The Factory Arts District, formerly known as the Circle City Industrial Complex, will host an in-person First Friday, December 6th, 6-9pm. Admission is free. The Factory Arts District is comprised of two buildings, Factory Arts North (1125 Brookside Ave) and Factory Arts South (1011 Massachusetts Ave). For First Friday purposes, all of the listed galleries and studio spaces are located in Factory Arts North.
Open Studios and Galleries
Several studios and gallery spaces will be open throughout the building. This list is not all-encompassing; some artists may decide to open that night based on current information and comfort levels.
The Schwitzer Gallery
Located on the second floor of the North Studios, the Schwitzer Gallery will feature “In Good Company,” a celebration of regional designers, makers, and fabricators, featuring 30 artists who make a practice around furniture design and woodworking.
Arts & Images by Anthony Armstrong
Anthony Armstrong presents a blend of new abstract paintings highlighting bold colors, deep texture and movement. Armstrong is a self-taught abstract painter and photographer. As a mixed media artist, Armstrong wants the art collector to be engaged with their pieces, hoping to garnish new perspectives and elements of design. Arts & Images by Anthony Armstrong is located in the South Studios.
Bruce Armstrong / Bruce’s Fine Arts
Bruce Armstrong features a wonderful collection of abstract, minimalist, collage and figurative paintings, highlighting bold colors, strong movements and sharp angles. Bruce Armstrong is located in the South Studios.
Aurora PhotoCenter
Aurora PhotoCenter supports visual artists working in photography through exhibitions, residencies, workshops, visiting artist talks, and access to creative tools. As the only nonprofit of its type in Indiana devoted exclusively to photography, Aurora is an essential hub for the medium in our arts community. Aurora is passionate about photography’s emotional and social power as an art medium in its own right. Over the last decade, Colombian-born photographer Alexandra McNichols-Torroledo has focused her work on the indigenous communities of North and South America who protect sacred plants, water, and the rainforest. The exhibition “ESX/COCA,” in the Efroymson Gallery, presents images that McNichols-Torroledo made at the Wasak Kwewesx School in the Nasa indigenous reservation of Toribio, Cauca, Colombia, printed with the beautiful platinum-palladium process. Also, the Aurora’s Main Gallery will showcase “The Sun Sets Midafternoon,” until December 15. Aurora PhotoCenter is located on the first floor in the North Studios.
Daily Epiphany Studio: Michele Burns and Kurt Kriese
Michele Burns creates photoluminescent artwork with one design visible ‘by day,’ and the other revealing itself once the lights are turned off. Her art is inspired by pattern, color, and texture and incorporates light-absorbing minerals that create a second “nightlight” composition (and also creating a an art nightlight, in a way). Burns makes her own OSHA-rated and toy safe pigments herself for maximum luminance. Kurt Kriese, of this dynamic duo, creates an eclectic mix of abstract and realistic art, and experiments with various media. He is a gifted landscape and figure painter and stained-glass artist. The Daily Epiphany Studio features new work for winter 2025, including glowing mosaics, photoluminescent landscapes, complex abstracts, whimsical glowing nursery art, and Nightlight/I-Spy/Memory games and artwork. Daily Epiphany is located in the South Studios.
Five Seasons Studio
Martha Nahrwold, the Factory Arts District’s longest-serving resident artist, invites visitors to wander down a country road that curves around trees in the distance, alongside golden fields in the late Indiana summer. Using a new variation of a century-old technique, Nahrwold creates landscapes and tree studies by floating inks on water. “My Marbled Impressionism paintings reflect calm and peaceful places where I’d like to be,” Nahrwold said. “When I can’t be serious anymore, I paint animals, which take on a whimsical life of their own.” Five Seasons Studio is located on the first floor of the North Studios.
Full Circle Nine Gallery
The Full Circle Nine Gallery (FC9) will feature Vivien Khamis in “The Beings of Eratu.” “It’s a fun romp through this world I’ve been making,” Khamis said. “I normally do more dark surrealist art, but deep down, I just want to draw dragons, and knights. It’s always been my comfort subject, and probably will be for all my life.” “A show for nerds,” “The Beings of Eratu” is an exercise in portraiture and illustration work centered around fantasy and surrealistic stylings, depicted with everything from digital drawings to oil painting. This is a step into a very rich world. “I’ve always been someone to make characters and stories for them. Art gave me the outlet to make those characters come to life and not just be stories in my head. Each piece I have up has 100 hours worth of history to them, and many stories of how they interact with their world,” Khamis said. The Full Circle Nine Gallery is located on the first floor of the South Studios.
Victoria Gillieron
Victoria Gillieron is an impressionist oil painter who loves to paint images from Sanibel Island, Florida, capturing its beauty before the hurricane, as well as still life and landscapes. Gillieron feels very blessed to have studied with such amazingly talented artists and counts many of these individuals as her good friends and credits them with helping her to become the artist she is today. She invites the curious to visit and see her broad collection of paintings. Victoria Gillieron is located on the first floor of the South Studios.
Glass Arts Indiana, Inc.
Glass Arts Indiana creates a collaborative glass community to support and promote emerging and established artists; to participate in events to increase the knowledge and appreciation of glass arts with Indiana residents; to host fun, interesting and educational events; increase appreciation and understanding of the glass arts; and promote glass-related opportunities in Indiana and the U.S. Finished works are available and visitors will get to see glass-blowing in action. Glass Arts Indiana, Inc. is located on the first floor, in the corridor.
Indy Fused Glass
The artist instructors at Indy Fused Glass (IFG) create fused glass art for sale in a retail gallery. IFG teaches introductory fusing sessions, guided by artists to learn to create with fusible glass. IFG offers 14 different fusing projects to select from. These can be fused or “slumped” (another method of using fusible glass to create functional forms). The Indy Fused Glass, LLC Gallery has newly created fused glass art each week on display and available for purchase. For First Friday, IFG Glass Artists either offer hands-on sessions or feature a working glass artist, doing a demonstration. Indy Fused Glass is on the first floor of the North Studios.
Scott Johnson / Studio F60
Scott Johnson operates a contemporary art and design studio with a mix of painting, collage, and digital art. He blends representational and figurative artwork as well as selected forms of abstraction. There’s also a pool table. Scott Johnson is located on the second floor of the North Studios.
Larry Lad, LadArt
Larry Lad is a painter who covers the spectrum of abstract and representational work. He likes to add dimension to his paintings using additional canvas, cigar boxes, collage, and other materials to layer his work. His show “Replication” traces his journey as an artist as he searches for his own style by borrowing from the works of artists he admires. Lad also creates large sculptures and installations. Larry Lad, LadArt is located in the corridor on the first floor.
Nancy Lee of Nancy Lee Designs Studio
Nancy Lee is a metalsmith, enamelist, and artisan jeweler. Her jewelry is made by hand in silver and karat gold, one at a time or in small batches, and is often embellished with faceted gems or unusual cabochons. Most are one of a kind. Lee’s abstract enamel landscapes are kiln fired at high temperatures using pigmented powdered glass on a copper substrate and are mounted on wood. She produces small-scale copper sculpture using traditional metalsmithing techniques. Lee’s new work revolves around a simple four-petal flower shape. She uses this shape in a variety of ways, including minutely detailed sterling silver flower stud earrings set with white gemstones. Other styles may include a cluster of various sizes and shapes of the four-petal flower in bunched arrangements on a necklace or in a simple embellished ring stack. Nancy Lee is one of the three original artist pioneers who brought First Friday art openings to the Circle City Industrial Complex. Nancy Lee Designs Studio is on the first floor of the North Studios.
Strawberry Studios
Maya Custer, a painter and digital artist, creates a colorful and eclectic environment, with art inspired by travels, foods and nature. By using pastels and bright colors, she is hoping to remind others to not shy away from colorful expression. Strawberry Studio is located on the second floor of the North Studios.
The Factory Arts District is open during regular business hours, and the Schwitzer Gallery is accessible throughout the week. A number of the city’s most varied and exciting artists and galleries will remain open for their regular hours, with many of them available on weekends, posted on their own websites and social media. Some studios will be open by appointment.
About the Factory Arts District
Located just east of downtown Indianapolis, the Factory Arts District (formerly the Circle City Industrial Complex) encompasses a 16 acres and houses two buildings: Factory Arts South (1011 Massachusetts Avenue)—a 95,000 square foot facility—and Factory Arts North (1125 Brookside Avenue)—a 420,000 square foot facility—as well as two free parking lots. The property was previously home to the Schwitzer Corporation, a pioneer in automotive technology. This location is the gateway of the Mass Ave/Brookside Industrial Corridor, which encompasses more than 300 acres of vacant or underutilized commercial and industrial property. In 2014, with much of this area suffering from deterioration and environmental issues, it became a focus for revitalization for the City of Indianapolis. In 2015, the City awarded a $1.5 million Community Development Block Grant to the Factory Arts District; funds that were used to renovate, repair, and ultimately stabilize the property. Today, the Factory Arts District provides a case study for successful industrial reuse in an urban environment.
For more information, please visit https://www.factoryartsdistrict.com/
