ORANJE 2018
I have a long history with ORANJE. Back in 2011 when I quit the real world to become a full time painter, ORANJE was the first juried show I applied to and got in. I did so on the recommendation of my artist friend, Jason Rowland. We used to showed together back in 2009 & 2010 in Warsaw, Indiana. I did ORANJE in 2011 and fell in love with the show. There were a few reasons I liked it, I sold well & met a ton of people, which is always good, but there was something else. ORANJE fills this void in our city where creators from all kind of industries, fashion, music, visual arts, dance come together to create a one night experience that is like no other. By 2013 I was the shows volunteer Art Director, working directly with co-founder, Ryan Hickey. I helped Ryan manage the shows visual art talent that year and in 2014. When 2014 ended, no one expected the show to disappear, but ultimately Ryan made the decision to table the show in 2015.
Ryan and I during ORANJE 2018
A couple years went by and in January 2018 I got an unexpected call from Ryan wanting to meet. I knew that could probably only mean one thing, he was going to attempt to bring back the show. But during that conversation I learned Ryan was not just going to bring it back, but he was in talks with the managers for a long time, bucket list venue for ORANJE, the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant on Mass Ave. I immediately told Ryan I was help in whatever capacity he needed and become ORANJE’s Art Director once again.
Our first walk through
Ryan and I on Indy Style promoting the show
I personally swept every inch of the venue using this industrial push broom machine thing.. It was surprisingly relaxing and reminded me of being a kid sweeping out our barns on the farm.
The night before ORANJE, it was late but this room needed a second pass, I grabbed a beer and swept this room twice more before the show. The photo doesn’t do it justice, but the skyline view from this room is ridiculous.
Johnny McKee getting ready
Kyle Ragsdale prepring for ORANJE
The “Calm before the Storm” - we had the most beautiful sunset the night of the show
SURPRISE WEDDING!?! I had worked with side-by-side for over a week leading up to the show, I had no idea how he kept his surprise wedding with Rachel a secret from his team. Its hard to describe how perfect this moment was for them but I was very honored to be there to witness this.
The first time I stepped into this basement, I recommend that Quincy Owens and Luke Crawley create a fully custom light installation in it. They made that happen and it was certainly one of the most memorable features of the night
Halie and I right before the show
My friends, Jason Rowland and Mike Altman
Mike and I
Ted and I
Shoulder to shoulder people all night. 2018 ORANJE was by far the most successful in its history. The show went out on top creating one of the most memorable nights I’ve ever experienced.
Me, Luke Crawley, Quincy Owens, & Kyle Ragsdale.. at this point I think we all felt like Quincy, but he has to be one of the hardest working artists in Indy and he often doesn’t show it. We all busted our ass to pull this event off and I was extremely honored to play a small role in the events success.