Theater of Inclusion

TOI Blog

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Gym

This morning at the gym I did something completely unexpected – I took off my headphones. The world came rushing in from all around me and I found myself having a TEDx Moment in multiples. By “TEDx Moment” I’m referring to the moment of bright insight that often accompanies the experience of listening to or […]

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Chairs

“We put red chairs down on Monument Circle.” This was the sentence that came out of my mouth during a business meeting with a client yesterday. He had just asked me about TOI’s current projects. “What?” I repeated the sentence, “We put red chairs down on Monument Circle”. At this point it became clear to […]

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I M A

In a gallery at the back of the Indianapolis Museum of Art I pause to simply stare out the window. I’m looking but, after an hour of wandering and gawking at some remarkable paintings, I’m seeing differently. The world I see through the floor-to-ceiling glass feels somehow more relevant to me. My eyes continue to […]

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Indy Loves You: Participating from Afar

This week the Theater of Inclusion launched its Indy Loves You project, which seeks to engage people to think about their relationship with the city. Throughout the next few months, Dante and Rebecca will be creating pop-up experiences across the city. At each place, they will be encouraging people to take time to consider their […]

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Indy Loves You

Dante and I both grew up in Indianapolis. Throughout the 13 years that we have worked together we have often discussed the city: our memories of growing up here, the changes we observe taking place, and the future we want to help shape for Indianapolis. So many of the conversations with our colleagues, particularly since […]

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Indy Loves You: Downtown

If you walk out of the Starbucks on Monument Circle, at the center of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana and cast your gaze to the east toward the City Market what you’ll see the ubiquitous street scene. The details are made up of “pedestrians”, automobiles and trucks looking for parking spaces, a jumble of street lights, store […]

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One and All

Dante and I are honored to be creating an interactive installation titled One and All at the Indianapolis Museum of Art for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 20, 2014. As we were having our initial design conversations I read King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” several times. The following passage struck me deeply […]

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Central Library and the Grand Canyon

Standing on the south rim of the Grand Canyon with my father a few years back he commented, “It’s too big.” My dad doesn’t know how to sip a moment. He gulps down places as if he were dying of thirst for experience. And if the experience of a place is too big to fit […]

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My Summer Executive Retreat

I don’t own a motorcycle. “I’m never going to learn how to ride a motorcycle.” This was the sentence that popped into my head while I was working on a set of designs for activating underused public spaces in Indianapolis. Much of the work Rebecca and I do addresses the difficulties inherent in bringing people […]

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River

“Creativity is a river. It has its slow parts and its fast parts. It’s always flowing. (pause) And, I’m beginning to figure out how to stay in my water.” These words were spoken last Friday by an eleven-year-old artist at a Theater of Inclusion week-long day camp. The camp is designed to be an arts […]