I Am Broad Ripple

Artist Leslie Dolin

January 21st 2015

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When artist, Leslie Dolin first came to Broad Ripple, she was a teenager living in Westfield looking for people just like her. She found that in Broad Ripple.

Last night her and I sat in our favorite watering hole, the Wellington and talked about art and what direction she sees Broad Ripple going.

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As a young punk rock girl growing up in Westfield, Leslie found art as her way of expression. When she found Broad Ripple she was excited to find a place that had like minded people. "I never really thought of it as a mecca of art. There were always artists here but it really was just a cool place to be", says Dolin.

 

She has worked in many places in the neighborhood, starting with the Village Idiot. Which was once were the old Three Sisters restaurant used to be. Now she is a staple of the Monon Coffe Company, where she frequently displays her art. She has noticed that people aren't buying art like they used to but is hopeful with the new residences going up around Broad Ripple there will be a increase in desire for people to connect with the artists that have long lived here. "The disadvantage to Broad Ripple is that it is big. Fountain Square is relatively small, minus the neighborhoods. But with Broad Ripple, there is SoBro and other parts besides the strip, that leads to the potential of artist getting overlooked."

 

We spoke quite a bit about how Broad Ripple is in yet another reinvention phase and what she thought could be done to bring artists back into the equation. "It has the potential to be a lot of things. It has two identities. The daytime is families. Then it has the night life. It has always had two identities. So maybe art is that something that is needed to merge the two. It also takes the residents becoming invested in their neighborhood."

 

Enviably with every conversation about Broad Ripple, the topic of violence and the media is quick to follow. "It's times of disparity and crime that forces people to take control of their own lives. Every great movement started with inspiration mixed with rebellion. Andy Warhol just had a warehouse and from that came the Velvet Underground." Dolin sees what is happening as the perfect chance for that to happen in this neighborhood as well. "With more people moving into the neighborhood the greater the chance for someone to be inspired to lease out that empty store front and put in a dessert cafe or a pop-up gallery."

 

"I don't think Broad Ripple is dead by any means. We just need people with vision and passion. Vision+Passion+Space=Community Growth."

 

By: Tatjana Byrd