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Art & Soul to return for its 27th year

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The 27th annual Art & Soul festival returns next month, kicking off Black History Month in Indianapolis with events celebrating music, dance, visual art and literature.

Channie Jones, director of equity partnerships at Indy Arts Council, has overseen Art & Soul for the previous two years and said this yearā€™s festival will look a little different. With three main events throughout February, Jones said Art & Soul will now include works and appearances from alumni-featured artists to help ā€œpass the batonā€ to a new generation of artists.

ā€œWhatā€™s really fun about this year is weā€™re doing it sort of open house-style and incorporating all art forms: visual, music, theater and dance,ā€ Jones said. ā€œWeā€™ll have a retrospective of alumni-featured artists ā€” 27 years of featured artistsā€™ new or evolved work.ā€

The festival kickoff takes place Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. at Gallery 924 at Indy Arts Council & The Cabaret, 924 N. Pennsylvania St. ā€œKings & Queens: Beyond What Has Happened So Farā€ takes place in the gallery from 6-9 p.m. and is free to attend.

ā€œThe Revealā€ takes place at The Cabaret from 6-7:30 p.m. and features works from 10 local artists, including featured visual artist Jamichael Kyng Pollard and performances by both current and alumni artists. Tickets for ā€œThe Revealā€ are $15 and must be reserved ahead of time on Eventbrite.

Crystal V. Rhodes, an Indianapolis-based writer, author and playwright, is one of the featured artists for Art & Soul 2023. (Photo provided by Indy Arts Council)

In addition to Pollard, other featured artists for Art & Soul 2023 include jazz musician Brandon Douthitt, dancer Adrienne D. Jackson and author and playwright Crystal V. Rhodes. Each of the artists will showcase their work during the ā€œFeatured Artist Showcaseā€ on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Jazz Kitchen, 5377 N. College Ave.

ā€œOne can expect a celebration of African American artists in Indianapolis in four different venues, written, dance, visual arts and music,ā€ said Rhodes, a longtime mystery and romance novelist. ā€œEach one of us will get a chance to showcase our talents in one shape or form.ā€

Rhodes was a featured artist at Art & Soul back in the ā€˜90s but said sheā€™s excited to see what the new format of the festival brings. Actors Ink Theatre Company will perform an excerpt from a play Rhodes co-wrote at The Cabaret and she will do a poetry reading at the showcase in an effort to highlight ā€œmature women as unstoppable forces of endurance resilience and creativity.ā€

Although this yearā€™s festival is more intense, Rhodes said itā€™s shaping up to be a more intimate experience and sheā€™s curious to see how it all works out between herself and working with the other artists.

ā€œIt does highlight African American artists and Iā€™m really all for celebrating that since Iā€™m one of them,ā€ Rhodes said. ā€œNot just in Black History Month but all the time because weā€™re out there and it brings attention to our different crafts.ā€

The final event of the festival will take place Feb. 28 at the Arts Garden where Art & Soul will host ā€œCelebration + Wes Montgomery Tribute,ā€ which includes a Rob Dixon-led tribute to the late Indianapolis native and jazz guitarist.

ā€œWe will have his family incorporated in the celebration as well as local artists just to share how his work has impacted their current style,ā€ Jones said. ā€œHe would have been 100 years this March.ā€Ā 

The celebration includes an art show, vendors, a cash bar and live performances from DJ Rusty Redenbacher, Alaina Renae, Damon Karl, Dr. Lasana Kazembe and more.
Tickets for the 27th annual Art & Soul festival start at $15 and can be purchased at indyarts.org/about/art-soul.

Contact staff writer Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848 or chloegm@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @chloe_mcgowanxx.

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