If you know IndyHub, you know that we love connecting people with each other, with other organizations, and with Indianapolis as whole. This Friday, June 28, we’re hosting the next 5×5 event, Face Your City: An Urban Love Affair. What is 5×5? Well, if you’re super clued-into Indy’s arts scene, you may already know the answer… but we’ll ask it anyways: What exactly is this 5×5 thing? It’s a four-part series of arts-themed, Indy-bettering, idea pitching events (phew, that was a bit of a mouthful). But! There’s more: after opening up submissions for IndyHub’s Face Your City 5×5, we spent weeks poring over batches of brilliant projects, working with our partner organizations to narrow it down to five finalists, and on Friday, one of those ideas will receive $10,000 to make their project a reality.
So, who are these five finalists? And where can you follow along as they prep for the big day?
1. “ink.love” by Aaron Story, Irvington Terrace Neighborhood. ink.love is a tribute to Millenials (adults born after 1980) and celebrates Irvington Terrace’s 1913 centennial with a road tattoo on E. Washington St. Follow the hashtag #IRVinklove and presenter @aaronstory.
2. “Indy Writes Books” by Alyssa Newerth, Indy Reads. This place-based literary arts project will capture the stories of where we live and grew up, our childhood friends from next door, where we bought our 1st homes, and where we barbeque with our neighbors. Follow @AlyssaStarr13 and the Indy Writes Books project on Indy Reads & Indy Reads Books.
3. “IndyGo Inside Out” by Katie Basbagill, Harrison Center Artists. This project proposal is about photographing and highlighting IndyGo bus drivers as part of the international “Inside Out” public photography project that is taking place all over the world. Follow IndyGo Inside Out on Facebook and @bohredimages.
4. “Indy Full Circle: Roger Gohl’s Waving Flag” by Mayowa Tomori. A documentary and art exhibition celebrating the legacy of Roger Gohl, the man who designed Indianapolis’ flag and gave our city a soul. Follow @IndyFullCircle and check out their page, indyfullcircle.com.
5. “I Am An Artist” by Malina Jeffers, Mosaic City. This project intends to broaden the way we think about artists. Follow @MalinaSimone & @MosaicCity & check out her Tumblr to keep up with I Am An Artist.
And where do you fit into this whole event? Starting at 6 p.m., it’s going to be a city-celebration you won’t want to miss: from a free block party on Georgia Streetwith specially-prepared food & drinks available from the historic Omni Severin (cash only: tacos, sliders, cotton candy and snow cones, mixed drinks, specialty drinks, beer & wine) to tunes being spun by Indy favorite, DJ Helicon (who also happens to be the brains behind the fabulous art & music extravaganza, ORANJE). And there’s more: the winner from People for Urban Progress‘, The Cool Bus, will be parked on the block, giving attendees the chance to see the incredible work they were able to do with $10k; the technology wizardry of Dodd Tech has helped us set up an LED wall (can I repeat: an LED wall!) so that we can see and hear the presentations while sipping & nibbling from anywhere within the Georgia Street area that has been graciously provided by IDI & Visit Indy. Presentations begin at 8 p.m.
And, to top it all off, you not only get to watch Indy’s future-in-the-making – you are a participant: each attendee gets to vote, casting their ballot for whichever project you believe best fits the “Face Your City” theme. Register here.
After the five finalists have presented (each allotted a maximum of five minutes, hence the alliterative moniker “5×5”), our community partners will cast their vote, and the audience’s vote will be the tie-breaker. Thirty minutes after the fifth presenter finishes and all the ballots have been counted, the winner will be announced and presented with a check for $10,000. (Seriously, though, this ballot-counting won’t include any interminably long recounts, no “hanging chads”, no Supreme court cases.) And, as with every truly legendary party… there’s an after-party! Keep the night’s energy going with DJ Helicon at Social, just down the street from the event’s entrance.
Lastly (but certainly not in any way least), we can’t extend a big enough thanks to the Indianapolis community that has banded together to pull this off:
– Our partners (& judges): Indiana Humanities, Speak Easy, Oranje, Indianapolis Downtown Inc (IDI), Visit Indy and the Indianapolis Black Expo
– Our additional event sponsors: Dodd Technologies, Omni Severin Hotel and Flashpoint HR
– And the visionary organizations & funders who made the entire 5×5 series possible: Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), The Efroymson Family Fund and The Christel DeHaan Family Foundation.
