June 13th, 2023
Indianapolis, IN— Indianapolis-based artist Joy Hernandez has been named the Artist Guest-of-Honor for InConJunction 42. The convention will run July 7th- 9th, at the Wyndham Indianapolis West. Hernandez will participate in three panels throughout the weekend, speaking on her signature art character Bean the Astronaut, interviewing Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean’s daughter Amy Sue Bean, and discussing television technology in regards to the other half of her career as a photographer and editor for WISH-TV.
Hernandez will also have a booth of Bean the Astronaut artwork and collectibles, debuting just in time for InConJunction, including original paintings, prints, mission patches, pins, and shirts furnished by local apparel printer Fountain Square USA. She’s also been asked to create a logo for the 42nd InConJunction. This year’s convention’s slogan, “Space is big,” is inspired by “the answer to life, the universe, and everything” in Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. (Spoilers: In the books, that answer is cryptically the number 42).
“I’ve been fortunate, in that it seems that everyone loves an astronaut,” Hernandez said. “I think there’s something hopeful about looking to space, and an element of living vicariously. We can’t see who’s under the helmet, so Bean can really be any of us and that means we can all go on these adventures. I’m so honored to have been asked to participate in InConJunction 42, and as a fan of the books, it’s been a lot of fun to merge some of that world with Bean’s world.”
About Joy Hernandez
Originally from Illinois, University of Indianapolis alumna Joy Hernandez is the founder and president of the Full Circle Nine Gallery, and an aerosol and acrylic painter and muralist. Her character, Bean the Astronaut, named in honor of the only artist to have walked on the moon, Apollo astronaut Alan Bean, has become a very popular mural subject around Indianapolis and recently branching out into towns around Indiana, as well as overseas to Mt. Barker, Western Australia.
During 2020’s March Madness, Hernandez painted Bean as a basketball player with a jetpack as one of the four Court Murals organized by the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and was featured in the New York Times. Hernandez was selected to be a Jiffy Lube Mural Project artist, painting a skateboarding Bean at the 64th and College Broad Ripple location. She also often participates in group shows around Indianapolis, including the Arts Council’s TINY, the Harrison Center’s annual color-themed shows, FLAVA Fresh, and Arte Mexicano en Indianapolis.
For more information on Joy Hernandez, visit joyhernandez.com
About InConJunction
InConJunction is Indianapolis’s longest-running science fiction and fantasy convention. Celebrating 42 years in 2023, it has recently moved from the east side to the Wyndham Indianapolis West, located at 2544 Executive Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana 46241. This year, InConJunction welcomes—in addition to Joy Hernandez—author Mary Robinette Kowal, musicians Five Year Mission, gaming’s JD Kennedy, Variety Queen Moxie Anne Magnus, and Toast Master Mikey Mason. In addition to the guests-of-honors’ programming, InConJunction offers a wide variety of panels, gaming, and a Writers’ Symposium.
For more information on InConJunction, visit www.inconjunction.org