If you catch a Pacers game this month, keep an eye out at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a special exhibit about Greenlawn Cemetery.
The new traveling story from Mirror Indy will be on display in the main concourse Feb. 23-27. This is its first public stop as it embarks on a mission to spend time in community spaces around Indianapolis.
If you go
There will be three Pacers games and a Lil’ Wayne concert happening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse while the Greenlawn exhibit is visiting. You won’t need a ticket to get into the main concourse where it’s on display, but you will need to go through the security checkpoint.
Based on reporting from Mirror Indy data journalist Emily Hopkins, the exhibit tells the story of how two major construction projects disturbed a historic cemetery where some of Indianapolis’ earliest Black residents were buried.
You’ll see portraits illustrated by central Indiana artist Shaunt’e Lewis showing historians working to bring awareness to the site’s historical significance, alongside some of the notable figures thought to be buried there. Plus, you can scan QR codes on the display to hear directly from some of the community advocates in video and audio interviews.
There’s also a timeline showing the history of the site from when it was first established in 1821, to when Diamond Chain first built a factory there in 1917, to the present-day tensions between developers and preservationists.
Mirror Indy’s managing editor of innovation, Amanda Kingsbury, and arts and culture editor, Jennifer Delgadillo, led the effort to translate the Greenlawn story into a form that could reach people in a new way. They worked with artists Kate Oberreich and Lindsey Lord to design the exhibit.
“We know that the communities most impacted by the story don’t have a lot of trust in traditional news organizations. Building that trust involves being in spaces where people already gather, instead of expecting them to come to us,” Kingsbury said. “The traveling story is also an invitation to the public to help us tell a more accurate, authentic story of Greenlawn’s history.”
If you want to bring the Greenlawn traveling story to your community space, send an email to ebony.chappel@freepressindiana.org.
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