May First Friday at Aurora features the opening of two new exhibitions, with all the artists present for you to meet and discuss the work with in the galleries.
Shiela Clemente-Zoto
The exhibition To Have & To Hold presents the culmination of artwork created by the 2026 BFA Photography Seniors from the Herron School of Art & Design at IU Indianapolis, a four-year program with an interdisciplinary approach led by teaching artists Stefan Petranek and Benjamin Martinkus. Through their work, the five participating artists, including Ezequiel Barbon, Sarah Hollcraft, Kori Newman, Quinishia Scott, and Shiela Clemente-Zoto, share a key part of being an artist — that the questions asked in art are oftentimes more important than the answers.
For the exhibition’s opening on May 1, 6-9pm, the artists will be present in the gallery; each artist will give a short talk about their work and answer questions starting at 7pm as part of Aurora’s 2026 Local Lens Speakers Series, which highlights the important photographic work being done in our Indianapolis arts community.
The exhibition will be on view in Aurora’s Main Gallery through May 12, 2026. Aurora is open Thursday-Sunday, 11am-5pm, and by appointment. Please email info@auroraphoto.org to set up an appointment to visit the exhibition.
Conner Gordon, from Where Does that Flower Bloom
Part exploration of loss and part environmental inquiry, Where Does That Flower Bloom traces Conner Gordon’s process of coming to terms with the Northern Indiana landscape of his childhood and the memories it contains. By interweaving photographs of Winona Lake with his grandmother's family snapshots, Gordon seeks to understand what it means to relate to a place and a person defined by loss, nostalgia, and the shadow of environmental degradation threatening to wash it all away.
Where Does That Flower Bloom was published as a hand-made, cloth bound book in 2025. Beautifully printed at Composite Press, this intimate book features an elegant design, inserts, and a poem by the artist. A small number of books will be on hand during the exhibition’s opening on May 1, and the artist will also be present to sign books during the opening. The exhibition will be on view in Aurora’s Main Gallery through June 19.