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 yearās 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 āpass the batonā to a new generation of artists.
āWhatās really fun about this year is weāre doing it sort of open house-style and incorporating all art forms: visual, music, theater and dance,ā Jones said. āWeāll 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. āKings & Queens: Beyond What Has Happened So Farā takes place in the gallery from 6-9 p.m. and is free to attend.
āThe 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 āThe Revealā are $15 and must be reserved ahead of time on Eventbrite.
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 āFeatured Artist Showcaseā on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Jazz Kitchen, 5377 N. College Ave.
āOne 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. āEach 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 ā90s but said sheās 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 āmature women as unstoppable forces of endurance resilience and creativity.ā
Although this yearās festival is more intense, Rhodes said itās shaping up to be a more intimate experience and sheās curious to see how it all works out between herself and working with the other artists.
āIt does highlight African American artists and Iām really all for celebrating that since Iām one of them,ā Rhodes said. āNot just in Black History Month but all the time because weāre 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 āCelebration + Wes Montgomery Tribute,ā which includes a Rob Dixon-led tribute to the late Indianapolis native and jazz guitarist.
āWe 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. āHe would have been 100 years this March.āĀ
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.