Check out this new addition to the digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, which Polis launched in Fall 2021. This virtual exhibit was an immediate response to protests that erupted in downtown Indianapolis and other urban areas worldwide after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, on May 25, 2020. Protesters rose up against such deaths as Floyd’s and those of other Black citizens at the hands of police officers. They called for racial justice and an end to police brutality in Indianapolis and nationwide.

The Indy Arts Council, PATTERN, and St’ArtUp 317 Incubator teamed up to organize the project, with financial support from Glick Philanthropies. They commissioned 24 Black artists to create 22 temporary murals on storefronts that were boarded up in downtown Indianapolis following the 2020 summer protests.