The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene &
Marilyn Glick announced today the three poems that will be featured on each of
the three new public art bus shelters located on the south side of Virginia
Avenue near Lexington Street, McCarty Street and Woodlawn Avenue along IndyGo
bus routes 12, 14 and 22.  The bus
shelters and poems were commissioned as part of the Indianapolis Cultural
Trail’s public art installation entitled “Moving Forward” by Indianapolis-based
architect Donna Sink. 

The following poets and their poems were selected and each
will receive $1,000 honorarium and placement on a bus shelter:

“Invisible Movements” by Karen Kovacik of Indianapolis
“The Painters” by Richard Pflum of Indianapolis
“The Bowl of Possible Peas” by John Sherman of Indianapolis

Sink and the Cultural Trail management team were so
impressed with the submissions that they selected a fourth poem, “City
Generation” by Elizabeth Weber, to display at “Poet’s Place,” located on
Alabama Street near Marsh the Marketplace. “Poet’s Place” is dedicated to Jim
Shackelford, a retired civil engineer and planner with the City’s Department of
Public Works and early Cultural Trail leader and champion.  “Poet’s Place” name comes from Shackelford’s
designation as the Cultural Trail’s unofficial poet.  He referred to the trail as “the canvas on
which the community can contribute its character and creativity.”

The Writers’ Center of Indiana managed the selection process
that began with a call for poets who either live in Indiana or have ties to
Indiana and who have been previously published. 
Submitted poems had to have a thematic connection to the Indianapolis
Cultural Trail and the “Moving Forward” public art project. 

From 120 applications received from around the state and
beyond, approximately 30 semi-finalists were sent to three national
judges:  Allison Joseph of Carbondale,
Illinois, Barry Silesky of Chicago, Illinois, and Ingrid Wendt of Eugene,
Oregon.   The judges selected 14 poems to
be considered for the final three selections, which were ultimately chosen by
Donna Sink and the Cultural Trail management team.  

The artists are thrilled to have their work appreciated in
such a permanent public forum.

“It is very gratifying to have one’s work seen and
felt, out in the open world,” said Richard Pflum. “It helps the artist justify,
to himself at least, all of the effort he has put himself through during the
years. It suggests that perhaps it has all been worth while.”

 “I’m thrilled to have my poem selected for the Cultural
Trail, which has already enlivened the downtown landscape and brought people
together,” said Karen Kovacik.  “The
contest was challenging, yet inspiring. I hope my poem challenges and inspires
its readers to become more active in the life of the city.”

“I am so pleased that poetry is being included as a
permanent feature of the Cultural Trail,” said John Sherman. “Personally, I am
flattered and delighted to have one of my favorite poems featured!”

“Indiana is blessed with a remarkable number of talented contemporary
writers,” said Barbara Shoup, executive director of the Writers’ Center of
Indiana.  “I applaud the Cultural Trail
team’s decision to recognize their role in Indianapolis’s lively arts scene by
making poetry a part of the daily lives of people in Indianapolis.  This is great news for everyone who loves the
written word.

Each shelter will be comprised of ecoresin panels, which are
made using 40 percent post-industrial re-grind content, mounted in a stainless
steel frame.  The shelters will be installed
on TX Active photocatalytic cement pads. These pads will be self-cleaning and
will help reduce many pollutants deemed harmful to human health and the
environment.  In addition to displaying
the full poem inside the shelter, Donna Sink will select words or phrases from
the poem to embed in the resin that will be reflected onto the ultra-white
cement pad.

The shelters will be installed during construction of the
Southeast Corridor of the Cultural Trail, from Pennsylvania and Washington
streets to Shelby and Prospect streets on Virginia Ave.  Construction is scheduled to begin this fall
and be completed in late 2011.  

To read the poems and for more information visit
www.IndyCulturalTrail.org/Moving_Forward or call 317.713.3333.