Central Indiana Things to Do March-April 2022

Where Fashion and Indiana Landmarks Meet Women’s History 
In tandem with International Women’s Month, Indy-based fashion designer Emily Gartner launches a new collection inspired by remarkable women and distinctive landmarks. Wild Women’s Wearables opens at the Harrison Center for the Arts on March 4 and runs through March 25. Fashion lovers, you’ll see wearable art made from custom fabrics adorned by notable women and sites. Look for The Madam Walker Theater Center’s namesake, Madam C.J. Walker, plus Monument Circle’s Lady Liberty and Lady Victory. Gartner’s work is available for purchase and remains online at the Harrison Center for the Arts through April 29. Harrison Center for the Arts, 1505 North Delaware Street, Indianapolis. 
HarrisonCenter.org 

About Hoosier Women at Work Play 
The way women spent leisure time throughout history—and how their activities were regarded—deserves as much study as women’s contributions at work. That’s the theme of the fifth annual Hoosier Women at Work History Conference at Conner Prairie on April 23, 2022. At this all-day event, enthusiasts of Indiana’s women’s history will hear original research and learn how the playful, creative and entertaining pursuits of women influenced individual and collective happiness, health and value. 
Conner Prairie, 13400 Allisonville Road, Fishers.   
Register at www.in.gov/history/hoosier-women-at-work 

Black Civil Rights Activists and Indiana’s only President 
An exhibit at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site spotlights Black civil rights leaders who were active during Harrison’s term as President. No Compact of Silence is so named because of Harrison’s campaign commitment to be vocal about racism. Harrison sponsored voting rights bills, but he couldn’t get them through Congress. His contemporaries included several Black women who lobbied for civil rights, including journalist and co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Ida B. Wells. Notable Hoosiers in the movement included Katherine Bailey, an early 20th-century activist who established Indiana’s anti-lynching law, and Sallie Stewart, an Evansville native who founded the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association, and the National Association for Colored Girls. The exhibit runs through November 1, 2022. 
Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, 1230 North Delaware, Indianapolis. 
www.bhpsite.org/learn/benjamin-harrison

The Art of Nature 
Peer into creative process at the Indianapolis Zoo’s Naturally Inspired Paint Out on April 9, when visual artists gather for a plein air (outdoors) painting expo. You can watch artists transform blank canvases into nature-inspired masterpieces. After the event, bid on your favorite work at a silent auction to benefit the Zoo. 
Indianapolis Zoo, 1200 West Washington Street, Indianapolis.  
www.indianapoliszoo.com/events/naturally-inspired-paint-out/ 

Get a New Lens on the World 
As part of its New View Film Series, Butler University will show Warrior Women, a documentary about Madonna Thunder Hawk. Hawk founded Women of All Red Nations. She worked to end threats to indigenous land and restore children and family rights. For the most part, women’s voices were missing from the American Indian Movement of the 1970s. This film, shown on March 16, 2022, explores Hawk’s role in the liberation movement and how faith can promote social change. A discussion follows the film. 
Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall, Butler University, 4600 Sunset Ave., Indianapolis. Admission is free. 
butlerartscenter.org/performance/a-new-view-film-series-warrior-women

Art in Bloom at Newfields 
Ready to dispense with the grayness of winter? Then you need to visit the galleries at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) and Lilly House between March 31 and April 3. There you’ll find Art in Bloom, an extravaganza of floral arrangements inspired by IMA art. Local and regional floral artists flaunt their talents with spectacular designs that will tide you over until plants and trees begin flowering in central Indiana. 
Newfields, 4000 North Michigan Road, Indianapolis. 
www.discovernewfields.org/art-bloom