Public Art to Complete Transformation of Key Gateway into Indianapolis

Contact:  

Carole Puls, Lilly - (317) 277-1421, pulsca@lilly.com
Katie Hutton, Herron School of Art and Design- (317)278-9477, kathutto@iupui.edu
Ashley Hungate, INDOT – (317) 467-3479, AHungate@indot.IN.gov
David Forsell, KIB - (317) 223-5180, dforsell@kibi.org

Public Art to Complete Transformation of Key Gateway into Indianapolis

Multicolored forms will be installed Dec. 15 at I-70/Holt Road interchange
 

Eli Lilly and Company and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIB) partnered with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to seek approval from the Federal Highway Department to install the art. The public art installation at I-70 and Holt Road will be the first of its kind in Indiana, and reflects a growing trend nationally.

The public art installation, which will happen in phases over the next couple of months, marks the completion of a massive landscape makeover at the I-70/Holt Road Exit, which began last May. Nearly 1,500 Lilly employee volunteers planted more than 16,000 plants and 150 trees as part of Lilly’s Global Day of Service, one of the world’s largest-ever corporate volunteerism events to take place on a single day.

KIB President David Forsell said improving the I-70 corridor from the airport to downtown has been an aspiration of many community leaders for a long time. “It’s important that the major corridor into our city reinforces a positive image of our community,” he said.

Armstrong specifically designed the 34 colored forms, 10 large and 24 small, to naturally interact with the green space on both the east and west sections of the Holt Road interchange.

“Whether entering or leaving the city of Indianapolis, each form marks a point of travel,” Armstrong explained. “The work addresses the space by activating the site with color and suggests a living environment. Although there is no movement associated with the art, my goal was to create a nomadic feeling through the placement of the abstract forms on the green space.”

Armstrong currently resides in Indianapolis where she will complete her MFA with a focus in sculpture in the spring of 2010 at Herron School of Art & Design. In 2008, Armstrong received her MA from Eastern Illinois University with an emphasis in painting and drawing, and in 2004 she earned a BFA with a concentration in photography from Indiana University.

Herron School of Art and Design Dean Valerie Eickmeier said community collaborations are a critical component to students’ educations. “Through partnerships with organizations like Lilly, KIB and INDOT, Herron is able to offer its students unprecedented opportunities for real-world experiences, preparing them for successful careers,” she said.

The I-70/Holt Road interchange served as a pilot project for Lilly, KIB and INDOT in 2009. The learnings will be used to plan five more interchange improvements, which will take place during Lilly’s Global Day of Service on Oct. 7, 2010.

About Lilly
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers – through medicines and information – for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. In 2008, Lilly’s philanthropic contributions totaled approximately $350 million, 80 percent of which was product donations for patient assistance programs, the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, and international humanitarian causes.  Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.

Lilly’s Global Day of Service is the signature event for the company’s “Hands and Hearts” program, which was launched in 2007 to enhance and encourage employee involvement with nonprofit organizations. A complete list of 2009 Global Day of Service Indianapolis projects and partners is available online at http://www.lilly.com/news/kits/globaldayofservice/. Photos and a video from this past year’s event also are available at http://thelillybrand.com/dos/.

About Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. is the proud organizing partner of the Lilly Global Day of Service in Indianapolis. KIB’s mission is to unite people to build community and transform public spaces through aesthetic and environmental improvement. KIB has a proven track record of 30 years of partnership with neighborhoods, the public sector, local philanthropists and corporate Indianapolis. Each year, KIB supports an average of 500 community improvement projects with 30,000 volunteers. Since 1995, KIB has helped its neighbors plant more than 12,000 trees, and has been supported by more than one thousand individual donors toward those efforts. The Lilly Day of Service is a perfect example of how KIB is the “go to” organization for community and environment improvement. For more information or to volunteer, call 317.264.7555 or visit www.kibi.org.

About INDOT
The mission of the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is to plan, build, maintain, and operate a superior transportation system enhancing safety, mobility and economic growth. For more information, visit http://www.in.gov/indot/

About the Herron School of Art and Design
A school of Indiana University and Indiana’s only professional school of art and design, Herron is nationally recognized by U.S. News and World Report, ranking 45th among 300 art and design schools nationwide. Located on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Herron enrolls more than 900 students in bachelor and master degree programs including fine arts, visual communication design, visual art, art education and art history. Herron is also home to the Herron Galleries, which exhibit contemporary works of art by regional and national artists, and the Basile Center for Art, Design and Public Life, which enriches educational and interdisciplinary activities through civic engagement and community partnerships. Visit www.herron.iupui.edu
for more information.

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