By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
May 29, 2026
Recalling the first time she saw the Indiana Senate Democrats’ caucus room nestled in the Indiana Statehouse, Braydee Euliss admitted she was not inspired.
Euliss, an independent curator and arts administrator, has a lot of experience nurturing Indiana artists, supporting local and state arts organizations, and cultivating excitement around art and creativity in Hoosier communities. So, when state Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, asked about the possibility of putting together a small annual exhibition for the minority caucus’s meeting room, Euliss journeyed to the Statehouse, climbed the stairs and took a look.
“You don’t look at it and think, ‘Oh, this would be a gorgeous space to install artwork,’” Euliss, who is also the owner and director of COMPANION art gallery in Indianapolis, said.
However, she thought the warm wood walls gave the room a cozy feel and the relatively small size made the space a bit more intimate, which could draw people into the artwork. As she considered the lawmakers and the discussions and debates they would be having as they gathered in the caucus room, she wanted to give them a place to rest their eyes and their minds and their hearts for a little bit.
“I am a firm believer that the arts of all kinds aid our well-being and our ability to expand capacities for empathy, compassion, understanding,” Euliss said, “and I think that the Statehouse and the meeting rooms where legislation is discussed are an important space to benefit from those wellness impacts.”
Consequently, COMPANION partnered with the Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus to adorn a place where legislative business is conducted with art.
Under a tight deadline to choose and install the artwork in the caucus room, Euliss pulled the pieces of four Central Indiana artists she knows well and created the “Brave by Reflection” exhibition. The title, as noted by Indiana Senate Democrats, comes from Thomas Paine’s 47-page pamphlet, “Common Sense,” which was published in 1776 and helped inspire the American Revolution.
The diverse art collection, hung on the walls of the caucus room, includes works that are representational, abstract representational and pure abstract. Also, the pieces differ in their use of materials from oil paint and watercolor to colored pencils and fabric.
Euliss said she intentionally chose works in which the artists used those common materials, so the lawmakers would feel the pieces were accessible and familiar. The goal, she said, was for the artwork to provide a “respite and retreat” for the people who spend the most time in that space.
Hunley called the exhibition “a gift” and noted the legislators will see the artwork every time they step foot in the caucus room.
“The power of art to shape our perspectives and help us better understand one another cannot be overstated,” Hunley said in a press release. “It is so important that people in positions of power strive to seek out diverse perspectives and understand those who will be impacted by decisions made in this building. This collection serves as a welcome, daily reminder of that importance.”
Although installing the exhibition in a legislative caucus room was a first for Euliss, she has plenty of experience showcasing art beyond the walls of museums and galleries.
For the first three years of the Butter Fine Art Fair, which is organized by GANGGANG and features artwork made by Black visual artists from Indiana and around the world, Euliss led the curatorial efforts and directed work with exhibiting artists to turn the Stutz Building, a former automotive manufacturing facility in downtown Indianapolis, into a thriving art exhibition center. Supported by the curatorial team, she identified and installed multiple pieces, created in a variety of mediums, across the industrial interior.
Also, Euliss curated an exhibition for the 2024 Indiana Global Economic Summit. She displayed works by six artists in the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis during the event.
“I have a lot of experience with moving into new spaces, responding to those spaces, and not overthinking it,” Euliss said. “I try to trust my gut and then research and explore and kind of fine tune those decisions before confirming anything with the artists and installing the artwork.”
The “Brave by Reflection” exhibition includes the works of the following artists:
Kaila Austin, a social practice artist, has been working in the Norwood neighborhood on the southeast side of Indianapolis to help the African American community rediscover its history. She works primarily in oil paint. The paintings in the exhibition are drawn from her series of portraits of Miss Lenora, who lived all 104 years of her life in Indiana.
Euliss said Austin’s portraits provide “a nice window” through which to consider the passage of time.
Joshua A.M. Ross, studied at the Indiana University Herron School of Art and Design and has resettled in Indiana, after living for a time in Los Angeles. He works almost exclusively in colored pencil, which enables him to have control and be very precise, while also creating an intimacy. Euliss said the two pieces in the exhibition are about the practice of reflection and how the lens through which you view the world can be adjusted.
Mailinh Hồ, a watercolor artist and a first-generation Vietnamese American, has been making a series of portraits that explore the relationship between her Vietnamese heritage and her American heritage through symbolism, figuration, and ornamentation. Euliss said the works that are part of the exhibition “have a quiet strength” and bring “a nice energy” into the caucus room.
Julian Jamaal Jones is a third-generation quilt maker whose work is influenced by the improvisational approach exercised in jazz and hip hop music. He begins by sketching his idea on paper, using either oil pastel or charcoal pencil, then moves to fabrics, cutting and piecing the material together, to transform his drawing into a quilt.
Euliss said Jones’ process in creating a work of art seems to have a lot in common with the work the lawmakers do in the drafting of laws.
“It’s a lot of visioning and revision, envisioning and revisioning, which also feels really relevant to legislation,” Euliss said.
The artists and works Euliss brought together in the exhibition show different perspectives and tell different stories of the human experience. While none of the pieces were selected specifically to mark the country’s semiquincentennial, Euliss said the artworks do invite some contemplation as to how they connect to each other and how they reflect the past 250 years.
“I think art is uniquely positioned to open up dialogue in … ways that are less prone to conflict,” Euliss said. “I think (art) does build awareness and compassion about individual stories or collective stories, otherwise untold stories, in ways that feel engaging and approachable and hopefully a little more human.”
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org
