Richmond artist's Gainbridge Fieldhouse works share Dust Bowl, Attucks stories

RICHMOND, Ind. — The Indiana Pacers' Fieldhouse of the Future preserves the state's basketball past.

And Richmond artist India Cruse-Griffin is among the storytellers ensuring tens of thousands of basketball fans see that history. Cruse-Griffin's artwork already hangs inside the renovated Gainbridge Fieldhouse waiting for next month's reopening.

The project that involved 22 artists, including muralist Pamela Bliss, is a partnership between the Indiana Arts Council and Pacers Sports & Entertainment that tells stories about Indianapolis, the Pacers, the fieldhouse and Indiana high school basketball.

"It's been so much fun, so amazing," Cruse-Griffin said about the project. "It's been awesome."

Cruse-Griffin, a Richmond High School art teacher, is a mixed media collage artist. She's recently found more time for her own art and was looking for a project. Her husband, Quintin Griffin, came across information about the Fieldhouse of the Future's artwork concept, so Cruse-Griffin received more information and decided it was an interesting project.

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A Hoosier native and member of an athletic family, Cruse-Griffin loves basketball and has been to the fieldhouse, adding to the project's appeal.

"I thought how cool that would be to be part of the new development and the history of Indiana," Cruse-Griffin said.

So, she submitted samples and her website, indiacruse-griffin.org, and was selected to contribute. Cruse-Griffin has work in public spaces, such as Reid Health, Indiana State Museum, Indiana University, Eskenazi Hospital, Richmond ArtMuseum and Richmond Community Schools, but not a fieldhouse.

Stories from the Dust Bowl tournaments

Cruse-Griffin was assigned space on the fieldhouse's Key Bank Suites level and the intertwined stories of the Dust Bowl tournaments and 1950s Crispus Attucks High School teams that illuminate Indianapolis' Black basketball history. She visited the fieldhouse to get a feel for the space and researched her stories.

"The fieldhouse is huge, but it still has that Hoosier feeling, so I didn't feel overwhelmed," Cruse-Griffin said. "I felt really comfortable about the space."

Cruse-Griffin said her assigned story excited her, then her research broadened her knowledge. She visited the Indianapolis locations and places such as the Indiana State Museum and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

"I found out so many things about Indiana, Indianapolis and the African-American community that really shook me to the core in a lot of ways," she said.

The Lockefield Gardens basketball court, located on what's currently Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis land, was a basketball mecca. It produced Crispus Attucks players, including those that won state championships in 1955, '56 and '59 for coach Ray Crowe. The 1955 team was the first all-Black team in the country to win an open state championship.

The Tigers featured players such as all-time great Oscar Robertson, his brother Bailey Robertson, Hallie Bryant, Willie Gardner, Cleveland Harp, Albert Maxey and Willie Merriweather during the '50s.

Together, the Dust Bowl and the segregated Attucks were an integral part of the 1950s Black community on the Indianapolis downtown's west side.

"I was meant to paint this story, there's no doubt in my mind or my family's mind," Cruse-Griffin said.

With the Dust Bowl the place to prove your basketball mettle, Cruse-Griffin thinks her family members might have traveled to Indianapolis and tested themselves against the greats who played there. Her father, Jack Cruse, played for Rushville High School.

A basketball camaraderie, regardless of color or station

Basketball is an Indiana passion that brings hoops-loving Hoosiers together, Cruse-Griffin said. On the court, players share a camaraderie, and skills matter more than whether you're from the city or country or whether you're Black or white.

Cruse-Griffin also relates to the Attucks faculty that included many professionals teaching subjects they continued to practice. She's a professional artist who shares her knowledge and experiences with Richmond students.

"I believe this is where I'm supposed to be right now," Cruse-Griffin said. "This experience will forever change my life."

Because the fieldhouse has not actually reopened and the artwork unveiled, Cruse-Griffin can't share much information about — or photos of, for that matter — her work, except to say it's definitely her style.

"When you round that corner, you know it's me," Cruse-Griffin said.

She uses bold colors, shapes and patterns in her figural style, and she set the 1950s time period by including mid-century-style furniture that will spark memories. Cruse-Griffin said her work generally gives a sense of being abstract with some hard edges and some soft edges.

Cruse-Griffin tries to create works that are intriguing to observers, makes them think and enables them to see new things every time they look.

"There's nothing like seeing a piece of art in person, and I hope and pray that it resonates with people," she said.

As she developed her pieces, Cruse-Griffin said she received tremendous support and assistance from her family. Now, the artwork hangs in the fieldhouse ready for basketball fans.

"Just walking away and realizing what this is going to mean to the people coming to a game, it's so amazing, because we're talking about so many people," Cruse-Griffin said.

And, it's not just her work. Cruse-Griffin appreciates being involved with the other artists recruited for the project. She hopes visitors are excited, like she is, by all of the works.

"People will walk in and, in my opinion, be astounded," Cruse-Griffin said.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Richmond artist's fieldhouse works share Dust Bowl, Attucks stories