Photographer Tony Valainis went downtown to photograph the 2024 Indianapolis Pride Parade, capturing a glimpse of the annual celebration of all things LGBTQ in Indianapolis. 

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Photographer Kate Shoup kept watch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the Month of May filled the air with the roaring of engines, the cheers of spectators, and the excitement of racing. Though each driver’s teams tune their cars and personnel rigorously, only one car can cross the finish line first. 

Photos from Fast Friday

Photos from Carb Day

Photos from Indy 500 qualifying rounds

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Photographer Tony Valainis attended the inaugural I Made Rock ’N’ Roll Festival, capturing a glimpse of what is hopefully a new annual tradition in Indianapolis. This year’s featured artists included Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Inner Peace, Meet Me @ The Altar, Joy Oladokun, Gary Clark Jr., and Janelle Monáe. 

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Photographer Tony Valainis was in attendance at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend hosted in Indianapolis. For a few short days, Indianapolis’ downtown was alive with a fervent NBA spirit fueled by a multitude of formal and informal events. From the Celebrity Game, to the skill contests, to the Curry versus Ionescu 3-point shootout, to the All-Star Game itself with a halftime performance by Jennifer Hudson, we captured it all.

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When Turner Woodard bought the Stutz Building in 1992 and saved the historic car factory from demolition, the modest plan was to “light it up, fix it up, clean it up, and lease it up,” Woodard says. Viability mattered more than vision. Warehouse storage made sense—Woodard had experience in that sector, and a Chinese restaurant soon asked for 50,000 “dry and bird-free” square feet to stash supplies.

Chicken Scratch is bringing its wings to downtown Indy, opening a location in the one-time Noodles & Company spot. Smash’d Burger Bar (10 Johnson Ave.) plans to open in the Irvington spot that most recently housed Boujie Biscuit. Two new smoothie bowl chains opened recently in the area: Everbowl at 724 N. Green Street in Brownsburg and the Fishers Rush Bowls at 11649 Maple Street. Last Friday, Tinker Coffee opened a downtown cafe at 380 E. Market Street, offering coffee, baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, and other grab-and-go items. Korean taqueria pop-up Tako Seoul will collaborate with Mochi Joy on May 26 at the VFW in Noblesville. Sample Korean-style quesadillas and street tacos, exotically flavored Japanese doughnuts, and Hawaiian Sparkling Coolers from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (or until sold out). Revery (299 W. Main St., Greenwood, 317-215-4164) has purchased property in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, to open an 8,000-square-foot restaurant, bar, and catering hall by the end of summer.

Local artists had a better idea for the industrial-sized blank canvas. They valued the generous spaces flooded with natural light and didn’t mind choppy and awkward layouts. Woodard, a painter himself, welcomed  them with affordable rent. As word spread, the Stutz flourished as a vibrant artist community, and marketing startups, tattoo artists, and massage therapists moved in, too, creating what Woodard calls one of the country’s first small-business incubators. The annual open house was one of the best parties of the year. Bands played in the halls wide enough for automobiles, a cool crowd got lost in the gritty maze of stairwells and studios, and Woodard’s friends filled the room housing his car collection. Even when grunge fell out of style, the Stutz never did.

The building threatened to fall apart, though, and Woodard didn’t want to tackle large-scale improvements alone. Plus, you never really knew where the front door was. Despite the challenges of an aging building never designed for walk-in traffic, the Stutz community stuck together. While they  didn’t love the mice and out of order bathrooms, the long leases were a great deal, and the Stutz Artists Association carried prestige.

In 2020, out-of-state developer SomeraRoad pulled up with a handwritten letter and a trunkful of capital—$100 million to buy the gold and green landmark and bring it up to speed. Fix it up, clean it up, lease it up—but all the way this time.

Woodard believed he found good stewards in SomeraRoad. “I could have sold the building 10 times but was so concerned about the right touch with regard to the history and its place in Indianapolis and not making it wildly different, like backroom offices,” he says.

Photo by Tony Valainis

SomeraRoad, which developed industrial spaces in Indianapolis already, says it took a couple years to understand Woodard’s dreams for the building and run with them in the same direction—a thriving creative community, but with better amenities and more to do. When IU Health’s $4 billion campus arrives a few blocks north, the Stutz will be sitting pretty as a neighborhood hub. SomeraRoad’s major structural improvements include replicas of the original windows, new mechanicals and sewers, shored-up exterior brick, modern elevators, and a rebuilt original archway off Capitol Avenue over one of the compound’s entrances. When the 110-year-old windows came out, materials around them crumbled. Portions of  the building were falling off altogether.

The street level, previously dominated by sleepy offices, is now what economic developers call “activated”—populated with businesses and event areas that draw a lot of foot traffic, including coworking spaces, cafes, and fitness studios. Once-bleak alleyways that broke up the building’s extreme girth (it swallows a full city block) are spiffed up and strung with white lights overhead. There are new murals and a free car museum with Woodard’s wheels. There’s a Patachou.

Upstairs, some walls came down to create larger office spaces, including an area that can accommodate a corporate or creative anchor. The raw industrial feel remains, as do artist studios. SomeraRoad plans to fill the building back up with businesses as renovations continue in phases. The bulk of street-level businesses have opened gradually since May (Cafe Patachou and Julieta Taco Shop plan to join them later this month), and new-and-improved entrances along Capitol, 10th, and 11th make them easier for the public to find.

SomeraRoad added two nods to Woodard, who retains a minority stake in the business—a taproom named Turner’s and the car museum, a handshake agreement in the deal. “That took longer to negotiate than the price of the building,” Woodard says. The museum sits at the end of the courtyard amid a patch of businesses including the taproom, VisionLoft Events Stutz, Amelia’s, Grounded Plant & Floral Co., and Barista Parlor. It’s an intentionally symbiotic arrangement. Weddings at VisionLoft can spread out to the beautified streetscape and the museum for receptions, and pedestrian traffic creates hustle and bustle.

Art remains the chassis for the Stutz’s new commercial engine. SomeraRoad  is  continuing a long-standing artist residency, commissioning a major 3-D  installation at one entrance, and deputizing Pattern, the Indy-grown powerhouse supporting creative entrepreneurs, to elevate the Stutz’s artistic integrity by overseeing activities. “I want it to be a hub of national recognition,” says Pattern’s Polina Osherov, now the Stutz’s program director. The shining example of the Stutz’s new ambition is Butter, a cool-kids art fair dedicated to Black visual artists nationwide. Sales have topped $500,000 in the first two years.

There are still concerns about whether the Stutz’s old guard of artists will fit in. SomeraRoad consolidated existing studios into two buildings. Some artists left, put off by construction or month-to-month leases. A few artists were kicked out due to space availability, according to SomeraRoad. Rents haven’t changed, but some believe a hike is inevitable for the company to recoup its investment. SomeraRoad’s spokesperson says, “We are only raising rents on areas of the building that have undergone significant construction improvements. Artists located in older portions of the building will not experience rent increases.”

PRICE: $875,000; Bedrooms: 5; Bathrooms: 3; Square Footage: 5,096; Year built 1910; Winning Extra: Enormous yard and garden; REALTOR: Carpenter Realtors. Photo courtesy Structured Photography

The artists are worried about more than money. The number working there has gone from about 70 at its height to around 20 now, with most available studio space occupied. “We had a great community that helped each other. That’s all going to be gone without the number or diversity  of talents,” says John Ross, a painter and longtime tenant. One of the absences is Constance Scopelitis, an original Stutz artist, who chose to accelerate plans for an at-home studio rather than relocate within the building. She is concerned about where exiting artists will land. “The era of the big warehouse is over,” she says. “Most places available now don’t have big windows, which is a death knell for an artist.”

Stuart Alter, president of the Stutz Artists Association, says SomeraRoad  has supported the artist association and understands its value as an economic driver, and he is optimistic about the future. But he understands the qualms over major changes. “It’s going to be different, and that alone means that we don’t have what we had,” he says. “It might be better, but we don’t know.”

Signs are starting to emerge now that the building is reopening. The Stutz’s annual open house drew upward of 4,000 people and took over the whole complex. By comparison, Penrod Society’s Magic in the Making fair in May drew about 1,000 people and was contained to two buildings. But that serious crowd spent money. “I had a wonderful night. Sales were good,” Alter says. Day to day, Alter is looking forward to having more company in the building. “There were offices, there was a lot of activity, but on weekends, the place was quiet,” he says. Now the Stutz is coming alive with markets, weddings, and brunch crowds. Whether the road ahead is a bumpy one or a joyride, it won’t be a lonely one.

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HERE IN THE Hoosier state, an insidious industry has taken hold. Concealed in pens lining the sides of nondescript pole barns, puppies are being bred en masse by commercial dog breeders—or, depending on whom you talk to, puppy mills. Indiana isn’t the only state with that dubious distinction. Ohio, Missouri, and Iowa also consistently rank high in the stretch of the Midwest called the “puppy mill belt.” But Indiana boasts one major difference. It’s the only state in the country with a university program now working with commercial dog breeders to teach them how to elevate their canine care standards.

At Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the Canine Care Certified program (CCC) is pushing dog care far above state and federal regulations. In fact, the program aims to create the gold standard of what consumers can expect from commercial dog breeders, doing the ethical and scientific homework for buyers of dogs. Get a dog from a breeder with the CCC seal, and you know your new buddy came from a reputable and responsible breeder.

And yet, it can be a slippery slope delineating careful commercial dog breeders from puppy mills. The CCC was actually created back in 2013 in response to requests from Indiana Amish dog breeders who had been publicly criticized. “They knew they were doing things people weren’t happy with,” says Dr. Candace Croney, director of Purdue’s Center for Animal Welfare Science. Those breeders were meeting with the Indiana Board of Animal Health and invited Croney to attend. She was skeptical of their motives at first, but she went. It soon became clear that the breeders were raising dogs in ways “that would make the average person feel uncomfortable,” she says.

The dogs were oftentimes kept in runs or in enclosures that didn’t look that different from cages. Many of these were too small for the size of its inhabitant, and the dogs didn’t get enough time outdoors. Though the dogs were physically healthy—most of those Amish breeders did arrange for routine veterinary checks—they looked fearful even near their primary caretakers. “That was worrisome to me, and so that was when we started our work,” Croney says.

It wasn’t the kind of work people envision, of saving half-starved dogs with matted fur from chicken-wire cages. If that had been the case, Croney would have taken no part. “But to me, this was a lack of understanding of what a dog needs to be well,” she says. To be fair, the science of animal welfare is still relatively new. Even 10 years ago, a veterinary student may have struggled to find a course that covered it, Croney says. “It’s not surprising that the Amish, an underserved community, would have trouble getting this info,” she says.

After seeing the breeders’ facilities, Croney created the CCC’s original care standards—40 pages worth. Working with Purdue, breeders can now receive behavioral plans, guidelines for working with vets to screen for congenital health issues in dogs, rules about nourishment, and best practices for mental stimulation. An independent third-party auditor reviews the dogs and facilities every 16 months to ensure compliance. The program is so rigorous that only 100 breeders in Indiana have passed through to certification. And while that’s a great start, those cooperative breeders are in a distinct minority. Hopefully, participation will grow as more potential puppy parents understand the meaning of the seal and start asking for it.

Still, animal activists say the CCC’s work isn’t enough to curtail irresponsible breeders. Janie Jenkins, president of Chicago-based Stop Online Puppy Mills, says she appreciates the work Croney has done with CCC. “The kennels she works with are doing the program voluntarily, which is wonderful,” she says. But she points out that the problem of puppy mills is ballooning across Indiana.

“Puppy mills are everywhere in indiana. They’re in Lagrange, elkhart, and shipshewana, and way down south in daviesS county. they are factory-farming dogs in much the same way as chickens and pigs are factory-farmed.”

Many of them are hiding in plain sight on the internet. For example, Puppy Find, Lancaster Puppies, and Puppy Finder add a smokescreen of legitimacy to what truly are the kinds of places you picture when you hear “puppy mill,” Jenkins says. Recently, posing as a buyer, she asked to see where her future pet was being kept. Again and again, she was told that would be impossible, instead directed to photos online. And when she was ready to buy, she learned the puppy would be delivered to her. Both responses are red flags that the seller doesn’t want you to see the breeding conditions. “Always go and see the mother dog and how the puppies live,” she insists. Eventually, she traced one breeder to a location in Warsaw, Indiana, where she found more than 250 breeding dogs in a barn.

“Puppy mills are everywhere in Indiana. They’re in LaGrange, Elkhart, and Shipshewana, and way down south in Daviess County,” says Jenkins. “And they are factory-farming dogs in much the same way as chickens and pigs are factory-farmed.” Too many people wrongly assume that puppy mills are illegal. “They are absolutely legal, registered by the state as USDA commercial dog farms,” Jenkins says. The Warsaw breeder she tracked down was, in fact, USDA licensed. That sounds reassuring, but in reality it’s a low bar.

The cities of Carmel and Bloomington have adopted ordinances banning sales of dogs at pet stores with the dual goal of hindering puppy mills and encouraging adoption from overflowing animal shelters. Meanwhile, a bill is wending its way through the State Legislature, which would prevent municipalities from enacting those bans. (Ordinances already in place before January 1, 2023, would still be enforceable.) Indianapolis recently proposed its own such ordinance that would ban most retail sales of dogs (as well as cats and rabbits), except when doing so in partnership with local animal rescues. That bill also adds notable consumer protections, such as pet shops being required to microchip the animals they sell, disclose full medical histories, and provide refunds to customers, including for vet bills, if a pet dies or gets sick within a certain amount of time, or turns out to have a hereditary condition with significant health impacts. Critics of the bill see it as hiding the dirty laundry of retail pet sales, while supporters note that if pet stores disappeared, it would only drive the demand online, increasing business for unscrupulous puppy mills. At press time, Indiana House Bill 1121 was still under consideration.

Irresponsible dog breeding has led to the development of orthopedic complications in puppies, a condition usually reserved for senior dogs. Megan Cantrell, practice manager and certified pet trainer at Indy Pet Core, a standalone rehab facility, is seeing hip dysplasia in pups who are barely a year old. It’s a particular issue with ever-popular golden retrievers and the more than a dozen types of doodle dogs (poodle mixes), among the most-wanted “designer” dogs being sold in Indiana now. 

But behavioral issues are a wider concern that can affect all breeds alike. “If the puppy’s mom is highly stressed, she is more likely to genetically pass on behavioral issues to her puppies, even if they don’t have a genetic propensity to a behavior problem,” Croney explains. If a dog is raised in an environment where interactions with humans create fear and stress, then the parents are going to model those behaviors to the puppies.

That’s why Croney is doing the hard work of continuing her research into canine welfare best practices and training responsible breeders—despite the risk of being confused with the villians. “We are told all the time that we are helping puppy mills,” she says. “Absolutely not. Puppy mills are bad. I agree with that 100 percent.” Nor does any dog lover want to contribute to puppy mill cruelty in the process of bringing home their new family member. “How to solve this problem is what Candace Croney is trying to figure out,” Jenkins says. “She is endeavoring to improve the welfare of animals.” The work is a long time in coming, and still has quite a way to go. Unfortunately, research-based studies of the type that can inform and bolster efforts like CCC take a long time.

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MARK AND JAN

Lawrance knew their identical twin sons had special talents when they saw the cartoon caricatures and 3-D sketches the boys were churning out in grade school. As Jan says, they were “just a little more advanced” than their classmates. Could mom be a bit biased? Absolutely. But it turns out she was right. 

A new exhibit showcasing the extraordinary works of Joe and Will Lawrance opened Monday at the Indianapolis Art Center (IAC). JoeWill: BetterTogether features more than 100 pieces—paintings, sketches, sculptures, mixed media, and architectural drawings from the twins’ days at North Central High School through post-college.

The Lawrances, along with their daughters Devin and Erin, attended a private reception Saturday for family and friends. “I was overwhelmed,” Mark says. “The way it was put together; the total was much greater than the sum of its parts.” The couple says they felt a groundswell of emotion as they absorbed the magnitude of the exhibit, which encompasses the Churchman-Fehsenfeld Gallery and Basile Exhibition Hall. “It was almost too grand to take in with one swoop. I just felt an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude,” adds Jan.

The couple was especially moved by the JoeWill typeface used in the signage and summaries and descriptions of each piece. A graphic artist created it by combining the twins’ writing styles. “It really felt like you were reading their writing,” Jan says. “Their sense of presence was there. You could almost hear their voices.”

The exhibit was inspired by “A Tragic Symmetry,” a piece that appeared in the April 2022 issue of Indianapolis Monthly. It tells the story of the twins’ inseparable bond and their innate artistic talents. Though they were “men of few words,” as Jan describes, the twins never shied away from revealing themselves on canvas, even when it was less than flattering.

A large self-portrait Will did in high school, affectionately titled “Big Face” by family and friends, shows him with disheveled hair and blemishes, a mirror image of the artist. Joe’s senior portrait, composed of thousands of tiny magazine clippings, also depicts a certain forlornness. Both pieces won national awards.

The twins’ deep connection became painfully clear after boys separated for college, with Joe winding up at The Cooper Union’s School of Architecture in New York and Will at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Lawrances say while Joe and Will found their classes challenging and fulfilling, they struggled being apart.

Each sought treatment for depression, anxiety, and, later, substance abuse disorder, challenges that continued throughout their lives. Both died by suicide six years apart. Will was 26 years old. Joe was 32. Given the unimaginable loss, the works the twins left behind were all the more treasured by loved ones. “It’s just good to see what they might have been thinking at the time. That’s what I get, how these [artworks] still talked to me after they passed away,” shares Mark.

In recent years, friends and relatives have suggested pursuing a venue to showcase the twins’ work. The opportunity came last year after IAC executive director Mark Williams read the Indianapolis Monthly piece and reached out to the Lawrances. After meeting Mark and Jan, it wasn’t a question of if there would be an exhibit, but when. Williams calls the twins’ “range of diversity and talent across multiple mediums an extraordinary and rare gift.”

The IAC averages 20 student and community-based shows a year. These are typically planned three years in advance, but Williams didn’t want to wait. He saw an opportunity to link the Lawrance exhibit with Mental Health Awareness Month in May, also adding a “wellness village” to the annual Broad Ripple Art Fair (which runs May 20–21 this year.)

“Being a community art center, our focus is on the well-being of the community,” he says. “It’s a unique kind of place that can host supportive conversations around contemporary social issues, and mental health is at the top of that list.”

Within a few months, JoeWill: BetterTogether was on the calendar with preparations underway. The exhibit also includes a series of videos that follow the boys burgeoning interest in art from childhood on, as told through the eyes of their parents and two high school art teachers. In another video, “Breaking the Stigma,” a mental health counselor addresses depression and suicide, how to get help, and how to help others.

Before opening night, Williams wondered if the exhibit would be a solemn event. “I knew it was emotional for the family, but just seeing the community come together to celebrate [Joe and Will], that was inspiring to me,” he says.

Jan compared the evening to a great, big hug. “When you talk about people who are gone, it keeps them present,” she says. “It couldn’t have been a better celebration.” JoeWill: BetterTogether runs through May 28, and admission is free.

Read “A Tragic Symmetry,” a piece that appeared in the April 2022 issue of Indianapolis Monthly

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These sterling-silver spurs

were worn in 1811 by William Henry Harrison during the Battle of Tippecanoe at Battle Ground, Indiana. The battle was a precursor to the War of 1812, and Harrison’s ensuing reputation as a war hero is widely regarded as the key factor in his landslide victory in the 1840 presidential election. The spurs were initially loaned to the Grouseland Historic Home Museum in Vincennes, Harrison’s residence during his tenure as governor of the Indiana Territory, by John Scott Harrison V, his great-great-great-grandson, to be “returned on demand.” The spurs, along with other items belonging to Harrison, including the bicorn hat he also wore at Tippecanoe, were ultimately purchased to become part of the permanent Grouseland collection. “The little star roulettes still spin,” says Lisa Ice-Jones, executive director of Grouseland. “The detail is amazing.”

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON’S SPURS

VINTAGE
1811

RESIDE
At Grouseland in Vincennes

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