique setting. YART will be hosted at Canan Commons.

The Pumpkin Glow and Trail, featuring a Pumpkin Carving Contest and Best Business/Vendor display can be found throughout DWNTWN. Winners will be announced at 8:45pm from the Canan Commons Stage.

Flynnville Train sponsored by Danner Inc. will take the Canan Commons Stage at 7:00pm.

All ArtsWalk events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. A full listing of exhibitions, performance times and activities will be available on our website as information is received. Please visit us at downtownmuncie.org.

In addition, please visit the following events held throughout Downtown Muncie:

Brinkman Gallery
409 S. Walnut
Brinkman Gallery is featuring a collection of Buddha’s and Asian art along with miniature Art Deco sculpted figurines as well as a miniature animal collection (over 100 pieces) and over 50 unique paperweights, all from Gay Nation's travels in Europe, Asia and the U.S. Also featuring a permanent collection of artist Kevin Campbell’s Waterscapes, meticulously painted water landscapes. At a distance they appear photorealistic, but as you approach the pattern of the waves begins to break down into abstract forms and shapes. Additionally, original DOG portraits that you can't believe are paintings as they are so lifelike, new puzzle pieces, and a section of Sweet Thursday by artist Kevin Campbell. Puzzles range from a single piece to a 730 piece puzzle. Come out and enjoy refreshments from 5-8pm.

"The puzzle project deals with vague themes: connection, balance, infinity, using a plain and simple image- the jigsaw puzzle. The idea is to create objects that point to the ideas or concepts they represent, as a single puzzle piece inherently states that it is part of something greater."  

-Kevin Campbell

Cornerstone Center for the Arts
520 E. Main
Creative Legacy, Featuring the Art of Leon Crosby and Alex Hanson:

Join Cornerstone Center for the Arts on Thursday, October 3 for the opening reception of Creative Legacy featuring art by Leon Crosby and Alex Hanson. The reception will take place in the Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery on the second floor of Cornerstone from 5 to 7 p.m. in conjunction with October’s ArtsWalk events.

Leon Crosby and Alex Hanson are a teacher and student duo that have created a vibrant collection of acrylic paintings harnessing their combined passion for urban art. The collection Creative Legacy showcases colorful and illustrative pieces fusing street art styles with traditional and new innovative art techniques.

Leon Crosby has been teaching at Cornerstone Center for the Arts for nearly six years. He is an active artist in the community and demonstrates a strong passion for creating and teaching alike. Leon creates art incorporating a wide variety of styles. He has specialization in the areas of street and graffiti art, cartooning and animation styles, pop art, and traditional Japanese painting and kanji. Leon is passionate about the Muncie community and works every day to inspire creativity in others and to beautify the town he calls home.

Alex Hanson is a senior at Monroe Central High School in Farmland, IN. He began taking art classes with Leon at Cornerstone his freshman year of high school. He, like his teacher, has also demonstrated a strong ability and passion for creating art utilizing his love for comic book art and urban arts styles. He describes himself as someone who encourages being different and being true to one’s self.

Creative Legacy will be on display and open to the public in the Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery throughout the month of October.

Flynnville Train
Canan Commons
This free event will be held at Canan Commons during the Annual Artswalk event. Flynnville Train is an American country rock band and hometown boys. Their self-titled debut album was released on September 11, 2007, and it produced two singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The band is composed of Brian Flynn (lead vocals), Brent Flynn (lead guitar), Joseph Shreve (bass guitar), and Tommy Bales (drums).

Forever Young Children’s Boutique
125 E. Charles
Come and join us at Forever Young for a fun filled evening at our Fall open house. 15% off entire store. Stop by our Cider stand to enjoy a fresh cup of hot cider while supporting a local non-profit. Happy Fall!

Forward S.T.E.P.S.
102 S. Walnut (Ivy Tech Patterson Building Ballroom)
Forward S.T.E.P.S will host the show “Voices,” which showcases the hard work of Forward S.T.E.P.S. participants through photos and stories. This program, sponsored by Second Harvest Foodbank of East Central Indiana, is designed to provide intentional relationships and build a community of support while participants are guided through five life stages of survival, vulnerable, stable, safe, and thriving.  Come and see the positive growth, development, and supportive community of Forward S.T.E.P.S. and partnerships with Ball State and Ivy Tech faculty and students, as well as our Muncie community members.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E. Main
Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company, 224 E. Main Street next door to Muncie Civic Theatre, will have for sale lots of MUGS made by local potters Kim Anderson, Sue Beach, Carol Burt, John Peterson, Marty Price, and Kyle Rees. Everyone needs a mug for their morning brew. These mugs blend together practicality with art. To continue this theme, selfie mugs shots will be available for you to take by yourself or with family and friends. Light refreshments of bars (lemon, heavenly, and fruity) will be served. Greg Pyle and Austin Burton will be in the house providing tunes to make us smile. 5-9 pm.

Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company promotes talented artists, provides appraisals, and offers expert design and craftsmanship for framing and displaying treasured family possessions and works of art. Business hours: Monday through Friday, 9 am – 5:30 pm, Saturday, 9 am – 3 pm. Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company is located in downtown Muncie, Indiana at 224 East Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre.  For more information, visit www.gordyframing.com or call 765-284-8422.

Made in Muncie
313 S. Walnut
Double your pleasure, double your fun; it’s two, two, two shows in one!  Mark Sawrie will have two separate and disparate exhibits at Made in Muncie (or MIM) from October 3rd thru the 31st.  In the main gallery will be “…where I ended up”; an exhibit of photographs that honor the sublime and the banal visuals found in Muncie.  In the upstairs gallery will be “rated maRk”; an exhibit of photographs that combine humor and sharp edges; this will include symbolic still-lives, portraits of the psyche and digitally manipulate bodily fluids (also known as semen).  Opening reception will be on October 3rd from 5-8 p.m with a keg provided by The Guardian Brewing Company.

Madjax Muncie
515 E. Main St.
The following artists and exhibitors will have work on display at Madjax during ArtsWalk:

Beyond I CAN
Beyond I CAN is a creative day services program that creates opportunities and experiences for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities to explore through creative media in a fun, social environment. Stop by during ArtsWalk to view pottery, greeting cards, jewelry, welcome signs, and other gift items created by the program's Artisans.

Book Arts Collaborative
Book Arts Collaborative is an immersive learning course and student-managed business under the direction of Dr. Rai Peterson that offers Ball State University and community courses in letterpress printing, book binding, and collaborative opportunities for artist's book making. Students will be on hand to answer questions about the bookbinding process and to display their latest creations. Handmade journals, books, and other items will be for sale.

Dame Leo
Dame Leo is having an open studio on the 2nd floor of Madjax. Come meet the artist! Broyles makes mixed media, repurposed “Angry Dame Art”.

Conservation Tales
Tom McConnell, Associate Professor at Ball State University, will be at Madjax during ArtsWalk with children's books and samples of original paintings created by Conservation Tales, an immersive learning project that brought together faculty in the Department of Biology and the School of Art, with students in animation, visual communication (graphic design), photography, and elementary education to produce three volumes of children’s books about wildlife conservation featuring manatees, sea turtles, and seahorses. Books and the card game "Manatee Match" will be available for purchase.

Spiral Bound Fine Art
Demos at 7:00 and 7:30 p.m.
Local artist Abigayle Devendorf will hold paint pouring demonstrations at 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. Swipe, flipped cup, and Dutch pour methods will be demonstrated. Art created by Devendorf and earrings by local artist Gail Heiland will be available to buy shortly before and after each demonstration.

Estopinal
College of Architecture and Planning (CAP), Ball State University
Visit the i.M.A.D.E. happening in the courtyard. Come see design-build projects by immersive learning students in Kevin Klinger's ARCH 603 class and bring your ideas! Industry partners: Midwest Metal, Ecovantage Thermally Modified Hardwood, Indiana Hardwood & Lumberman's Association, Madjax, Minnetrista

Future of Work
Come see what's going on with the Future of Work initiative at Madjax. Explore and interact with technology being used to create art.

GindhART @Madjax ArtsWalk
Local artist and educator Debra Gindhart is addressing Native American Indian Genocide Month during ArtsWalk 2019. Debra will exhibit several pieces of wall art with Anti Columbus and pro Native American Peoples text. The artist's Green Glam Studio jewelry collection will feature buy 2 pairs of earrings get one pair free. Meet the artist and enjoy light refreshments.

IDIA Lab
Ball State University’s IDIA Lab will be showcasing recent immersive virtual reality projects at MadJax Muncie. Wear a VR headset to explore the Apollo 11 mission and the Wright Brother’s bicycle shop amongst other experiences!

It's a Wood Thing Penturning
Scott Wood creates pens and other items in his shop using all types of woods and acrylics. Purchase one for yourself or as a gift.

Motivate Our Minds Celebration in the Garden 5-7p.m.
You are invited to Madjax to view and celebrate the hard work and progress made over the summer by the students of Motivate our Minds', "We Think It, We Make It" club and community volunteers. Come see photos of finished projects and meet the MOM students who will be working on future projects.

Jeffery Pearson and Michael Brockley will also be onsite with "Bards on the Run" on the spot typewriter poems.

Smoke River Pottery
Stop by Smoke River Pottery to view and purchase unique and functional pieces by artists Spencer Davis and Rachel Stahlke. Mugs, planters, decorative pieces, and more will be on display.

Ta-JAY's Caribbean Delight
Visit Ta-JAY's for authentic, mouth-watering Jamaican cuisine. Outdoor seating is available.

Tribune Showprint
Tribune Showprint, America's oldest continuously operating print shop, will be open during ArtsWalk with prints, stationery, and other items for sale. Tribune Showprint designs and produces hundreds of made-to-order posters for concerts, sporting events, festivals, and carnivals one letter at a time.

Mulberry Street Uniques
105 S. Mulberry
Mulberry Street Uniques and Mud Creek Pottery: Soup Bowl Fundraiser:
Mulberry Street Uniques is partnering with Mud Creek Pottery to raise money for “The Soup Kitchen of Muncie”.  For each bowl purchased $5 will be donated. Bowls are $20 or 2 for $35. The bowls are hand thrown stoneware that are microwave and dishwasher safe. Mulberry Street Uniques will have extended hours until 8 p.m. with special discounts on many items in the store.  

Muncie Arts and Culture Council
Various locations
Continuing their year-long 10th anniversary celebration, Muncie Arts & Culture Council invites ArtsWalk attendees to share what drives their passion for the arts! Find MACC representatives throughout downtown all night long for an opportunity to participate!

Muncie Civic Theatre
216 E. Main
Muncie Civic Theatre will be displaying painting by Maude Jennings that will be for sale with proceeds benefiting the Theatre.

Muncie Makers Market
Corner of Walnut and Adams
The Muncie Makers Market is happy to be a part of Muncie’s First Thursday community events, thanks to a kind invitation to take over the sidewalks in front of the Muncie Map Co. at 111 East Adams Street in Downtown Muncie. We are open for First Thursday from 5-8p every month. This month, October, is ArtsWalk and it’s HUGE! First Thursday is a popular local tradition, going many years back, where all sorts of vendors, artists, and entertainers set up throughout all of Downtown Muncie. The Muncie Makers Market is a farmers market with fresh homemade food, locally grown fruit and vegetables, beautiful art, and handmade crafts of all kinds. Come enjoy the evening with us!

Muncie Makes Lab
628 S. Walnut
Nature and Design: Karen Fisher and Judy Kreiger. Works in this show feature paintings and pastels by Karen Fisher. Judy Kreiger will have a collection of drawings, paintings and sculpture pieces. 5-8pm.

Muncie Map Co.
111 E. Adams
Muncie Map Co will be celebrating a year since opening by displaying all custom pieces crafted in our shop, a perfect inspiration for your unique holiday gift.  MMC is also debuting its line of personalizable map designs to bring an array of affordable options suitable for all tastes. 

Pumpkin Trail and Glow
Various locations
Follow the Pumpkin Trail throughout the streets of downtown Muncie during ArtsWalk. The pumpkin trail will end at Canan Commons with a community Pumpkin Glow and contest. Cash and prizes will be awarded! Winners will be announced from the stage at Canan Commons at 8:45 pm

Entry age groups
Ages 8-13 | 14-17 | 18 and up
Scariest | Funniest | Most Creative | Best Overall

$100 cash prize will be awarded for the “Best Overall” design in each age group. A gift bag with at least a $50 value will be presented to all age groups in the other three categories provided there are at least 3 participants in each category.

Downtown Businesses, Soup Crawl Participants and YART Vendors are encouraged to participate in the following three categories and can enter by submitting a registration at downtownmuncie.org/pumpkin glow.

Most Creative Display | Scariest Display | Most Original Display
Trophies will be awarded in all 3 categories.

How to Enter Pumpkin Carving Contest:
Anyone between the ages of 8 and 80 can enter their *battery lit, carved pumpkin into the Community Pumpkin Glow contest @ Canan Commons. *No actual candles please. Rules are included in the online registration.

Pre-registration must be complete by Monday October 1st. by filing out a registration online @ downtownmuncie.org/pumpkinglow. After submitting your registration you will receive a number via email for your pumpkin. Arrive to place your pumpkin at Canan Commons between noon-5pm. Judging will be at 8pm. Day of entries will be accepted for display but will not be eligible for prizes.

The Rhyme & Vibe
227 S. Walnut St.
FAITH + ART + RHYMES. LOUD MUSIC WILL BE PLAYED. DOPE ARTISTS WILL PERFORM. PRAISES WILL GO UP AND BLESSINGS WILL COME DOWN. : 9:30pm-midnight.

Savage's Ale House (21+)
127 N. High
Jigyasa (meaning curiosity) — a show by Shantanu Suman, is a selection of type designs created in Devanagari script. The designs exhibited in this show are some of his favorite words that Shantanu learned from the Indian language and literature. While living and working in the US, he likes to recreate these Hindi/Urdu words that are a reminder of his memories from India. Meet the designer from 8:30pm onwards.

Twin Archer Brewpub (all ages)
117 W. Charles St.
Twin Archer will feature two exhibitions for First Thursday:

An Inkling of Self: An exhibition of dynamic self-portraits created in pen, brush and ink by School of Art students in Intermediate Figure Drawing. Come see the variety of textures and patterns created using white and black ink on grey illustration board. Twin Archer Brewpub is an all ages restaurant and bar that serves craft beer and great food that are made with responsibly sourced ingredients. Come sample some of their homemade soup during the Soup Crawl!

There will also be an exhibition of work by Derek Radford. Derek is a 1/2 Local Midwest artist specializing in abstract and 3D art , 22 years of age, avid skateboarder ,and trustee on a non profit board that specializes in youth 2/2 and the elderly.

Valhalla  (21+)
215 S. Walnut
Valhalla presents “Blues Jam” every Thursday. “Blues Jam” is an open event with sign-up starting at 7pm and music from 8-11pm. Come show us your talent!

YART
Canan Commons, 500 S. Walnut St.
Follow the Pumpkin Trail at ArtsWalk to YART, Muncie’s Yard Sale for Art! YART began in Muncie, Indiana with students at Ball State University and continues here and in several U.S. cities - a Muncie original! The Muncie YART is now held Downtown, at Canan Commons on Walnut Street, twice a year, Spring and Fall, on the First Thursday of every May and October. 

This community art sale, with a goal of making art affordable and accessible to everyone, brings together Artists and Art patrons in a casual and unique setting. The Fall 2019 Muncie YART will be held in conjunction with the Fall 2019 ArtsWalk on Thursday, October 3rd, from 5-9pm. You can find YART and LIVE music performances at Canan Commons, Muncie's great urban greenspace park and amphitheater at the roundabout on South Walnut Street in Downtown Muncie, Indiana. 

All forms of Art are welcome at YART! Art of all kinds, by all kinds of Artists! YART encourages interaction between Artists and the community, hoping to make Art more accessible, especially to those who think they cannot afford to buy Art for themselves and their homes. To this goal, all YART Art will be priced below $40! YART works to enable local creative entrepreneurs and to improve the Muncie economy. Shop local, support independents, enjoy your town! 

Last YART featured over 100 Artists! Each YART Artist will be present throughout YART to meet the public, discuss their Art, handle sales personally, and some Artists will be making Art LIVE at YART! This is a great opportunity to enjoy your family interacting with local culture in a dynamic, lively, and relaxed atmosphere. We love kids and there will be lots of fun stuff for them at Canan Commons too! 

The Fall 2019 Muncie YART will feature a wide variety of handmade jewelry, photography, clothing, oil/acrylic/watercolor paintings, fused glass, ceramics, knits, pottery, candles, toys, drawings, sculpture, lampwork glass, stuffed animals, digital art, mosaics, LIVE ART and LIVE MUSIC, and so much more!

Fun for all ages - YART and the ArtsWalk are for the whole family!

Miss Moth (YART Director) and the YART Artists very much thank Cheryl Crowder of the Muncie Downtown Development Partnership and the Muncie Parks Department for their generous support! :) YART is an all-volunteer, zero-budget, community event. THANK YOU!

LIKE Muncie YART on FaceBook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Muncie-Yart/156725934394407

Learn more about Muncie’s rich history by taking a guided tour through a portion of historic Beech Grove cemetery.

Enjoy complimentary cider and cookies at the fountain (we will also have hot dogs, soft drinks and chips for sale) and view a special display of local artifacts inside the gothic chapel.

This is a family-friendly event.

Tickets are $10.00 and are available through Eventbrite or can be purchased day-of at the main gate at 1400 W. Kilgore Ave. Children under the age of 12 and accompanied by an adult admitted free.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/historic-beech-grove-cemetery-tour-2019-tickets-72750916951

Parking will be available across from the main cemetery gate. Please take caution when crossing Kilgore.

This event is brought to you by Old West End Neighborhood Association.

FINAL FRIDAY: OLD

Local emcees introduce PechaKucha* talks to Muncie to highlight what is unique, unexpected, and inspiring in our city.

Enjoy music by DJ Jannell, refreshments & cash bar, art, and a look at the special exhibition Recent Acquisitions: Connecting to the Past, Committing to the Future.

Check the Facebook event for details as activities and presenters are added to the lineup!

*PechaKucha, Japanese for "chit chat," is a concise presentation format where 20 images are timed to automatically advance every 20 seconds as a presenter talks along. Each presentation lasts only 6 minutes, 40 seconds. This is an informal and fun gathering where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, thoughts, snaps—just about anything, really—in the PechaKucha format.

Book Arts Collaborative (at Madjax)
514 E. Main
Students at Book Arts Collaborative will be demonstrating various methods of hand-sewing books at our shop in the Madjax Building. People who come and engage with students doing sewing demonstrations in our shop can get a coupon entitling them to $2.00 off the purchase of a journal in the Tribune Showprint shop on Thursday evening only. Also, we will have a pop-up shop inside Olive and Slate with students there available to answer questions about our hand-sewn journals and print ephemera for sale there.

Cornerstone Center for the Arts
520 E. Main
“Inamorata & the Floating City,” Featuring the Art of Sarah Richcreek

Join Cornerstone Center for the Arts on Thursday, November 7 for the opening reception of Inamorata & the Floating Cityfeaturing art by Sarah Richcreek. The reception will take place in the Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery on the second floor of Cornerstone from 5 to 7 p.m. in conjunction with November’s First Thursday events.

Intrigued by the connection between emotion and perception, artist Sarah Richcreek, found herself suddenly stricken by incessant waves of conflicting emotions and so began to write poetry as a cathartic way of healing.  She sent herself overseas to find peace in the things that she could not control and ended up in Venice; a majestic, proud island-city that is weather worn and salt blasted, but as luminous as a faceted jewel.  The collection of images and poems displayed here reflects Sarah Richcreek’s headspace in a time when her world was saturated with echoes of vivid memories, desolate stillness and beautiful decay.

Sarah Richcreek is a Delaware county native now living in Indianapolis.  She earned a BFA from Ball State University in 2008 with a concentration in metal arts and a minor in ceramics.  Sarah is a senior interpreter at Conner Prairie Living History Museum and has been learning and educating there since 2012.  A teacher at heart, her teaching experience spans from wheel-thrown pottery, silversmithing, open-fire cooking & baking and most recently yoga.  Her objective is to live with intention, unyielded self-acceptance and optimism to contribute to the growth of a community full of light-hearted beings who unabashedly share their passions with the world. 

Inamorata & the Floating Citywill be on display and open to the public in the Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery throughout the month of November.

For more information about the exhibition call Cornerstone’s Department of Education & Communication at 765-281- 9503, ext. 23 or visit cornerstonearts.org.

Gindhart (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson St. (2nd floor)
Local artist Debra Gindhart will celebrate Native American Heritage Month with an assemblage art series "Puritan Pilgrims" and "Native American Indian Genocide.” Adding several new pieces of art to her current collection, "Columbus.” All pieces reflecting history in altered art, vibrant colors, and mixed media.

Debra has also created a beautiful Green Glam Studio jewelry earring collection using native beads and natural stones. They are Debra's maker homage to Native American Indian bead works and artisans celebrating history. 

Join Debra in her GindhART at Madjax studio/gallery for November's First Thursday second floor Madjax Muncie. Enjoy light refreshments and meet the artist from 5-8pm.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E. Main
Gordy Fine Art & Framing Company will open an exhibition of new paintings by artist Genny Gordy, Thursday November 7, 5 – 8 pm.    The artist is beloved as a painter and art educator, remembered by many as an art teacher at Burris and the co-owner of Gordy Fine Art and Framing from 1989 – 2015.  Throughout the evening, she will be on hand to engage with viewers and answer questions. At 6:15 she will speak briefly about her work.  Light refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend. 

Ms. Gordy’s new paintings are small often referring to the chaos and creative energy of motherhood and mother earth.  Seed pods, stardust, sexual desire, and bleary-eyed motherly sleeplessness all occupy equal space expressing fertility and the persistence of life.  In her images, women wear the sun’s rays like a tiara equating their life-giving energy.   She works at a very fast pace with good humor and an uncanny instinct for organizing complex compositions.  “Genny confines her art to anything that happens in the universe,” says Carl Schafer.  “Like tiny universes, her pictures seem like accidents, but in fact they are highly ordered and the result of her wonderfully sophisticated sense of design.”

The exhibition will remain on view with works for sale throughout the month of November.  Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company promotes talented artists, provides appraisals, and offers expert design and craftsmanship for framing and displaying treasured family possessions and works of art. Business hours: Monday through Friday, 9 am – 5:30 pm, Saturday, 9 am – 3 pm. Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company is located at 224 East Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre.  For more information, visit www.gordyframing.com or call 765-284-8422.

The Guardian Brewing Company (at Madjax)
514 E. Jackson
The Guardian Brewing Company will be showing new paintings by Tom Stader for First Thursday in November.

Let There Be Art
812 W. White River Blvd.
Let There Be Art invites you to visit and experience Open Studio! Enjoy light refreshments while viewing our studio gallery. Our gallery is comprised of inspiring work created by our very own talented art instructors. New art is added every month! Come create a masterpiece of your own! First Thursday Special 20% off! Open Studio is every Thursday, 12-8pm. Come have fun, we'll clean up!

Muncie Makers Market
Corner of Walnut and Adams
The Muncie Makers Market is happy to be a part of Muncie’s First Thursday community events, thanks to a kind invitation to take over the sidewalks in front of the Muncie Map Co. and Fur in Focus Pet Portraits at 111 East Adams Street in Downtown Muncie. We are open for First Thursday from 5-8p every month. 

The Muncie Makers Market is open rain or shine. Our rain location for our First Thursday Markets will be inside of Madjax on the corner of Madison and Jackson.

First Thursday is a popular local tradition, going many years back, where all sorts of vendors, artists, and entertainers set up throughout all of Downtown Muncie. The Muncie Makers Market is a farmers market with fresh homemade food, locally grown fruit and vegetables, beautiful art, and handmade crafts of all kinds. Come enjoy the evening with us! 

Muncie Makes Lab
628 S. Walnut
Ana de Brea and CAP faculty/ students: “TAKING PART IN,” 5-8 pm. How should (design) professionals work and operate in the contrasting, social circumstances, and economies the today’s world presents us? How do we (designers) understand those contemporary aspects? Displayed as part of the November 7th ArtsWalk at Muncie Makes Lab, “Taking Part In” is a building block of a bigger research undertaking into play and imagination, interactions and experiments as well as strategic narratives investigating meanings of “leftovers” through a series of ephemeral assemblies shaped with domestic remnants by an interdisciplinary group of exhibitors.

Stretching, folding, pleating, compressing, among other actions become the components of the design vocabulary and, essentially, the creative parts of the making of the structures that would allow the visitors to draw sound or to storage images in addition to interact with others in the same space and in a real time.

Research Project. No Labels / Design is a Tool of Action / Architecture is a Verb is a broad and effervescent speculative reservoir designated to undertake ventures related to modern reflections and contemporary works of spatial and cultural matters. The comprehension of envisaging the design discipline (architecture included) as a vigorous energy intends to spotlight the value of ‘construction’ -the tangible and/or the intellectual. That vigorous energy looks for projects like processes of thinking and making as well as it questions how those processes work in the global scenario of today.

Exhibitors:
Jesse Lindenfeld (Arch)
Barbara Willey (Arch)
Alex Juliano (Arch)
Claire Thurlow (LA)
Dylan Frutchey (Arch)
Stephanie Gates (LA)
Grace DeBaum (LA)
Patrick Hoover (Arch)
Lydia Rang (Arch)
Sofia Gallo (Arch)
Drayson Nespo (LA)
Ana de Brea professor of architecture
Advisor: prof. Richard Tursky

PlySpace
608 E. Main
“Field Guides”: An Exhibition by PlySpace Fellow Dana Lynn: “Field Guides” is a playful and boisterous exhibition exploring the artist’s belief in spirit guides. Spirit guides are believed to be supernatural beings that provide support, guidance and love when we need it most. Harper says, "this abstract idea is translated into layers of texture, pattern and color. Utilizing textiles, paper and plastics; aspects of personality, aura, consciousness and spirit are made visible. Each being borrows the form of celebratory objects, like piñatas, paper lanterns and pom poms. These playful forms are combined with ornamentation inspired by the growth of plants and flowers. Materials are dismantled and reconfigured into layers of a new imagined being, a soul without the body. Through this interpretation, the immaterial is made tangible.” 5-8 pm.

More info is available at www.plyspace.org/events
Or on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/946019965768307/

Valhalla  (21+)
215 S. Walnut
Valhalla presents “Blues Jam” every Thursday. “Blues Jam” is an open event with sign-up starting at 7pm and music from 8-11pm. Come show us your talent!

Field Guides /// An Exhibition by PlySpace Fellow Dana Lynn Harper /// Opening during the Downtown Muncie First Thursday gallery walk, November 7, from 5-8 PM at the PlySpace Gallery /// 608 E. Main St, Muncie

‘Field Guides’ is a playful and boisterous exhibition exploring the artist’s belief in spirit guides. Spirit guides are believed to be supernatural beings that provide support, guidance and love when we need it most. Harper says, "this abstract idea is translated into layers of texture, pattern and color. Utilizing textiles, paper and plastics; aspects of personality, aura, consciousness and spirit are made visible. Each being borrows the form of celebratory objects, like piñatas, paper lanterns and pom poms. These playful forms are combined with ornamentation inspired by the growth of plants and flowers. Materials are dismantled and reconfigured into layers of a new imagined being, a soul without the body. Through this interpretation, the immaterial is made tangible."

Dana Harper holds a BFA from The Ohio State University in 2009. She was the recipient of The Bunton Waller Fellowship from Penn State University, where Harper received her MFA in 2013. Harper was awarded an ArtPrize Seed Grant, ArtFile Emerging Artist Grant and a Ringholz Foundation Award. In addition, Harper was awarded an NEA studio grant to attend an artist residency at Women’s Studio Workshop. She has also been an artist in residence at Sculpture Space, Teton Art Lab, ArtSpace Raleigh, ARC Chattanooga, Kutztown University, Bunker Projects and Second Sight Studio. She has had solo exhibitions at Front/Space Gallery & Museum, Manifest Gallery and ROY G BIV among many others. Harper is currently living and working in Columbus, OH.

You can also learn about Dana's work at the Dana Lynn Harper Artist Lecture at Ball State University at Ball State University as part of the Visiting Artists and Designers Lecture Series /// October 29th, from 6-7 PM, in the Arts & Journalism Building, RM 225 /// This lecture is open to the public!

Muncie Arts and Culture Council is a nonprofit organization and the designated Arts partner for the City of Muncie. PlySpace is a program of the MACC in partnership with the City of Muncie, Ball State University School of Art and Sustainable Muncie. PlySpace is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

PlySpace Resident Co-Fellows Sydney Pursel and Sarah Trad will be joined by guest artist Toby Kaufmann-Buhler for a special PlySpace panel discussion about the intersections of personal family heritage and art practice. Tania Said, the Director of Education for the David Owsley Museum of Art Ball State University, will moderate the discussion held on Thursday, November 14th from 6-8 PM at Ball State University /// Arts & Journalism Building, room 225.

This conversation will ask each of the three interdisciplinary artists to reflect on their use of personal and cultural heritage in their artistic practice. Each panelist has a unique method for working within the sometimes sticky practice of uniting art, performance, and installation with personal family heritage, genealogy, or culture. The artists will share a short presentation about their work, followed by a discussion of how they incorporate personal, family, and cultural heritage successfully into their practice.

About the artists:

Sydney Jane Brooke Campbell Maybrier Pursel is an interdisciplinary artist specializing in interactive, socially engaged, and performance arts. Through art she explores personal identity drawing from her Indigenous and Irish Catholic roots. Some of Pursel's projects are used to educate others about food politics, assimilation, language loss, appropriation, and history in addition to projects amongst her own community focusing on language acquisition, culture and art. Her work has been shown at public parks, universities, galleries, and alternative spaces in across the U.S. and Canada. Pursel received her MFA in Expanded Media at the University of Kansas and her BFA in Painting from the University of Missouri. She was the first recipient of the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists, received a Rocket Grant through the Charlotte Street Foundation and the Spencer Museum of Art, was selected for the Indigenous Arts Initiative Residency program through the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission and the University of Kansas, was awarded a BeWildReWild Community Art Grant through the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Pursel is an enrolled member of the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

Sarah Trad is a video artist and curator who explores the relationship between subjective and objective emotionality, navigating daily life and relationships while faced with mental illness and breaking down stereotypes of gender and narrative. Her work also highlights how mental illness and coming from marginalized backgrounds intersects with internal emotional worlds. The living embodiment of the correlation between chronic depression and binge-watching practices, her work appropriates and manipulates found footage from movies, music videos and television. Trad’s work uses recognizable narrative structures to be viewed in and outside the academy of art, as well as comment on the individual’s relationship to pop culture. Sarah has participated in other residencies, such as the 77Art Residency in Rutland, Vermont and is a recipient of the Carol N. Schmuckler Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film. Sarah’s work has been shown at The Warehouse Gallery (Syracuse, NY), Kitchen Table Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), Gravy Studio and Gallery (Philadelphia, PA) and the Everson Museum of Art (Syracuse, NY). She is currently a part of the Philadelphia artist-run gallery, Little Berlin.

Toby Kaufmann-Buhler (based in Lafayette, Indiana) explores history, memory, identity and sensory perception in relation to his family and himself, within individual lives and across broad sweeps of history and culture. Kaufmann-Buhler interprets the evidence of the lives he explores as signals that pass through their respective cultures and time periods; these signals are continuously transformed as they reach our current perception of them. This work amounts to a type of surveillance of these signals, and an examination of the connections between them and himself as they manifest in the work. This work takes form in video, film, found/composed sound, text, installation, performance and interactive media. Kaufmann-Buhler was a recipient of the Individual Artist Program grant from the Indiana Arts Commission in 2018-2019, and in 2020 he will be an artist in residence at MASS MoCA. He has a BA in Fine Arts from the University of South Florida and an MA from the Royal College of Art.

Tania Said is the director of education for the David Owsley Museum of Art at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She is also involved in various art, business, and community organizations in Muncie, Indiana and national professional endeavors. On lucky Friday, September 13, 2019 she was bestowed the Mayor’s Arts Educator Award.

Image credit: Toby Kaufmann-Buhler /// Moon Confusion: brightest beams (video still)

Muncie Arts and Culture Council is a nonprofit organization and the designated Arts partner for the City of Muncie. PlySpace is a program of the MACC in partnership with the City of Muncie, Ball State University School of Art and Sustainable Muncie. PlySpace is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Muncie Arts and Culture Council will present a pop-up, one-night-only exhibition of new multimedia and sculpture artwork by PlySpace artists-in-residence Sarah Trad and Sydney Pursel. The exhibition titled Threads explores concurrent themes in the artists’ work related to personal heritage and representation. The exhibition will be held on First Thursday, December 5th, from 5-8 PM in the PlySpace Gallery. Both artists will be present throughout the evening and share brief remarks about their work at 7:00 PM. Light refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend.

Since their arrival in early November, both Trad and Pursel have completed collaborative, community-based arts projects in the city of Muncie while also working on their own artwork in the PlySpace Studios in Madjax. Trad collaborated with both Ball State University School of Art and the Islamic Center of Muncie to offer workshops on nuno felting in the month of November. Pursel collaborated with Minnetrista and The Delaware County Historical Society to offer an iteration of The Feast, an educational performance where she created handmade plates and place settings that celebrate the many Native American tribes of the United States. Both artists were also joined by visiting artist Toby Kaufmann-Buhler for Heritage in Practice, a panel discussion at Ball State University School of Art on November 14th. The event, moderated by Tania Said, Director of Education at the David Owsley Museum of Art, explored topics of heritage and cultural expression in artwork.

Threads will be the culmination of work created by the artists during their residency experience. The two-person exhibition will examine themes of decolonization and representation of both Indigenous Native American and Middle Eastern cultures as they pertain to each artist’s specific family life. Using traditional clothing, textile, and pattern design and practice, among other media, each artist will explore how inherited trauma such as mental illness and addiction causes rifts in future generations. Each artist hopes to use their work as a window to understanding the position of Native American and Middle Eastern cultural identities outside of their problematic historical representations.  

Sydney Pursel (Kansas City, MS) is an interdisciplinary artist specializing in interactive, socially engaged, and performance art. Through art she explores personal identity drawing from her Indigenous and Irish Catholic roots and links identity struggles with contemporary Indigenous issues. Her work has been shown at public parks, universities, galleries, and alternative spaces across the U.S. and Canada. Pursel received her MFA in Expanded Media at the University of Kansas and her BFA in Painting from the University of Missouri. She was the first recipient of the Ucross Fellowship for Native American Visual Artists, received the Harpo Foundation Native American Residency Fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center, and was selected for the Indigenous Arts Initiative Residency program through the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission. Pursel is an enrolled member of the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

Sarah Trad (Philadelphia, PA) is a video artist and curator who explores the relationship between subjective and objective emotionality, navigating daily life and relationships while faced with mental illness and breaking down stereotypes of gender and narrative. Her work also highlights how mental illness and coming from marginalized backgrounds intersects with internal emotional worlds. Sarah has participated in other residencies, such as the 77Art Residency in Rutland, Vermont and is a recipient of the Carol N. Schmuckler Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film. Sarah’s work has been shown at The Warehouse Gallery (Syracuse, NY), Kitchen Table Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), Gravy Studio and Gallery (Philadelphia, PA) and the Everson Museum of Art (Syracuse, NY). She is currently part of the Philadelphia artist-run gallery, Little Berlin. 

Learn more about Muncie Arts & Culture Council by visiting www.munciearts.org. More information about PlySpace Fall Term events can be found on the PlySpace website at www.PlySpace.org/events and the PlySpace Facebook page. Learn more about the residents by visiting www.PlySpace.org/our-residents. Questions or comments about the PlySpace Residency program, events, and community collaborations can be directed to the Residency Coordinator, Erin Williams, at hello@plyspace.org

PlySpace is a program of Muncie Arts and Culture Council in partnership with the City of Muncie, Ball State University School of Art, and Sustainable Muncie Corporation. PlySpace is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Here ya go, Wordsmiths, coming on the 4th SUNDAY of every month to your local Muncie:

Cuplets - Live Poetry at The Cup!

On every 4th Sunday, from 6-8p, join us in celebrating you and your words at Cuplets, Live Poetry at The Cup!

This free monthly event for open mic live poetry reading at The Cup will pair flow with joe, rhythm and brews, beats and beans, and result in many a steamed stanza. There is only one rule for Cuplets: Buy something from The Cup, each and every one of you, no exceptions. They've got espresso, coffee, chai, tea, soda, juice, and yummy food too, from bagels to sandwiches and more. That's right, support your scene with a few bucks to the venue. Let's keep them busy!

#BYOC2 = Build Your Own Communy + Buy Your Own Coffee! 

WE CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR YOUR POETRY! 

Cuplets is not curated, everyone is welcome to read. I know y'all are nice and will match the length of your reading to the attendance level so everyone has a chance to read. Read new work or old, rhyme or don't. If it's poetry to you, it's poetry at Cuplets! 

Many thanks to the owner of The Cup, Martin George, for inviting me to create this monthly event! And a big ol' thank you to Lucian Cruor for the poetry/café word pairings above! 

#Cuplets

#OpenMic

#Poetry

#SpokenWord

#TheCup

#CafeCulture

#HeyMuncie

#Funcie

#GoDoMuncie

#HoosierBeauty 

#MuncieArts

#BetterTogether

#ExperienceMuncie