16th Annual Spirit & Place Festival Begins tonight in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Ashley Petry

INDIANA - [A] dance ensemble's performance is one of four signature events headlining the opening weekend of the 16th annual Spirit & Place Festival, to be in various venues Nov. 4-13. The 10-day event works to promote "civic engagement and public imagination through collaborations among the arts, religion and humanities." This year's theme is "The Body." "The signature series events are really designed to introduce people to the theme in ways that are really diverse," said festival director Pam Blevins Hinkle. Other signature events include a panel discussion about honoring the body, a First Friday gallery exhibit called "Costumerie," and a Q&A with tattoo historian Lyle Tuttle (above). "With our goal of civic engagement, we always want to create a space where conversations created one year can flow into the next year," Hinkle said. "We always try to create a theme that's both intensely personal and also very broad." This year, more than 125 organizations have been involved in planning about 45 events related to the theme. [link]