Friday, September 6
5:00 – 9:00 pm
Sahara Restaurant
832 Broad Ripple Ave.
At a unique art experience at Sahara Restaurant, participants can enjoy delicious Mediterranean food and view the work of up-and-coming artist, Johnny Willems, a Mexican-American screen printer. Willems explores the fighting spirit of revolutionaries such as Leila Khaled, who said, “I have a cause higher and nobler than my own, a cause to which all private interests and concerns must be subordinated.” As we subordinate ourselves to serious reflection and growth, let us also take in a night of camaraderie in Broad Ripple.
Sahara Restaurant, best known for its food, is transforming its space to support a local artist and opening its doors to hosting more artists in the future. Show curator Fauzi Isaac hopes to bring an excellent crowd to encourage the owners to continue hosting. Isaac is of Jordanian and Palestinian descent from Indianapolis and is building a diverse arts community that includes Arab artists. Isaac recently curated a show for Indiana artist Jacob Church at the Fonseca-Du Bois Gallery. He uses his connections to the Arab community and the arts to help grow Indianapolis into a more integrated community.
Willems, originally from Cedar Lake, Indiana, now resides in Indianapolis, where he works as a social worker and serves as gallery coordinator at the Fonseca-Du Bois Gallery. While studying at IUPUI, he immersed himself in the local arts scene, learning screen printing and engaging in anti-imperialist activism. His prints feature diverse subjects, from Buddhist deities to revolutionary figures like Palestinian freedom fighter Leila Khaled. Let Willem’s prints capturing the revolutionary spirit of our past freedom fighters inspire us all.
