Nate Baranowski of South Bend, Indiana, will create a new portrait mural of Naismith Hall of Famer and community icon Tamika Catchings.
The Indy Arts Council and the WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee announced their selection of Baranowski on May 14. The Hoosier street-painter and muralist was chosen from a pool of four finalists, having been one of 98 artists to submit an application in response to an international call in late 2024.
“Tamika Catchings is a magnetic personality and an amazing force for good to those around her and in her community,” Baranowski said in a statement. “She is not just a legendary basketball player, but also an entrepreneur, activist, broadcaster, volunteer, mentor and motivational speaker. I wanted my design to reflect this high-energy force surrounding her.”
Baranowski, a multi-hyphenate artist, earned a bachelor’s in fine arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is passionate about street painting. Though he specializes in 3D artwork — temporary installations and permanent murals — Baranowski is experienced in creating chalk murals, indoor and outdoor painted murals, acrylic on canvas, digital paintings and concept art.
The mural honoring Catchings was commissioned in collaboration with the Indy Arts Council to coincide with the WNBA All-Star 2025, which Indianapolis is hosting July 18-19 with Catchings as Host Committee co-chair. In February, four finalists, including Baranowski, were selected to submit concept designs after meeting with Catchings to “learn more about her to accurately express her personality and legacy within their designs,” according to a press release.
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The designs were then offered up for community feedback in a public input survey conducted April 3-13. Of the four finalists, Baranowski’s design “best captured Tamika Catchings’ sunny and joyful personality,” as well as her basketball legacy and current contributions to Indianapolis, according to the selection committee.
“Nate’s artwork highlights my entire career from basketball to giving back through the Catch the Stars Foundation,” Catchings added.
The mural will go up — courtesy of a grant from the Capital Improvement Board of Managers of Marion County — on a residential building at Massachusetts Avenue, New Jersey Street and Michigan Avenue. The site preparation and mural painting will begin mid-June.
For more information, visit indyarts.org
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe graduated with a degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and her previous work includes freelancing for Indy Maven, Assistant Arts & Life Editor for The Lantern, and editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Chloe enjoys covering all things arts and culture — from local music, visual art, dance, theater and film, as well as minority-owned businesses. In her free time, Chloe enjoys reading, cooking and keeping her plants alive.
