♪ >> Travel to the far southeast corner of Indy's Cultural Trail, and you'll find yourself in Fountain Square.

This neighborhood, once known as the city's theater district, was cut off and nearly wiped out in the 1960s, following the construction of more than 30 miles of interstate, known as the Inner Loop.

Decades later, the energy is back, and Fountain Square is home to unique small businesses, live events, and thanks to a dedicated group of residents, the arts.

>> There was a neighborhood group of us who started an art council here in the neighborhood, and we thought, what a better way than arts to build a community because there's no pressure.

You can just be creative and have fun with it.

And we did an art parade, and then we did the booths and Masterpiece in a Day.

>> All that and more has become an annual event known as Art Squared.

Masterpiece in a Day is an art competition.

The rules are pretty simple.

Don't start before 9:00, and be done by 3:00.

And all artists must work outside, somewhere within a handful of blocks in Fountain Square.

>> I am making my subject the Murphy Art Building, and apparently going to include some streetlights and the church.

I barely got the steeple in there.

I wasn't sure if it was going to fit, but it's in there.

So the challenges are obviously time constraint, composition, design, and getting set up.

>> Really, it's just a matter of getting something on canvas that everybody else is gonna like.

That's the main challenge.

♪ >> Well, you think about art in a day, I mean, that's -- that's a pretty daunting task.

So I think what people do is one or the other.

This is the perfect excuse to try something you don't normally do, and then the other part is you have folks who maybe have a little more confidence in something and know what they can get done.

I think because of that freedom and the kind of fun rocking it out in a day, I think really gives you the opportunity to be a little more relaxed about it.

It is a serious competition, and we really do want good art, but we want everybody to participate, and we want things that are different and try something new, and I think that's really stuck.

So that's why it's eclectic.

There's no real theme.

Just have fun and do it.

♪ >> In my head, I kind of have this play on gender, I guess, because you had to use the sidesaddle if you wanted to wear something resembling a dress.

And so that's kind of my poke in the face of the adversity of whatever.

But I'm just having fun painting.

So, like, it doesn't have to be that deep.

I've seen some truly amazing art around.

If I cannot win, like, best art, I for sure am gonna win best canvas.

♪ >> So I think audience and people watching and seeing art in progress is the most important part of Masterpiece in a Day.

By walking around and seeing different types of people doing different kinds of stuff, painting or drawing or etching or, you know, making stuff out of junk, whatever it is, right?

And I think that just sort of breaks down a barrier between, like, what you feel as an artist and what you feel as just an observer or appreciated, you know.

It kind of brings the two together.

>> I'm with the VA art group, and we decided to challenge ourselves a little bit and come out here with other artists and see what we could produce.

We're all disabled veterans.

We work through VA with an art therapist, and we are in a group where we feel like everybody understands us.

>> Oh, my God, it has totally impacted my life.

Through art therapy, I have learned that whatever you create is art, and it has brought me out of my shell.

This has given me a great outlet, and it has been a tremendous gift to be with art therapy.

You know, this is the first time that I've done something like this.

So it's gonna be interesting.

>> At 3 p.m., it was time for Lori and all her fellow artists to turn in their masterpieces.

And win, lose or draw, the day was a chance for all to celebrate art, overcome challenges, and explore a unique Hoosier community.

>> It is so great to see it continuing.

I love the energy.

It's like a party in your neighborhood, and parties always bring good energy.

And it's been amazing to see what not only the neighborhood has turned into, but how the arts are still such a big part.