The Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis, or CAMi, will open with a weekend-long celebration May 1-3 in Garfield Park.
The 125-year-old building was formerly a dairy barn. It has been converted into a museum with six exhibition spaces and galleries, 18 artist studios, five storefronts, a performance space, a cafe and a culinary arts area for classes.
Get the backstory
Big Car Collaborative, founded by Jim Walker and Shauta Marsh, owns the 40,000-square-foot building and manages the $7 million project. CAMi is the first museum dedicated to contemporary art in the city since Indianapolis Contemporary closed in April 2020.
The public will be able to visit the CAMi for free. The main exhibition, “Campo de Resonancia,” by Puerto Rican painter Ivelisse Jiménez, will be on display in the Jeremy Efroymson Gallery.
Here’s what not to miss during the weekend-long celebration of CAMi.
Groove to music and vibes
On May 2, you can see The Roundups, a local rockabilly band, which will perform before a group tour of the museum for Bean Creek and Garfield Park neighbors.
On May 3, CAMi’s opening weekend will close with Big Car’s Levitt VIBE Indianapolis, monthly concert series. This free outdoor concert will feature performances by local and regional artists, including JJJJJerome Ellis, Grupo Folclórico Macehuani and A.K.A. Guests can also shop from Indy Gay Market vendors and purchase drinks and food.
Hear what City Market or Crispus Attucks High School sound like
For the last six months, 19 artists were commissioned to create an architectural sound project for “You’re Standing Inside the Instrument: A Score for 19 Buildings.”
The artists used features or objects from local buildings and musical instruments to create the soundscapes. The locations — chosen by architects, designers and other experts — include Crispus Attucks High School, Barton Tower Apartments, Madam Walker Legacy Center, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and City Market.
Eight audio creations will play on rotation through speakers. Visuals of the landmarks will display on TVs inside CAMi’s Listen Hear Gallery.
Cory Robinson’s “Kept Secrets: Open Code” exhibit, The Chicken Chapel of Love and Terri Sisson Park on display April 15, 2026, at in the Tube Gallery at CAMi. The space formerly known as Tube Factory Art Space has expanded to become the Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis. Credit: Millie Gimenez for Mirror Indy
Play around in an experimental creative office
CAMi’s OPTIONAL, which stands for the Office of Provisional Thinking, Indeterminate Outcomes, Nonessential Activities and Life — will operate as a conceptual art office where visitors are encouraged to get creative. It’s right next to the Listen Hear Gallery.
Buy pottery, zines, plants or toys
CAMi will house five storefronts for creative small businesses. Marsh said CAMi received over 85 applications from vendors interested in the space.
On opening weekend, you can buy pottery pieces from Hepatica Pottery Collective; used books, zines, vinyl, comics, toys and art supplies from HQ Books & Records; or plants from Indy Plant Room. You can also take an art class from Line+form Art Center at the drop-in style art cafe.
Go behind the scenes
Want to know more about how the CAMi came together? Artists Jess Dunn and Sylvia Thomas created “Drafts,” an experimental documentary that uses animation and music to tell the history of the museum.
Dunn and Thomas’ research of the space was transferred into video along with collaging archival maps and footage, artifacts and field recordings from Garfield Park and the CAMi campus. The exhibit opens May 1 inside the Katharine B. Sutphin Media Gallery.
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Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
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