Beyond football: Sculptures, murals, exhibits add depth to game events

Throughout downtown Indianapolis, banners touting Super Bowl XLVI dominate windows, buildings and entire city blocks.

But looking past all of the big-game hoopla, dozens of other decorations have gone up catering to the cultural crowd in town.

While Indianapolis is caught up in football-focused revelry, the local arts community has spent the past week reminding visitors that the town is about more than sports.

Building-sized murals, outdoor exhibitions and a collection of installation works have popped up around downtown. The hope is that in between celebrating at Super Bowl Village and taking in The NFL Experience, people will check out what local artists have to offer.

“We hope that people will see what dynamic art we have in the city, and they’ll think twice about going to Chicago or New York or L.A. to look at great art,” said Abbey Chambers, president of the Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association. “We want people outside of Indianapolis to think of the city as a cultural center, not just a sports town.”

Downtown Indianapolis has put an emphasis in recent years on public art installations, and the Super Bowl has only increased the focus.

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