Opened in 2010, the 100-acre (40 ha) park is among the largest of its kind in the U.S., including an inaugural collection of eight site-specificart installations by national and international artists.[2] Other features include walking paths, natural landscaping, and the Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion. Admission to the park is free and open from dusk to dawn.
The park is situated within a floodplain west of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and Oldfields, bordered on the east by the Indiana Central Canal and on the north and west by a meander in the White River.[3] The park was intentionally developed to emphasize surrounding natural features, including woods, meadows, wetlands, and a 30-to-40-acre (12 to 16 ha) quarry lake.[4][3][5] Virginia B. Fairbanks, the wife of benefactor Richard M. Fairbanks, is the park's namesake.[1]
History
The park's lake is a remnant of the site's past use as a quarry
In acknowledgment of the site's popularity with trespassers, the museum partnered with Indianapolis Greenways and the Indianapolis Water Company to formally open the site for public use in 1999. At this time, museum officials began maintaining desire paths around the lake and clearing invasive plant species.[4] Further, the museum adopted a US$160 million master plan that proposed developing the site into a public art and nature park. A preliminary site plan was developed by landscape architecture firm Moore Iacofano Goltsman Inc.[3]
In 2004, the museum commissioned landscape architect Edward L. Blake, Jr. and architect Marlon Blackwell to design the park with an emphasis on its natural setting.[7] Gifts totaling US$15 million were granted to the museum from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation in 2001 and 2006 to offset initial operations expenses for the park.[5][8][1] In 2007, the museum announced the selection of the first ten artists whose work would be installed in the park.[9]
In 2008, the museum scaled back some elements of the park. A planned US$8 million, 1,500-foot (460 m) walkway designed by artist Mary Miss was canceled due to concerns of cost and the piece's impact on the surrounding natural environment.[10] Miss was invited to contribute a piece that would be "more environmentally sensitive" and less "engineering-intense". The Ruth Lilly Visitors Center was downsized due to building constraints in the floodplain. Due to scheduling conflicts, commissioned artists Haluk Akakçe and Peter Eisenman were forced to postpone their involvement, while Jeppe Hein was added to the roster of inaugural artists.[11]
At the park's groundbreaking on September 18, 2008, Maxwell L. Anderson, director and chief executive officer for the Indianapolis Museum of Art at the time, said:
(We are) taking a property which began in effect as an industrial site after it left the natural one, became a wasteland, and then nature reclaimed it. And today the IMA hopes to leave nature in charge to a very considerable extent.[10]
The park was anticipated to open in September 2009 but was delayed due to impacts from the Great Recession. The completed park opened to the public on June 20, 2010.[1] The park's primary visionary was Lisa Freiman, and it was co-developed by Sarah Urist Green.[12][13]
Landscape architecture firm DAVID RUBIN Land Collective was commissioned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art to complete a 30-year land use master plan for the full 152-acre (62 ha) Newfields campus. Adopted in 2017, the master plan called for several developments to the park, including a new footbridge across the Indiana Central Canal and an allée to create a visual axis from Oldfields to the lake in 100 Acres.[6][14]
In 2019, the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation awarded Newfields a US$10 million grant to fund park upgrades, including improved pedestrian and bicyclist connectivity, additional restrooms and parking, and the creation of an endowment for continued maintenance and new art installations.[15]
In January 2023, Newfields announced the "Home Again" exhibition, including the addition of three works to the park: Oracle of Intimation by Heather Hart; The Pollinator Pavilion by Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood; and This is NOT a Refuge by Anila Quayyum Agha. The exhibition was curated by the park's first director, Lisa Freiman, who served in various roles at the Indianapolis Museum of Art until 2013. The exhibition was underwritten by a US$3 million gift from local entrepreneur and former trustee Kent Hawryluk. The three pieces are planned to be installed in June 2023 on the Hawryluk Sculpture Green.[16][17]
Oldfields visible from the Wild Birds Unlimited Native Pollinator Meadow
Waller Bridge, a bowstring pony truss footbridge spanning the Indiana Central Canal, allows pedestrians to travel between the park and the rest of the Newfields campus. The bridge was originally located in Montgomery County, Indiana, constructed by the King Bridge Company in 1873. The bridge was later moved to its current site and restored with some contemporary modifications.[3][29]
The Central Canal Towpath, a shared-use path of crushed limestone, runs along the eastern perimeter of the park paralleling the canal. The trail serves as a regional connector for pedestrians and bicyclists, linking the park to the Monon Trail at its northern terminus in the Broad Ripple neighborhood and Fall Creek Greenway at its southern terminus. Bicycle parking racks and an Indiana Pacers Bikeshare docking station are available.[6]
The park's 40-space surface parking lot is accessible to motorists from W. 38th St. via the N. White River Pkwy. E. Dr. exit ramp. A pedestrian crosswalk leads visitors from the parking lot to the Edgar and Dorothy Fehnel Entrance.
Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion
Architect Marlon Blackwell was commissioned to design the Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion in 2004.[7] Inspired by a fallen leaf,[30] Blackwell's design blends wood, glass, and steel with environmental sustainability systems focused on water and energy efficiency.[31] The 1,290-square-foot (120 m2) LEED-certified building is situated within the park's northeastern woods, containing a multipurpose room and restrooms.[30] The pavilion has earned accolades from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Architect Magazine, and Chicago Athenaeum, among others.[32] In 2021, a six-person panel of AIA Indianapolis members identified the pavilion among the ten most "architecturally significant" buildings completed in the city since World War II.[33]
Wild Birds Unlimited Native Pollinator Meadow
The pollinator meadow was announced as part of a US$10 million grant from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation in 2019.[15] Former Newfields trustee Edgar Fehnel gifted the institution US$100,000 to help fund the pollinator meadow in addition to US$100,000 from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust to help fund environmental sustainability and nature conservancy efforts.[34]
^ abcdLindquist, David (June 20, 2010). "Nature & art intertwined: Indy's new art park is a cultural oasis offering a taste of two worlds". The Indianapolis Star. pp. A1 and A17. Retrieved September 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Also billed as 100 Acres, the park — consisting of woodlands, wetlands and a meadow — opens today as the newest attraction at the IMA. (...) The Indianapolis Museum of Art raised $23.6 million to establish 100 Acres, which initially was scheduled to open in September [2009]. IMA Director and CEO Max Anderson blamed a slumping economy for the delay. 'I was reducing the size of staff and therefore putting more demands on fewer people,' he said. 'The spirit of the city was one of fear and anxiety. The last two years — the recession's depth — was not a happy time. I felt it was not a good time to open this. I thought it would be lost.' (...) An $11 million gift from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation will be used to offset the operating costs of 100 Acres. (...) The park is named after his wife, Virginia, who died in 2007.
^ abcdeMullen, Ruth (July 29, 2000). "Gallery without walls". The Indianapolis Star. pp. E1 and E5. Retrieved September 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. It is part of the IMA's ambitious $160 million master plan unveiled last year that museum officials believe will boost it into the top tier of American museums. (...) Bounded on three sides by a horseshoe bend in the White River, the 100-acre property is west of the museum, separated from the IMA's main campus by Indianapolis Greenways' Central Canal Towpath. (...) A historic 19th-century Bowstring Pony Truss Bridge from Montgomery County spans the canal, a symbolic link between the museum's main campus and its 21st-century Art and Nature Park. Bikers and joggers will be able to access the park from the Indianapolis Greenways' Central Canal Towpath Trail, which also links up to the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple. (...) The park property was donated to the IMA by the construction firm Huber, Hunt and Nichols in the early 1970s. The company had used the site to excavate gravel for the construction of I-65, which created the park's central water feature: a 40-acre lake. The land remained untouched for decades while museum officials quietly raised funds and mulled over development possibilities. Last year, the IMA hired Moore Iacofano Goltsman Inc., a landscape architecture firm based in Berkeley, Calif., to design a preliminary master plan.
^ abPenner, Diana (March 1, 1999). "Art museum land to become part of recreation trail". The Indianapolis Star. pp. B1 and B6. Retrieved September 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. About 100 acres, including the 30-acre lake, will still belong to the museum but will become part of the Indy Parks Greenways system, partners in the effort announced Sunday. (...) When he took a walk into the area some time ago, he discovered people riding bikes, walking their dogs and even one man fishing from an inner tube in the middle of the lake. He said it struck him that 'this is already a public park. Why don't we acknowledge that and do something' with the land. So the museum, the city's parks department, and the Indianapolis Water Co., which owns the canal, negotiated an agreement to open the area to the public — legally. (...) Taking inventory of existing flora and fauna, removing some non-native and 'rogue' plants that might choke others out, replanting native plants and making minor improvements to a footpath created by nature-loving trespassers.
^ abBerry, S.L. (July 21, 2006). "IMA selects 1st artist for its 100-acre site". The Indianapolis Star. pp. A1 and A8. Retrieved September 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Scheduled to open in 2009 on woodlands, wetlands, meadows and a lake, the park — west of the museum's main grounds — will include temporary and permanent works of art, a building where visitors can interact with art and nature, and a facility for educational activities. (...) The foundation — founded in 1986 by the late Richard M. Fairbanks, an Indianapolis businessman — has provided $15 million toward that goal, including $4 million in 2001. (...) 'This is not meant to be a manicured garden,' said Anderson. 'It's meant to be an intersection between art and the natural world. We have 100 acres, some of which is untamed, which is how it will remain.'
^ abBerry, S.L. (October 12, 2004). "IMA picks architects for nature park". The Indianapolis Star. p. B3. Retrieved September 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. A two-year, nationwide search culminated Monday with the announcement that the Indianapolis Museum of Art has selected architects Edward Blake and Marlon Blackwell to design and oversee creation of its Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park.
^Warkel, Harriet G.; Fischer, Jessica Erin (2021) [1994]. "Newfields". Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^Berry, S.L. (February 28, 2007). "10 chosen to decorate IMA Art & Nature Park". The Indianapolis Star. p. B2. Retrieved September 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Internationally known Peter Eisenman and Alfredo Jaar are two of the ten artists, artist collectives and architects selected to create works for the Indianapolis Museum of Art's Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park.
^ abLloyd, Christopher (September 19, 2008). "IMA breaks ground for park". The Indianapolis Star. p. B3. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. IMA staff held the groundbreaking Thursday for the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, which they have nicknamed 100 Acres. (...) '(We are) taking a property which began in effect as an industrial site after it left the natural one, became a wasteland, and then nature reclaimed it. And today the IMA hopes to leave nature in charge to a very considerable extent,' said Maxwell Anderson, director and chief executive of the IMA. (...) A previously planned 1,500-foot bridge connecting the park to the main museum building by artist Mary Miss was scrapped earlier this summer after it proved too expensive and would have had too great an impact on the facility's natural environment.
^Marshall, Konrad (June 7, 2008). "IMA scales down plans for park". The Indianapolis Star. p. B7. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. When the Indianapolis Museum of Art's Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park opens in the fall of 2009, it will do so without the highly anticipated 1,500-foot walkway planned by New York-based environmental artist Mary Miss. Lisa Freiman, senior curator of contemporary art at the IMA, said Friday that the Miss project was going to cost upward of $8 million and that the 600-ton steel structure also was going to have an 'enormous impact on the natural environment.' (...) Maxwell Anderson, the museum's CEO, said Miss has been invited to contribute another project to the museum, 'making a work which is more environmentally sensitive and exploring possibilities that aren't as engineering-intense.' (...) In other changes announced Friday, the art park will no longer split the proposed visitors' center into two buildings (including an educational center). It will instead be a single, 3,000-square-foot complex. (...) 'We knew it was a floodway. But they found they could only build on less than an acre of the 100-acre site.' (...) Danish artist Jeppe Hein has been commissioned for one of the inaugural installations, replacing Haluk Akakce, whose project was halted because of scheduling conflicts. A project by Peter Eisenman also has been postponed until the second phase of the project...
^"Big Jim Bridge". HistoricBridges.org. HistoricBridges.org. February 18, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
^ ab"Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion". ArchitectMagazine.com. Architect Magazine. July 16, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2022. Isolated in the heart of an urban forest, with a light touch on the land, Fayetteville, Ark.–based Marlon Blackwell Architect's design for the 1,290-square-foot Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion draws inspiration from the structure and form of a fallen leaf.
^"Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion". ArchitectureIndiana.com. Indiana Architectural Foundation. October 24, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
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