99.1 WQRT FM

14/07/2025

Mari Evans, “An Audio Family Album” is a three-part audio series airing on Big Car Collaborative’s art and community radio station, 99.1 WQRT on July 16 is and available on our website and other podcasting platforms.

https://www.bigcar.org/project/mari-evans-an-audio-family-album/

The audio broadcast premieres on her birthday, July 16, on 99.1 WQRT. It focuses on what was most important to Evans, family — her family, the Black family, the American family.

Airing schedule
on 99.1 WQRT and streaming wqrt.org (noon each of the days below)

July 16 – “The Black Experience”
Encore July 19, 26, August 2 & 9
August 13 – “The Family Interview”
Encores August 16, 23, 30, September 6.
September 10 – “Family as Foundation”
Encores September 13, 20, 27 and October 4.

Visitors to SPARK on the Circle at Monument Circle in Indianapolis this summer will also be able to experience the project through an interactive exhibit in Big Car’s Wagon of Wonders mobile art museum.

About Mari Evans (1919–2017): One of the founders of the Black Arts Movement and a longtime Indianapolis resident, Mari Evans is best known for her poetry — with her work appearing in more than 100 anthologies. She published her first book, “Where Is All the Music?,” in 1968, followed by “I Am a Black Woman” in 1970. She went on to publish more than 10 books. Mari also worked in theatre and taught at Cornell, Northwestern, Washington University in St. Louis, and Spelman College. Big Car Collaborative commissioned a mural in partnership with Evans located at 448 Mass Ave.

Made possible by Women's Fund of Central Indiana, The Efroymson Family Fund and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Special thanks to Chris, Eric, Matthew, Nevaeh and William Phemster.

Photo G. Marie Photography

18/06/2025

New story from Axios about our new 40,000 square foot addition to the Big Car Collaborative Tube Factory artspace Campus: https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2025/06/18/new-contemporary-art-museum-big-car-tube-factory-garfield-park?fbclid=IwY2xjawK_tYxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFWaDhKbGJnVU03WHI0eklUAR4cmbnctFBU04nzBCIyp62O2jWJDfAlJQW4U7Wu2z2Zoqy5saKkMRg27r7wNQ_aem_IAV2ldza9w1X2qPTpgt4tQ

Work on the renovated warehouse should be done by the end of the year.

18/12/2024

Join us at The Big Table! Help us bring culinary arts and togetherness to Indianapolis with our culinary incubator kitchen and Big Table social space.

We're raising funds to build out and furnish active and vibrant public culinary and communal dining areas in the new contemporary art museum opening on our Tube Factory artspace campus in 2025.

In this 40,000-square-foot building located on the near southside of Indianapolis, visitors will experience a large commercial kitchen and adjacent learning lab space where we'll offer culinary training and cooking classes. This area will also help serve as an incubator and training ground for local food businesses.

Likewise, the culinary area will serve as the kitchen for the adjacent nonprofit museum cafe and catering for events and receptions in the building. The cafe will be located in the spacious and historic former barn to serve as our main entrance. This are will include artist-made big tables for communal dining and additional comfortable seating for gathering and socializing.

Learn more here: https://www.patronicity.com/project/the_big_table_culinary_arts__community #!/

13/09/2024

September 19, 4-6pm at Tube Factory artspace
Free Workshop with Nico Valdivia Hennig
Minimal Game Design for (New Game) Artists with Open Source Tools
This workshop introduces new game artists to the fundamentals of minimalist game design using accessible open-source tools like Bitsy, Twine, and Godot. Participants will learn to create simple games with free and open-source software, developing practical skills for game development with minimal technical barriers. No prior experience is needed. Please bring your own laptop (Windows, Mac) or smartphone.

Nico Valdivia Hennig (He/They) is an award-winning Chilean game artist, ludic activist, and cultural studies researcher with over a decade of experience in game design. They are a PhD candidate in Hispanic Studies at the University of California, Riverside, with a Designated Emphasis in Speculative Fiction. Their research focuses on ludic activism, game design, and game production in Latin America. Nico co-founded Niebla Games, which has launched both board and video games for PC and mobile platforms. In 2022, their studio was selected for Google's Indie Games Accelerator program. Notable accolades include "Best Game Design" at EVA Córdoba 2019 in Argentina, "Best Chilean Studio of 2021", and recent nominations for the Explorer Award at the AMaze/Berlin Festival of Experimental Game Art 2024, as well as for Best Social Matters Game and Best Diversity Game at the BIG Festival/Gamescom Latam 2024 in São Paulo, Brazil. Nico has extensive experience lecturing on game design and narrative within game development programs in Chile. They are also a co-founder of Río Junto, a Latin American cultural exchange collective, and a founding member of Ludicocrítica, the Chilean Critical Games Studies Network. Recently, Nico received and Barricelli Award for Interdisciplinary Research Disertation and became a fellow-in-residence of the Speculative Play and Just Futurities program at Indiana University, supported by the Mellon Foundation for September 2024.

08/09/2024

Today is is Concert #2 of the Levitt VIBE Indianapolis Music Series outside the Garfield Park Arts Center, which is FREE to attend!

The performance lineup includes Forgotten Tribe, Mariachi Sol Jalisciense, Garfield Park neighbor Mffred, and Regan Shalome!

And, Sakura Express food truck will be serving up delicious Japanese food. The Pagoda is open for having lunch.

Fun, free activities include haiku workshops and vintage and artist-designed Garfield Park postcard coloring and mailing.

Concerts are on seven Sundays in September and October — all from noon to 3pm.

Levitt VIBE is made possible by a partnership between Big Car Collaborative, Arte Mexicano en Indiana, Indy Parks, WQRT, and the Levitt Foundation.

And, thank you also to Efroymson Family Fund, Citizens Energy, and Lumina Foundation for their generous support of Levitt VIBE!

Find the concert schedules, artist lineups, and more here: https://www.bigcar.org/project/vibe/

30/08/2024

Hello Indianapolis Artists! We at Big Car Collaborative wanted to make sure you all know about the Power Plant Grant for Visual Artists that live and/or work in Indianapolis. We have six $10,000 grants. These are made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

One common misunderstanding is artists thinking they must be social practice/placemaking/ community engagement projects. This is not the case, the grants are for you to expand your practice/take risks —it just needs to have some access to an audience-- for example: exhibition, performance, collaboration with the public.

Anyhow, we hope you will apply and/or share with others who might be interested.
Every year we have new jurors so if you did not get it in past years, please try again.

Power Plant Grants — run by Big Car Collaborative and funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts — support visual artists who live or work in Indianapolis with project grants of $10,000. Each year — based on selections by an independent panel — six individual artists or teams w...

13/08/2024

Excited to partner with Garfield Park Arts Center - Indy Parks and Recreation & Arte Mexicano en Indiana for this free music series kicking off September 1.

Big Car Collaborative, Arte Mexicano en Indiana, and our partners are excited to be part of a national program of the Los Angeles-based Levitt Foundation to bring FREE, family-friendly, live concerts to Garfield Park in Fall 2024 — and continuing in 2025 — as part of the new Levitt VIBE Indianapolis series!

When: Sept. 1, 8, 22, & 29 + Oct. 6, 13, & 20, All on Sundays noon to 3 p.m.

Where: The lawn behind the Garfield Park Art Center, on the near southside of Indianapolis. 2432 Conservatory Dr., Indianapolis, IN 46203

What: Seven Sundays of free multi-genre outdoor concerts and creative community gatherings in September and October.
Why: To bring additional liveliness to an underused area of our neighborhood park with free outdoor music experiences and neighborly, inclusive, fun, and creative social gatherings.

Who: Arte Mexicano en Indiana and Big Car are collaborating with our partners at the City of Indianapolis/Indy Parks, local and national musicians, local vendors, artists, and poets — with the Bean Creek and Garfield Park neighborhoods and the Friends of Garfield Park.

Food truck and other vendor info coming soon.
Who is playing on what date? See Big Cars Facebook events and list below.

Scheduled performers include a wide range of local, regional, national and international acts:

Sept. 1
Sylvia Thomas
El Mirambaso
The Roundups
Mina and the Wondrous Flying Machine

Sept. 8
Regan Shalome
Mffred
Mariachi Sol Jalisciense
Forgotten Tribe

Sept. 15 – No VIBE concert, go to El Grito: Mexican Independence Day at the MacAllister Amphitheater in Garfield Park, 2345 Pagoda Drive.

Sept. 22
Indianapolis Metropolitan Youth Orchestra
La Máquina del Tiempo
Lasana Kazembe
Native Sun

Sept. 29
Giselle Montoya
Jordan Munson
Rock E Bassoon
Allison Victoria

Oct. 6
Giselle Trujillo
Caldwell/Tester
Eli Winter Trio
Elisa Harkins

Oct. 13
Clint Breeze Quartet
Juan William Chavez
Sarah Grain and Billions of Stars
Girl Ultra

Oct. 20
Rodrigo Hernandez
Light Study
Gamelan Mojomanis
Nathaniel Russell
Bitchin Bajas

12/07/2024

Thank you to Dave Lindquist & Indianapolis Business Journal for the coverage. Grateful to our staff, board and everyone who makes this work possible. Hope to see you tonight, 6pm at Tube Factory artspace for Elisa Harkins: Ekvnv (Land), the Sacred Mother from Which We Came & Escondidos y Americanos curated by Alejandra Carrillo and Leyda Melgar.

The not-for-profit is renovating a 40,000-square-foot former factory near Garfield Park into a center that will also include a performance space, incubator storefronts, art and audio studios and more.

11/07/2024

Thanks IndyStar for the coverage of our new space opening next fall!

Big Car Collaborative will turn a 125-year-old building into a museum as part of a multifaceted approach to connect art with the community.

30/05/2024

Two new shows featuring Garfield Park neighbors will open on June 7, 6-10pm at Tube Factory artspace: Kelley Jordan Schuyler: A Portrait of Motherhood and Wu-Bad Paint Ju**ie. Hert's BBQ will be onsite for food options.

More about "A Portrait of Motherhood"
"Through this work, I hope to create more space for the complexities of the motherhood experience, to give more room for the fierceness of the love, the depth of the overwhelm, the pain of the isolation, and the true joy that can be found in mothering in community. I share these photos to validate the role and experience of all mothers. I hope this particular view of motherhood offers a sense of solidarity to all, especially those who feel alone in this monumental, mundane endeavor."

More about "Bad Paint Ju**ie"
A Garfield Park resident and artist, Wu started painting in 2012. He was walking down the street when he saw a fellow neighbor, Sharon, had a sign up on her porch that offered lessons on color theory.
By day, Wu creates specialty floor covering and concrete underlayments that he describes as “walking on artwork.” Doing this since 1977, Wu has always wanted to keep fresh, learn, and improve. “I wanted to learn color theory,” Wu said, “so I figured, how else better than by painting? I picked up the paintbrush and put down the toolbox.”

18/04/2024

We are excited to be a stop on the Hatis Noit “Aura” USA tour! 🌞

Tickets go on sale today (April 18) at 12 p.m. 🌤️

There isn’t a more unique entry into a musical journey than that of Japanese voice artist Hatis Noit. Her musical awakening took place at the tender age of sixteen during a trek to Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal. One morning when staying at a women’s temple she came across a female monk singing Buddhist chants whose otherworldly sounds moved her so intensely that she was instantly aware of the visceral power of the human voice; a primal and instinctive instrument that connects us to the very essence of humanity, nature and our universe. From that moment she knew singing was her calling.

Her newest album, Aura was inspired by the German philosopher Walter Benjamin who used this term to describe the fundamental essence of art, which he believed is strongest in its original form, only happening once. Hatis agrees with this particular aspect as she realised, “during the pandemic, I really struggled. As a singer, I’m not very good at working on the computer. I much prefer doing live performances in physical spaces. Being with people, sharing the same space with them and feeling the atmosphere and energy of that moment, inspires me every time. To me art is that — that shared moment.”

15/04/2024

It's going to be a busy weekend at Tube Factory artspace! Join us for an artist talk with Jessica Dunn, April 20 at 1pm. Then on April 21 at 1pm is Intro to Grant Writing for Creatives with Reyes Ramirez.

Dunn's exhibit on view at Tube Factory artspace through May 26 “Particular Fragments” invites viewers to explore themes of time, memory, and consciousness through multisensory installations incorporating video and sound. With projection mapped videos, soundscapes, and interactive art, Dunn embeds personal moments inspiring the viewer to unlock and share memories of their own.

If you are an artist starting to apply for grants or looking for a way to streamline the grant writing process, join Reyes Ramirez on April 21. Ramirez a recipient of grants, residencies, and fellowships for his writing and curatorial projects as he discusses best practices and tips to use when applying for grants. This workshop will focus on writing project proposal summaries and what to consider when beginning a grant, fellowship, or residency application.

Reyes Ramirez (he/him) is a Houstonian, writer, educator, curator, and organizer of Mexican and Salvadoran descent. He authored the short story collection The Book of Wanderers (2022), a 2023 Young Lions Fiction Award Finalist, from University of Arizona Press’ Camino del Sol series and the poetry collection El Rey of Gold Teeth (2023) from Hub City Press. His latest curatorial project, The Houston Artist Speaks Through Grids, explores the use of grids in contemporary Houston art, literature, history, and politics. Reyes has been honored as a 2020 CantoMundo Fellow, 2021 Interchange Artist Grant Fellow, 2022 Crosstown Arts Writer in Residence, 2023 Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow, 2023 Dobie Paisano Fellow, 2024 Speculative Play and Just Futurities Fellow and awarded grants from the Houston Arts Alliance, Poets & Writers, and The Warhol Foundation’s Idea Fund.

Jessica Dunn (sesseka) is a multimedia artist known for her immersive, dreamlike worlds combining video, sound, and physical installations. With a scientific curiosity, she finds inspiration by investigating the natural world as well as psychological realms of consciousness. Dunn graduated from Herron School of Art + Design with a double major in painting and sculpture. Caught between 2D and 3D practices, she found her calling in 4D art including experimental animation, performance, and experiential works. With a medium-agnostic mindset, Dunn utilizes a wide variety of materials allowing the concept to drive the process. Lately, Dunn has extended her practice into filmmaking including short documentaries and narrative animations. No matter the format, Dunn’s work invites the viewer to open their perception to explore new realms of reality.