Programs

Indy Arts Council proudly leads several annual programs and events which uplift the talented creatives and artists in central Indiana.
Programs
Programs

DeHaan Artist of Distinction Exhibition

The DeHaan Artist of Distinction exhibition, October 4 – November 14, features the work of five Indiana-based contemporary artists who received grants of up to $10,000 to take creative risks. This year’s show captures the journeys of five artists through powerful narratives of immigration, cultural heritage and self-discovery.

The DeHaan Artist of Distinction program is generously funded by Christel DeHaan.

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Programs

Start with Art

Start with Art 2024 brought together nearly 1,000 arts, business, and community leaders to kickoff the fall arts season and celebrate our vibrant arts & culture community. The event included eight performances and activations that featured over 20 individual artists.

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Programs

Art & Soul

Art & Soul is a celebration of Black art and music in Indianapolis. Each year, four Featured Artists are recognized for their exemplary contributions to our creative community. Art & Soul is supported annually by Lilly Endowment Inc.

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Past Programs

  • Indy Keeps Creating

  • Art and Sports

  • High Art Billboards

  • Jiffy Lube of Indiana Murals

Indy Keeps Creating

The Arts Council launched #IndyKeepsCreating in March 2020 as a hashtag to rally artists, arts organizations, and stakeholders facing the isolation and other challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also became the umbrella name for a series of grant programs supporting independent artists and nonprofit organizations that suffered major financial losses.

 

In 2020, the Arts Council was entrusted to administer nearly $14 million to help ensure #IndyKeepsCreating through relief and recovery funding for independent artists and nonprofit arts organizations.

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Art and Sports

In Indiana, sports and arts have always made great teammates!

As proof, here’s a highlight reel of some of the Hoosier state’s best sports and arts crossovers:

  • Yes, It’s Regulation
    “Free Basket,” the site-specific sculpture by Cuban art collective, Los Carpinteros, at 2010 at Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, at Newfields, was inspired by Indy’s relationship to sport.
  • The World’s Largest Pop Art Painting
    Madison Square Garden might be “the mecca of basketball,” but from 1968 to 1988 the Milwaukee Bucks literally played in the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena—MECCA. Six years later, Hoosier pop artist Robert Indiana was commissioned to turn the Bucks court into a piece of functional art.
  • Breaking Barriers
    The Flying Tigers, led by all-time great Oscar Robertson, were the first all-black high school to win the state tournament. The sneaker is part of Converse’s Breaking Down Barriers line that celebrates athletes who helped desegregate sports.
  • This Took Longer Than 9 Seconds
    Reginald “Reggie” Wayne Miller may have been born in Riverside, Calif., but he’s one of us now. If you don’t chant, “Reggie! Reggie!,” every time you pass Pam Bliss’ 60-foot mural, well, you can go on home to wherever you came from.
  • The Public Collection
    Herron School of Art and Design graduate Rachel M. Simon is an artist, community leader, investor, and the founder of The Public Collection, “a public art and literacy project consisting of artist-designed book share stations, developed to increase access to books and art.”
  • I Keep My Unis Like Flo-Jo
    There is one correct answer to the question, “What is the best Pacers uniform of all time?” and that answer is: the Flo-Jos. Florence Griffith Joyner was a record-setting sprinter, Olympic gold medalist, unbothered sports fashion icon, legendary jersey designer.

For 10 years, things were looking up with High Art Billboards. Central Indiana artists created 120 bold works that turned the metro area’s busiest roads into an art gallery for commuters. And drivers voted by the thousands for the annual “People’s Choice” award.

The popular project, a partnership between Indy Arts Council and Reagan Outdoor Advertising, is currently on hold.

Art + an oil change: This buzz-building project started in 2016, when Jiffy Lube of Indiana wanted to cover up graffiti at one of its locations. Since then, Indy Arts Council has worked with artists to create more than 30 murals at Jiffy Lube of Indiana locations.