BROAD RIPPLE— BRIDGE Collective and Broad Ripple Village Association is working together on a re-imagined rendering of the Mpozi Tolbert mural.
The mural of Mpozi was on the side of what is now Lit Cigar Lounge. A tribute to him was in alley way on Guilford Avenue since 2008. The mural was repainted in 2020 by artist Dan Thompson and last year was unexpectedly painted over.
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"Broad ripple is one of the original cultural districts so we have to focus just as much on making it a fun place to be as a beautiful place to be and that includes a lot of great murals in the area and this is one we can’t wait to see put up," said Jordan Dillon with the Broad Ripple Village Association.
The new art display will be across the street from where the old one was on the side of Casba Bar. It will also feature an memorial to artist Ron Minor, DJ Indiana Jones.
"When you talk about Ron and Mpozi and the culture they were apart of, there’s dozens of other people that were apart of that and a lot of them still live there," said Thompson.
The goal is to raise $12,500 by September 19th. If that goal is reached, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority will give BRIDGE Collective and BRVA a matching grant. It's part of the CreatING Places program.
"BRIDGE Collective is grateful for this opportunity to create two new pieces of public art, which will not only positively influence Broad Ripple Village and the Indianapolis public arts, but will also honor Mpozi Tolbert and Ron Miner and continue to inform on their legacy," said Shannon Wilson with BRIDGE Collective.
If you would like to donate and find out more about the project you can visit this link.
Project Details
- Produce and install a rendering of the 2020 Mpozi Mural reprinted onto Aluma core panels, approximate size 8 feet tall x 32 feet wide
- Produce and install a mural dedicated to Ron Miner printed onto Aluma core panels, approximate size 12 feet tall by 8 feet wide
- Provide additional lighting to the project site
- Provide several years of site-maintenance
- Fairly compensate the artists working on this project
