Family-fun events part of 2019 Festival

The 2019 Spirit & Place Festival will celebrate, explore, challenge and reflect on the meaning behind revolution and evolution, creating the unique theme of R/Evolution on Nov. 1-10. Exploring the idea of change in the world, whether it’s sudden and abrupt or gradual and unfolding, this year’s festival offers the public a chance to share in experiences that build community.

Now in its 24^th year, the Spirit & Place Festival continues to be Indianapolis’ largest collaborative festival that uses the arts, religion and humanities as tools for shaping individual and community life through 10 days of events designed with community partners, individuals and congregations.

There will be 32 unique events this year that will take place across Indianapolis and feature a variety of presenters, speakers and performers. This year’s festival includes many events centered around panel-style discussions over powerful topics. These discussions are intended to spark conversation and explore current and historical events that are relevant to citizens of Central Indiana.

Visit the website at www.spiritandplace.org for the full festival lineup, including these family-fun events below:

EVENT INFO:

 Friday, November 1, 6 – 9 p.m.

 Spirit & Place Festival Opening Night

Friday, Nov. 1, 6-9 p.m.

Harrison Center

1505 N. Delaware St.

FREE

After-Party!

Friday, Nov. 1, 9-11 p.m.

McGowan Hall

1305 N. Delaware St.

FREE

 Soak in some local art and enjoy First Friday with us at the Harrison Center. Check out a new exhibit by Kyle Ragsdale, grab something to eat at a food truck or a beer from Sun King, and participate in other fun activities! Afterwards, head down the street to McGowan Hall for a Spirit & Place after-party featuring live music, local art and a cash bar.

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 Saturday, November 2, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

 Super Universal Shape Shifters

Presented by Ivy Tech Community College – Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Student Life & Development Indianapolis, and Dances of Universal Peace Indianapolis

Ivy Tech Community College IFC Illinois Fall Creek Center—2535 N. Capitol Ave.

 Join us for a come-and-go, family-friendly community event that will stoke positive energy in the universe! Bring your love of music and dance to create sacred symbols of the universe.

Discussion events included in 2019 Festival

The 2019 Spirit & Place Festival will celebrate, explore, challenge and reflect on the meaning behind revolution and evolution, creating the unique theme of R/Evolution on Nov. 1-10. Exploring the idea of change in the world, whether it’s sudden and abrupt, or gradual and unfolding, this year’s festival offers the public a chance to share in experiences that build community.

Now in its 24^th year, the Spirit & Place Festival continues to be Indianapolis’ largest collaborative festival that uses the arts, religion and humanities as tools for shaping individual and community life through 10 days of events designed with community partners, individuals and congregations.

There will be 32 unique events this year that will take place across Indianapolis and feature a variety of presenters, speakers and performers. This year’s festival includes many events centered around panel-style discussions over powerful topics. These discussions are intended to spark conversation and explore current and historical events that are relevant to citizens of Central Indiana.

Visit the website at www.spiritandplace.org for the full festival lineup, including these discussion events below:

EVENT INFO:

 Sunday, November 3, 1:30—3:00 p.m.

 We Need to Have this Conversation. Period.

Presented by Indiana Historical Society, Indiana Medical History Museum, Indiana State Department of Health – Office of Women’s Health, LifeSmart Youth, Dr. Sharra Vostral, and Women4Change Indiana

Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center—450 W. Ohio Street

Cycles. They are a fact of life, yet too taboo to talk about. Go public with your period for a conversation about adventures in menstruation.

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 Sunday, November 3, 2—4 p.m. 

 A Tailored Fit: Three Conversations on Fitting In featuring Dr. Maria Hamilton Abegunde (#1)

Presented by the IU Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, IU Department of Gender Studies, Fatness Fiction, and Big Car Collaborative

Tube Factory Artspace—1125 Cruft St.

 What does it mean to fit in? How do we do so when who we are conflicts with the community in which we live? When—why—do we decide that trying to fit in (or not) helps us grow spiritually? In this series of three conversations, you are invited to explore how friction points that exist in personal and community (r)evolution can help us grow spiritually has human beings.

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Tuesday, November 5, 6—8 p.m.

 A Tailored Fit: Three Conversations on Fitting In featuring Dr. Brenda Weber (#2)

Presented by the IU Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, IU Department of Gender Studies, Fatness Fiction, and Big Car Collaborative

Tube Factory Artspace—1125 Cruft St.

What does it mean to fit in? How do we do so when who we are conflicts with the community in which we live? When—why—do we decide that trying to fit in (or not) helps us grow spiritually? In this series of three conversations, you are invited to explore how friction points that exist in personal and community (r)evolution can help us grow spiritually has human beings.

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Wednesday, November 6, 5:30—8:00 p.m.

 Stuck

Presented by the Indianapolis Film Project, Spades Park Branch Library, Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, Big Car Collaborative, and Bluebeard Restaurant

Spades Park Library—1801 Nowland Ave.

 An evening of conversation and film. Join local authors and artists to discuss how evolving threats and fears of the “other” affect art, culture, and community and watch the 1956 film “Storm Center” starring Bette Davis. Food by Bluebeard!

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 Wednesday, November 6, 6—8 p.m.

 A Tailored Fit: Three Conversations on Fitting In featuring Ellise Antoinette Smith (#3)

Presented by the IU Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, IU Department of Gender Studies, Fatness Fiction, and Big Car Collaborative

Tube Factory Artspace—1125 Cruft St.

What does it mean to fit in? How do we do so when who we are conflicts with the community in which we live? When—why—do we decide that trying to fit in (or not) helps us grow spiritually? In this series of three conversations, you are invited to explore how friction points that exist in personal and community (r)evolution can help us grow spiritually has human beings. 

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 Wednesday, November 6, 6:30—8:00 p.m.

 God(s) & Aliens: A Conversation on Faith, Science, and E.T.

Presented by IUPUI Department of Earth Sciences, IUPUI Center for the Study of Religion & American Culture, IUPUI Senior Academy, Earth Charter Indiana, Hoosier Environmental Council, Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, All Souls Unitarian Church, and Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation Chapel—6501 N. Meridian St.

Join Dr. Gabriel Filippelli (IUPUI Earth Sciences), Dr. Philip Goff (Center for the Study of Religion & American Culture), Rabbi Scott Fox (Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation), and Reverend Anastassia Zinke (All Souls Unitarian Church) in a conversation moderated by Jill Sheridan (WFYI) as they explore matters of science, faith, and the history of American thought. Facilitated small group conversations will give attendees the chance to deeply explore what it means when fact and faith collide.

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 Thursday, November 7, 4:30—6:00 p.m.

Seen & Heard: Cultural Organizations and the LGBTQ Experience

Presented by IUPUI Museum Studies Program, IUPUI Public History Program, and Indiana Historical Society

Eugene and Marilyn Glock Indiana History Center—450 W. Ohio St.

 Panel discussion exploring national and local initiatives to archive, preserve, and interpret LGBTQ history and culture, as well as evolving practices to involve and include LGBTQ communities.

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 Thursday, November 7, 6:00—8:30 p.m.

 Ain’t I a Woman? The Evolution of Women in Politics

Presented by The Indianapolis Propylaeum, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Indiana Historical Society, Indiana Humanities, Indiana Latino Institute, Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council, Indianapolis Women’s Chorus, League of Women Voters of Indianapolis, Muslim Alliance of Indiana, Peace Learning Center, The Exchange, and Women4Change Indiana

The Indianapolis Propylaeum—1410 N. Delaware St.

Cost: $20/$10 Students

Come to the table! Through conversation over dinner we will explore the incomplete legacy of the women’s suffrage movement in an effort to build bridges, see new perspectives, and find a path forward.

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 Friday, November 8, 6—8 p.m. 

 C.H.A.T. Culture, Heart, Art, & Talk!

Presented by CAGI – Community Action of Greater Indianapolis, Ryan L. Bennett, and The Reset Center

The Reset Center—4330 N. Post Rd.

Creating a safe space to witness transformative art and discuss issues of the heart in pursuit of social justice and equality for ALL. Join Artist-led group discussions to target solutions to chronic violence and health disparities plaguing our community. 

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 Sunday, November 10, 12– 2 p.m.

 Is it Revolution or Evolution?

Presented by Hindu Temple of Central Indiana, Geeta Mandal, and Hindu American Vanaprasthi Network

Hindu Temple of Central Indiana—3350 N. German Church Rd.

Immigrants to the United States bring their religion, art, and culture with them, but connections to these things change over time. You are invited to listen in as Hindu youth and elders discuss and debate the evolution of their culture in America.

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Sunday, November 10, 1:00– 3:30 p.m.

 Spirituality at the Intersections: A Conversation featuring Dr. Maria Hamilton Abegunde, Fr. Richard Rohr, Teresa Mateus, and Ven. Lobzang Dorje

Presented by Purdue University Black Cultural Center, Center for Black Literature & Culture, Peace Learning Center, and Rokh

IUPUI Campus Center Theater—420 University Blvd.

 Engage in this cross-faith dialogue exploring the bridges between spirituality, faith, justice, and wellness featuring Fr. Richard Rohr (via video conference) from the Center for Action & Contemplation, ancestral priest Dr. Maria Hamilton Abegunde, and Teresa Mateus of Mystic Soul. A reception precedes the event and closes with a “sound bath.”

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 Sunday, November 10, 4:30– 6:00 p.m.

 24^th Annual Public Conversation
Presented by Spirt & Place, Butler Arts Center, IUPUI Africana Studies Program, and Indiana University Bloomington Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies.

Shelton Auditorium—1000 W 42^nd St.

Nikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. A 2016 Peabody Award winner for her series on school segregation for “This American Life” and 2017 MacArthur Fellow, Hannah-Jones was most recently the lead journalist for The 1619 Project.

 Join us–Civic Saturday style–as we use history, poetry, and music to anchor a conversation about why it is time to revolutionize the way we talk about our past. About how it is a moral imperative we re-frame conversations on history, society, and race in order to address systemic injustices. America’s traditional origin stories don’t work for everyone and now is the time to wrestle with the meaning of who we are and who we want to be in order to bring America closer to its promises.

Community-connection events included in 2019 Festival

The 2019 Spirit & Place Festival will celebrate, explore, challenge and reflect on the meaning behind revolution and evolution, creating the unique theme of R/Evolution on Nov. 1-10. Exploring the idea of change in the world, whether it’s sudden and abrupt, or gradual and unfolding, this year’s festival offers the public a chance to share in experiences that build community.

Now in its 24^th year, the Spirit & Place Festival continues to be Indianapolis’ largest collaborative festival that uses the arts, religion and humanities as tools for shaping individual and community life through 10 days of events designed with community partners, individuals and congregations.

There will be 32 unique events this year that will take place across Indianapolis and feature a variety of presenters, speakers and performers. This year’s festival includes many events centered around panel-style discussions over powerful topics. These discussions are intended to spark conversation and explore current and historical events that are relevant to citizens of Central Indiana.

Visit the website at www.spiritandplace.org for the full festival lineup, including these events on community-connection below:

EVENT INFO:

 Saturday, November 2, 9 a.m.—2 p.m.

 Spirited Chase

Presented by WFYI Public Media and its Mystery Partners

WFYI Public Media—1630 N. Meridian St.

Cost: $9

 Spirited Chase is a unique event offering participants the opportunity to renew their spirit through discovering new people and places in our community. Each mystery partner organization has been selected based on their connection to the transformation of our city and the individuals who live in it. At each mystery destination, participants will engage in a brief interactive program as they learn about the many ways these people, places, and programs are affecting change and transforming, evolving, and revolutionizing our community.  

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 Saturday, November 2, 6—9 p.m.

Songs of Revolution

Presented by All317HipHop, Indy Justice Choir, and The Church Within

The Church Within—1125 Spruce St.

Music and revolution have a long history together. Join us as we sing together to explore this history and examine how “songs of revolution” have changed over time. Featured artists and presenters include Indy Justice Choir, Spiritual Gangsters, Edison School for the Arts, Douglas Peach, and Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters (via video).

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Monday, November 4, 6:30—8:00 p.m.

 Remember 1968: Society, Higher Education, and Activism

Presented by IUPUI School of Education, IUPUI Africana Studies Program and Olaniyan Scholars Program, IUPUI Museum Studies Program, and Center for Black Literature & Culture

Central Library Center for Black Literature and Culture—40 E. St. Clair St.

 Life Magazine referenced 1968 as “the year that changed the world.” Hear from Dr. Jakobi Williams at this opening night reception for the exhibit “Remember 1968” to learn how college students shaped this revolutionary year and how campuses across the nation continue to grapple with its legacy. 
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Monday, November 4, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

 This Far by Faith: A Journey Toward Racial Justice

Presented by St. Luke’s UMC Racial Justice Committee, All Souls Unitarian Church, Witherspoon, Presbyterian Church, and Bahá’í Community of Indianapolis

St. Luke’s Methodist Church—100 W. 86^th St.

Four faith communities invite congregants and the wider community to examine how they are progressing when it comes to matters of racial justice. Participants will be invited to share ways to advance in this racial justice work.

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 Monday, November 4, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.

 Antisemitism: The Evolution of the Longest Hatred

Presented by Congregation Beth-El Zedeck and the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

Congregation Beth-El Zedeck—600 W. 70^th St.

 Historian Deborah Lipstadt, an internationally-renowned expert on the Holocaust, will address the evolution of antisemitism as a paradigm for other forms of bigotry and hate.

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 Wednesday, November 6, 6—7 p.m.

 Agitation and Stagnation: Class and Health in America, 1919-2019

Presented by Side Effects Public Media & WFYI Productions and the Indiana Medical History Museum

Indiana Medical History Museum—3045 W. Vermont St.

 Rooted in drama of Indiana’s homegrown revolutionary, Eugene V. Debs, this interactive panel discussion will explore how class affected health outcomes 100 years ago and how it continues to affect outcomes today.

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 Saturday, November 9, 1:00—4:00 p.m.

 Herstory: A Prenatal-Postpartum Pop-Up Museum

Presented by IU Fairbanks School of Public Health, Grassroots Maternal and Child Health Leaders, Carriage House East Apartments – A Glick Property, and IUPUI Department of English

Carriage House Apartments East Community Center—10174 Tinton Ct.

 Celebrate and create with grassroots leaders in maternal and child health as they create a pop-up museum aimed to educate on community efforts to improve birth outcomes. This event honors the vital relationship between healthy communities and healthy pregnancies.
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 Sunday, November 10, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

 The Evolution of Sci-Fi Fandom

Presented by Starbase Indy, Gal’s Guide to the Galaxy, Center for Inquiry, and Indiana Youth Group.

Center for Inquiry—Suite A, 350 Canal Walk

Sci-fi fandom is evolving to be more diverse, but, as seen in recent Twitter harassment of Star Wars actors and controversy at the Hugo awards, not everyone reacts well to change. A panel of experts will discuss how we got here and where we are going.

The Return

By Branden A.

After spending eighteen years in prison, I felt like a baby bird taking his initial flight. I now had the entire universe to explore at my own free will. It was exhilarating, a feeling of being uncaged and free, but what was I coming home to?

Hired by the Indiana State Hospital within two days of release, I was making a living by working at a temp agency in the food service department. With my family and childhood friends in my corner, I felt hopeful about my future but the lights beyond the prison walls aren’t always bright.

I saw darkness. Humanity didn’t progress while I was gone, it declined.

Technology baffled me to the point of great confusion. I didn’t know how to email or tackle the basic things people take for granted.

Also, my hometown had become a war zone. My nieces and nephews had grown up alone – the cycle of incarceration – ever present in their lives. In my neighborhood, drugs were still there and the dealing game was strong. A lot of my childhood friends were still caught up in that life. I had to learn to distance myself from them. The lifestyle breeds jealousy, greed and criminal activity. It was still around me.

In addition to technology and the streets, I had a tough time adjusting to my work environment. I was lied to, passed over for opportunities of advancement and felt undervalued. I realized that everything I had learned in prison – studying culinary arts and receiving certificates – didn’t matter in the workforce because of office politics: who you know, and what you’re willing to do. Stress and anxiety weighed me down.

I quit my job with no safety net to harness my fall.

Two months had passed without employment and it tested my core but also revealed something – how I can endure – especially after almost two decades of incarceration. Still, I was completely broke, broken and embarrassed. I stayed in my house for two weeks, too embarrassed leave. I dove into my safe space, searching inside myself for answers.

I shared my disappointments with my mom. I began to set boundaries with friends and started to build up the confidence I had developed in prison. With a change of mindset, I was now ready to forge ahead, and move at my own pace, feeling out the culture like a blind man reading braille. I discovered a harsh truth: freedom isn’t free. To be free means sacrificing on a level I was not used to. I was used to feeling important and needed. It was my biggest adjustment.

This made me question who I was on the outside. It wasn’t easy.

While my prison neighbors (grown men with kids and wives who had once upon a time had ordinary lives) held monkey-style wars, I read. While the light in my cell stayed on for 24-hours and flickered a neon glow on my face, I learned. I continued to stick with it once I was released. I contacted my writing teacher to figure out how to continue to rise in my new environment. I wanted to build on the spark ignited while on the inside.

My sanctuary had become writing and I needed it now more than ever.

While in prison, I started writing on a serious level. I had a lifetime pass in the prison library where I spend an agonizing four years in solitary confinement and where there are only two choices: grow or give up. My choice was always to grow.

Within a month of being released from prison and through the work with the writing workshop, I was asked to do talks and readings in Indianapolis, including radio shows and writing contests, and people in my life were amazed with pride. How did the neighborhood knucklehead become a voice and community leader? How did a man that knows nothing about this day and age come home and change a community vibe by just being present? I had once been a street thug with no deep understanding of who I was, trapped in my warped sense of pride.

Was it the talk with my mentor, Mr. Sams, before he was released from prison? He showed me how one can make a difference by solely believing in himself as well as in others? Or, was it the writing teacher, Mrs. Deb, who had sparked a greater purpose of change because I could now could see the special talent that was talked about? This gave me a vessel to hone my voice. Or, did it take me getting kicked out of one prison and sent to another facility within less than six months of my release? I had been labeled a notorious gang leader. It could have been the loss of my father and big sister while gone that was a wake-up call to my soul. I missed too many events. It was time to see the light and be the light, to shine.

Maybe it was a combination of all the people who lifted me up.

My neighborhood is filled with pockets of meth, heroin and pills that was once dominated by crack rock and cocaine but it doesn’t mean I am a product of it. I’ve come too far for to go back. My worst ordeal – imprisonment – made me the best version of myself. I took time to reflect, learn and grow. Without the downfalls, I wouldn’t know which way was up. I’m showing the world how to live, love and smile through adversity. I was gone for a long time but now I have returned.

Branden A. is a thirty-six-year-old survivor of an eighteen-year-sentence. Newly released, he is taking the skills learned throughout his life and honed in the DOC to become a successful writer, which he perfected while in the creative writing workshop.

The Meaning of Evolution vs. Revolution

One of the greatest certainties in our lives is that everything is constantly changing. Sure, you can keep a consistent daily routine in your personal life, but the world is always moving forward. In our previous blog, we mentioned the meaning behind our theme for this year’s Spirit & Place Festival, R/Evolution. Essentially, the definition of both evolution and revolution centers around the idea of change. We wanted to dive deeper into the meaning of both and explain why change is essential for growing our community.

When we think of evolution, a common association comes from the theory Charles Darwin posed in the 1800s. According to Live Science, he believed that people change over time in order to adapt to their surroundings. “Over time” are the keywords that separate an evolution from a revolution. An evolution doesn’t happen overnight. We didn’t go straight from traveling by horses to flying in jets. That happened with progress made over many years of trials and turbulence. Some things are easier to accept if we are exposed to changes in a manageable, less overwhelming form. This is why evolution is beneficial for specific changes in a community.

Sometimes, people are looking for a large change to happen very quickly, which is how a revolution occurs. This way of change often stems from a strong disdain for how a business, government or community worked before, according to Alpha History. In many cases, a revolution is what happens if there is not a steady evolution in an organization. 

As is common with some historical revolutions, the current leadership is often opposed to such change because the current way of doing things already benefits them. This is why many revolutions turn violent – a lot of conflict and controversy can result from swift changes. But not all revolutions have to be vicious. New information can provide the clarity we need to revolutionize the way we live, which is why some people say the era we live in today is part of a technological revolution, according to an article in the Huffington Post. The growing knowledge and access to technology is meant to improve our lives, and improving the lives of a community is the main goal of a revolution.

Change can be intimidating, but it is also necessary for progress. The purpose of evolution and revolution is to adapt to the changing world around us. Hopefully knowing more about these two ideas make them less overwhelming and perhaps inspire you to seek out changes that can enhance your community.