A 48-Hour Residency with Katy Bowser and Ben Heber
This month, the Harrison Center welcomed writer Katy Bowser Hutson and singer-songwriter Ben Heber for concurrent creative residencies exploring the power of play, imagination, and storytelling. Inspired by the Harrison Center's spirit of curiosity—from whimsical building details to its culture of "pre-imagining"—Katy continued work on her forthcoming book about play and faith, while Ben immersed himself in a 48-hour songwriting residency rooted in his love for Indianapolis and the arts. Together, their time at the Harrison Center celebrated the ways creativity invites wonder, connection, and fresh ways of seeing the world.
"The Harrison Center for the Arts has the fingerprints of play all over it, in details like a karaoke elevator, a human hamster wheel, tiny wire sculptures of men repairing little corners of the historic building,” Bowser reflected. “These are the fruit of an arts organization playing deeply and imagining redemptively. This way of being, this posture of curiosity and invitation, is woven all through their space and work and thought. As they say, they are pre-imagining: they are making space for wonder, and it shows."
Katy Bowser Hutson is a writer and songwriter. She is currently writing a book about play and God at play with Rabbit Room Press. She is the author of a collection of poems, Now I Lay Me Down to Fight (IVP) and Little Prayers for Ordinary Days (IVP). She is the co-creator of two bands for children, Rain for Roots and Coal Train Railroad. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, Kenny Hutson and two amazing teens.
Ben is a singer-songwriter, pianist, and central Indy native who has been writing music since age 8. Singing in the church as a child, he discovered a love for performance that spurred a lifetime of musical fascination—including roles in high school as Raoul in Phantom of the Opera and Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid, a Finalist placement in the 2018 Young Hoosier Piano Competition, and a Finalist placement with Ball State University's Unexpected Resolution a cappella group in the 2021 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. In 2022, Ben won Best Original Composition in Ball State University's Talent Search competition for his debut single, "Lost and Found". His first studio album, Another Way Home, releases later this year. Ben now joins the Harrison Center for their 48-hour songwriting residency, combining his love for his hometown, the arts, and songwriting.