We are kicking off 2025 sharing artworks of some the artists who helped make 2024 SPARK on the Circle happen! Visual artists Katie Faust, Dillion Imel and Sarah Montañez led daily activities of our work in the pop-up park in the Northwest quad for five months. Kris Komakech was one of our SPARK Artists in Residence. He created a Monument Circle Hidden Picture, led a clock-making workshops and more. Read more about the artists below.

Kris Komakech is an Indianapolis based multi-media visual artist who has been practicing his work for over 20 years. He is best known for his intricate maps and community focused clocks. He exhibits in non-traditional venues like grocery stores and community spaces. Komakech has also exhibited at The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Central Library’s Meet The Artists, Gallery 924 and many other traditional galleries and art spaces.  “Like most people, I had a very active imagination as a child: I truly lived inside my mind. At a very young age, I recognized my ability to bring all of my dreams and fantasies into the real world through that creativity,” says Komakech.

“Drawing, painting and building were not just simple activities to me — the need to create was similar to the need to breathe, and I inhaled with my eyes and exhaled with my hands. In the sixth grade, I was selected to attend classes at the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis — a turning point in my artistic journey. Everybody was older and more experienced than me, and as the little kid with the broken glasses, I’m sure I stuck out in class. Regardless, I never felt more in my own element than in art class. However, during high school, I started neglecting my passion for art and began focusing on the more mainstream pastimes of “normal” teenagers. I thought I was doing myself a favor by trying to fit in, but it turned out to be a strategy that abandoned my overwhelming strengths and uncovered my true weaknesses. I spent the first 16 years of my life building an identity: I was “Kris the Artist.” I knew exactly how to express myself, and I let my hands do all of the talking. But, unfortunately, I then spent twelve long years trying to fit myself into this image of normalcy that I had stuck in my mind. My story turned out to be a really long and difficult way of figuring out exactly who I am not. At the age of twenty-eight and somewhat lost in life, I wandered into my current career as a carpenter. Slowly, my desire to create reemerged. And, once again, I began to trust and believe in my hands. Today, I know them to be my true voice.”

Katie Faust is a queer and non-binary artist located in Indy. They are a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington with a Bachelors in Studio Art and an Art History minor. Their work has been shown in the Indianapolis Art Center in Broad Ripple, Indiana and at Indiana University-Bloomington. Faust’s work focuses on cultivating a sense of self beyond heteronormative expectations surrounding sexuality and gender. Through their exploration of personal identity and acceptance, they aim to create a space that encourages admirers to challenge their perceptions of self and embrace their authentic expression.

Dillon Imel is an Indianapolis-based artist and third-year Illustration major at Herron School of Art. Dillon’s work draws a lot of inspiration from the mundane moments of life.

Sarah Montañez is currently a senior at IU Indianapolis’ Herron School of Art and Design, pursuing a BFA in Photography and a minor in Art History. An image maker and video artist, Sarah explores the tense generational dynamics present in her family, as well as grief, loss, and yearning for people and places.

SPARK on the Circle is a partnership between Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy, Inc., the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission, and is funded by the Capital Improvement Board.  At Big Car, we approach our work at the Circle as a site- and community-specific socially engaged art and creative placemaking project.

Artwork of SPARK on the Circle by Katie Faust