Jennifer Parker’s ceramic plates and bathroom tile were the perfect colors to include in a ceramic mosaic for SWIRCA & More’s 50th anniversary. It was made by team members at The Hope Gallery in Newburgh, Indiana, and recently unveiled at SWIRCA’s headquarters.
“These people are so special. Everything they do is so earnest,” says David Brown, Healthy Aging Coordinator for SWIRCA.
The September/October issue of Evansville Living featured The Hope Gallery team members working on the piece, but its creation took months of preparation and the desire of many to see team members’ talents on display.
When Brown started working at SWIRCA in March 2023, he wanted more artwork displayed around SWIRCA’s headquarters at 16 W. Virginia St. and initially envisioned a pop-up gallery space in the activity center. One of the places he reached out to for art to include in the pop-up gallery was The Hope Gallery. When the pop-up gallery idea did not pan out due to renovations at SWIRCA, the vision changed to a mosaic artwork. Brown wrote a grant request for the Indiana Arts Commission for The Hope Gallery to create an artwork of SWIRCA’s logo to be framed by Bippus Frame Shop and hung in the seniors center.
The grant also would cover an art workshop planned for 15 of SWIRCA’s 650 members in January 2025 and instructed by The Hope Gallery’s team members. The gallery would receive a $2,000 commission to cover expenses for the workshop, including supplies. The Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana served as the regional partner for the grant and reviewed and offered insight into the project.
A $4,000 grant was approved in June, fully funding The Hope Gallery’s work on the ceramic mosaic, which began in July. The gallery collects ceramics from many sources, and pieces often are donated — Parker herself contributed materials from her own home that fit SWIRCA’s light-and-dark-blue color scheme.
“It’s the biggest masterpiece we’ve done,” says Kiefer Wille, a team member with The Hope Gallery for the past three years. “I love to do it.”
The mosaic was finished in mid-August and installed in late September. SWIRCA visitors are thrilled by the four-foot-by-four-foot new artwork, which doubles as a source of pride for The Hope Gallery’s team members.
“Look what we can do if you give us a chance,” Parker says. “It’s really important to us because the community believes in us. We want people to see our ability over our disability.”
