Faith Montgomery nervously waited to participate in an open mic one evening in May at Untitled… a new creative space in Fountain Square.
She finally inched out onto center stage after getting hyped up by the people around her.
“Everyone was very supportive,” Montgomery said. “They were telling me ‘you got it,’ they cheered me on, so having that definitely eased the nerves and also made me feel pretty proud of myself for stepping into that, despite feeling terrified of it.”
That loving and creative spirit Montgomery experienced during the poetry event is what Kwesi R’Mani hopes to foster within his new inclusive multi-use creative space in the heart of Fountain Square.
Watching his community express themselves and gas each other up is one of R’Mani’s greatest joys.
This new venture has been years in the making, initially starting out by hosting community resource events that provided free haircuts and food to mostly low-income Black, Hispanic and white eastsiders. Then he transitioned to hosting open mics and art shows in backyards and on college campuses before he leveled up to working for GANGGANG, a local Black cultural collective.
Now he’s stepping out on his own with Untitled… And yes, the ellipsis is part of the name. He hopes Untiled… will serve as another creative platform.
“Some people are really good and some people may not be, but they’re out here just enjoying themselves,” R’Mani said jokingly. “I just think it takes a lot of courage to do that. I just love providing that type of space.”
The vibe curator is strengthening the inclusive community feeling on the south side while also working to prevent the community’s history from being further erased or forgotten. Fountain Square is a predominantly white community where gentrification has been driving out some lower-income residents
“I just think it’s really important for us to document our history, because people tell our own stories in their own lenses, and it doesn’t necessarily always represent us properly,” said R’Mani who won a Mayor’s Community Service Award earlier this year.
Before opening in May, R’Mani remodeled and painted a space on the south side to cultivate an inclusive atmosphere that uplifts artists of all kinds. R’Mani hopes to nurture an atmosphere that jumpstarts creativity and community building with a soon-to-be cafe during the day and a lounge at night. It’ll also feature House of Groove, an arts and culture brand that R’Mani founded, which produces events such as the curated Poetry Floor Live series that Montgomery attended.
There’s no exterior business sign and the sliding barn doors at the entrance provide a speakeasy vibe inside the former horse and carriage factory at 1028 Shelby St. Since its construction in the 1800s, the building has served many purposes, ranging from a chair factory to a chai shop.
And as for that name. Untitled… is a nod to R’Mani’s habit of leaving his poems without a title. He hopes the name allows customers who want to rent the venue to identify the space as an affordable, limitless area full of possibilities for community connection, whether that’s by hosting a baby shower or a music recording session.
Taking up space
Over nearly a decade, local Black-owned businesses such as Yaso Jamaican Grill and MELI have flourished on the south side. Aundrea King, who attended the Juneteenth Juke Joint event at the new cultural lounge, said spaces like Untitled… allow the Black community to connect and reclaim their power.
“I think, eventually, the way that Blackness looks in America is going to shift,” King said. “It’s going to go back to its more natural roots. We can already see that now with the natural hair in the room. Fifteen, 20 years ago, it would have been a different look, right? So we’re already finding our way back.”
Still, the surrounding Fountain Square neighborhood is nearly 80% white and roughly 8% Black, according to 2019 data from IndyVitals, which analyzes neighborhood population, cost of living and quality of life trends.
R’Mani’s keenly aware that just decades ago, Black people weren’t always welcome in certain areas of the south side of Indy. Many Black southsiders have only recently learned about the deep history of Black neighbors who have been there for generations.
Now, R’Mani’s working to make his slice of the south side a place for everyone.
What does Blackness mean to you?
During the recent Juneteenth event at Untitled …, R’Mani worked on a film highlighting Black joy. R’Mani, who said he doesn’t come from money, tries to keep venue tickets affordable so everyone can get their foot in the door. The $5 event featured music and games while R’Mani recorded people explaining what Blackness means to them.
The sold out event attracted Mareah Brookens and Allanah Gilbert who said their ability to be their truest selves makes them feel like they’re living their ancestors’ dreams.
“We (the Black community) have gone through so much,” Brookens said. To her, Blackness means “continuing to thrive and be the best, despite everything against us, and to be ourselves.”
As two young Black women, they’re sometimes forced to conceal their personalities and culture to fit in majority-white spaces. That also comes with expectations to know white culture, while the reverse isn’t always the case.
“It’s all about being unapologetically you — taking up space; finding areas where people tell you, you can’t be, that’s where you’re gonna be,” Gilbert said. “To be Black is to be successful and that’s all I would ever want to be every lifetime.”
The Juneteenth event at Untitled… was filled with stunning Melanin kings and queens celebrating a space made for them. Michael Mathis, R’Mani’s best friend who went to the event, said he hopes this is just the beginning.
“I can’t really express how proud I am to see him from where he started to where he is now,” Mathis said. “And I just can’t wait to see how much further he goes.”
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Mirror Indy reporter Elizabeth Gabriel covers the south side of Marion County. Contact her at elizabeth.gabriel@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X at @_elizabethgabs.
Ted Somerville is a Mirror Indy freelancer contributor. Contact him at tedsomphoto@gmail.com.
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