PATTERN Magazine, Fall 2023, Vol. 24

VOLUME 24_20 DOLLARS

WE HELP PEOPLE CREATE

THE CREATIVE ECONOMY ISSUE W H E N C R E AT I V E S T H R I V E

COMMUNITIES FLOURISH

+ FEATURING CREATIVES FROM RICHMOND, ELKHART, MADISON, GREENCASTLE, VALPARAISO, FRANKLIN, EVANSVILLE, FORT WAYNE, AND MORE

Life is Colorless Without Creatives

EDITOR’S LETTER

CREATIVE LEGACY: INDIANA'S NEXT CHAPTER AS I PEN THIS LETTER, I'M REMINDED OF THE PROFOUND IMPACT creativity has had on my life–a legacy ‘ that began with my father. He was an extraordinary man and a gifted filmmaker who earned his stripes at VGIK, the world's oldest film school, founded in Moscow in 1919. His talent and vision set the stage for my own journey into the world of commercial photography and, more recently, into the role of mentor and advocate for emerging creatives through PATTERN. THE CREATIVE BATON HAS NOW BEEN PASSED TO MY DAUGHTER Natasha, who is exploring both still and motion photography during her post-high school gap year. This generational cycle of creativity has not only enriched my life but has also taught me the invaluable skills of collaboration, nuance, and adaptability–skills that have allowed me to better navigate the realms of art and business.

THE TERM "CREATIVE ECONOMY" GAINED TRACTION IN THE EARLY ����s thanks to John Howkins's seminal book, The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas, but the concept is as old as civilization itself. American urban studies theorist, Richard Florida says, "Human creativity is the ultimate economic resource."

His work on the "creative class" has been instrumental in shaping our understanding of how creativity drives economic growth and urban development.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY, AND IT'S HEARTENING TO SEE MANY OF INDIANA'S ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS recognizing the value of the creative economy. From arts and culture to the entertainment, design, and artisanal food industries, the state is waking up to the immense potential that lies in nurturing its creative sectors. However, the work is far from over.

Without a cohesive strategy, we risk falling behind states that are already capitalizing on this untapped resource.

AS AN ENTREPRENEUR WHO WELCOMES RISK AND HAS DISCOVERED MUCH REWARD IN PUSHING INTO THE unknown, I urge our stakeholders to venture into these uncharted waters with a blend of optimism, pragmatism, and courage.

The creative economy isn't just about artists or entertainers. It's about visionaries, innovators, and entrepreneurs who are also small business owners. They not only contribute to the economy but also enrich our communities in immeasurable ways.

WE NEED TO KEEP REMINDING OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER, THAT ART ISN'T A LUXURY; IT'S A NECESSITY. It's essential for our well-being, our communities, and our collective soul. It gives us a unique brand identity and makes our cities and states places where people want to live, work, and invest. In a world increasingly driven by data and algorithms, the creative economy stands as a testament to what is profoundly human.

SO, THE NEXT TIME YOU ENCOUNTER A PIECE OF ART OR INNOVATION, REMEMBER THAT YOU'RE NOT JUST engaging with an object or a service. You're interacting with an industry that is a cornerstone of our community and a catalyst for change.

HERE'S TO THE CREATIVE ECONOMY–MAY WE ALL BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO BE ITS CHAMPIONS.

POLINA OSHEROV EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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PATTERN VOLUME NO. 24

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EDITORIAL

Editor & Creative Director Polina Osherov Design Director Emeritus Kathy Davis Design Director Lindsay Hadley Managing Editor Jenny Walton Copy Editor Jenny Walton

DESIGNERS & ILLUSTRATORS Leah Brinkman Lindsay Hadley Amy McAdams-Gonzales Aaron Scamihorn DESIGN INTERN Cristopher Martinez PHOTOGRAPHERS

Garion Briggs Esther Boston Erica Clayton Diane Drake Wil Foster Hadley 'Tad' Fruits Robert Granoff Stephen Kennedy Jasmine Norris Polina Osherov Leo Soyfer Christopher Whonsetler Jennifer Wilson-Bibbs

WRITERS

Marc D. Allan Natalie Derrickson Zach Evans Megan Fernandez Katie Freeman Lourenzo Giple Kate Grimm Casey Harrison Denise Herd Shelby Hiltunen Seth Johnson Anne Laker Samuel Love Amy Lynch Maura Malloy NaShara Mitchell Lavanya Narayanan Kate Nevers Dawn Olsen Jason Roemer Garrett Saiki Leah R. Singer Anne Surak Jenny Walton Paige Wassel Rick Wilkerson

PATTERN IS GRATEFUL TO THE FOLLOWING FUNDERS AND PARTNERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT:

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PATTERN VOLUME NO. 24

CONTENTS PATTERN ISSUE NO. 24 patternindy.com

WORDS EDITOR’S LETTER, 2 CONTRIBUTORS, 8 GLOSSARY OF TERMS: CREATIVE ECONOMY, 10 WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE INDY MUSIC STRATEGY?, 26 LESSONS FROM THE SPORTS STRATEGY PLAYBOOK, 30 CRAFTING A THRIVING FILM & MEDIA ECOSYSTEM, 34 BACK HOME AGAIN, 44 ELKHART, 46 MADISON, 48 GREENCASTLE, 50 VALPARAISO, 52 CARMEL, 54 RICHMOND, 58 AT THE INTERSECTION OF STEM AND ART, 60 BUILDING CREATIVE CAPITALS, 64 DESIGNING FOR OUR CITY’S FUTURE, 66 INDIANA: FOR THE BOLD, 68 READI, SET, GROW, 70 THE HUSTLE IS REAL, 72 BOXX THE ARTIST, 74 BILLY TWYMON, 76 CHRIS BANTA, 78 DENISHA FERGUSON, 80 BLOCKHOUSE STUDIOS, 84 ERICA CLAYTON, 86 KAT VON D, 90 MARC ADAMS WOODWORKING, 94 SWEET HARMONY, 98 GOOD SHIRTS, 112 THE RESILIENT ARTIST, 116 OP-ED, 136

IMAGES FOR RICHER, 14 HISTORIC THEATERS BRING NEW LIFE TO DOWNTOWN COMMUNITIES, 38 BIGGER PICTURE SHOW, 102 ODE TO OBSCURA, 120 COVER DESIGN Lindsay Hadley THIS PAGE Photograph by Robert Granoff

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FOR GENEROUS SPIRITS T U R N E R S I N DY.CO M

MON — THURS / 3 ' TIL 10:30 F R I — S AY / 3 ' T I L M I D N I G H T 1 0 6 0 N . C A P I TO L AV E I N D I A N A P O L I S 4 62 0 4

CREATIVE STYLE INDIANA LANDMARK,

CONTRIBUTORS

JENNY WALTON The 100 Acres at Newfields! It’s easy to get to and easy to get around. Plus–in addition to all the art you can actually touch–there are lots of trees and bugs and plenty of mud to tromp around in. All those goofy yellow benches? Man, those benches make me so happy.

ANNE SURAK The Miller House and Garden: a timeless, modernist backdrop coupled with an eclectic, bold combination of pattern, color, and global accents. If you’ve never been, it is a must. I have taken countless trips to the home, and the magic of it never fades.

ANNE SURAK is a curator and consultant whose two-decade career in the cultural sector has focused on siteresponsive, large-scale projects and exhibitions. She works with individuals, institutions, corporations, and municipalities to develop programs featuring leading artists and designers of our time. From 2016 to 2021, Anne served as artistic director, then director of Exhibit Columbus, an architecture and design exhibition activating the design legacy of Columbus, IN. She currently works as a project manager for Art Strategies, an Indianapolisbased art consulting firm. @annesurak

RICK WILKERSON

JENNY WALTON is an Indy-based writer and editor who is currently serving as the managing editor for PATTERN. She is an average Irvington enthusiast who would like for you to read Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead and for you to give poetry another chance

Second Story, it was a legendary Bloomington club that served as an incubator for off-center music in Central Indiana beginning in 1980 and continuing until 2003. It hosted everything from street-level weirdness to touring name artists, providing access to those who most needed it.

@jennywearsjeans

MAURA MALLOY The Indiana Dunes, because muted blues, greens, greys, and browns are my colorscape. But also, depending on what phase I am in the creative process, the sand is either sinking me, whipping at my face, keeping my feet warm, or burning the soles of said feet. The water is either so still I'm confident I could walk on it, or so turbulent, I'm sure I will drown.

Ever dramatic am I. MAURA MALLOY is a writer, entrepreneur, editor, teacher, minimalist, and TEDx Talker.

She thrills in helping people declutter digital media at her company Less is Maura. She thrives when allotted large swaths of unstructured time.

Writing for PATTERN harkens her back to the early aughts in NYC, when she waited with bated breath for the internet to reload on The Sartorialist’s newest post, or Bill Cunningham’s latest photo. @less_is_maura

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RICK WILKERSON is the Executive Director of The Indiana Music History Project, whose mission is to document, preserve, and promote Indiana's music legacy. Rick is the previous owner of two Indianapolis record stores, Irvington Vinyl and Missing Link Records. He currently operates the TimeChange Records label, which has several archival Indiana releases, including Early Indiana Punk and New Wave, The Crazy Al’s Year(s), and The Vulgar Boatmen’s 25th Anniversary CD edition of Your and Your Sister. @rickwilkersonief

SHELBY HILTUNEN It would be Eos, the sculpture

by Dessa Kirk in Columbus. Just as the citizens of Columbus united to acquire Eos in 2007, my creative process thrives on collaboration and community.

Eos embodies the Greek Titan goddess of dawn, blending salvaged materials with fresh craftsmanship, echoing my penchant for fusing the old with the new. Much like Eos herself, I aim to unveil hidden beauty (and light) in unexpected places.

LOURENZO GIPLE Soldiers and Sailors Monument because even though it’s manufactured or created, it fits within the landscape of the city and seems very natural to most.

LOURENZO GIPLE is a design and community development professional who works collaboratively with an array of developers, neighborhood leaders, architects, and planners to develop strategic partnerships in order to improve the quality of life and elevate urban design in Indianapolis. Lourenzo is known for his passion for moving Indianapolis forward.

He attended Ball State University and received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. In 2014, he received his Master's of Urban Design; in 2016, he received his Master of Architecture with a concentration in Real Estate Development. @lgiple

SHELBY HILTUNEN is a writer, director, producer, and actress based in Indianapolis. Hiltunen is known for her comedic miniseries, “The Usual.” She currently serves as a Producing Partner at Naptown Media, Inc., where she contributes to various documentary and corporate video projects, including the award-winning, “Are We Safer Today?”. Shelby's knack for managing complex projects and her passion for storytelling define her career.

Beyond work, she cherishes family, practices yoga, enjoys travel, loves music, and dabbles in abstract painting. @shelbyhiltunen

LEAH BRINKMAN I would say the LOVE sculpture

by Robert Indiana at Newfields most accurately describes my creative style. It’s simplistic but bold; my personal design motto is “how can I say the most with the least.”

ROBERT GRANOFF I recently discovered Eliel Saarinen's First Christian Church in Columbus. I immediately felt a connection to the design, which for me, was a transcendental experience. I dubbed the space, "The Church of Design." My creative style is to highlight the spirit of a space or structure.

Too often, it goes unnoticed as we run around living our mundane lives.

LEAH BRINKMAN is an Indianapolis-based graphic designer currently working as a fellow at PATTERN. She views design as a vehicle to turn ambiguity into clarity; she enjoys distilling large amounts of information into concise and meaningful solutions.

Leah graduated with a bachelor's in communication design from the University of Cincinnati, where she participated in the cooperative education program. When she’s not at her computer, you can most likely find her in the gym or curled up on the couch reading a book. @leah.brinkman_design

ROBERT GRANOFF is an interior design and architecture photographer originally from NY now based in central Indiana. With projects in the Midwest, Florida, and the East Coast, his photography is deeply rooted in a lifelong passion to investigate the intersection between life, culture, and our built environment. His work can be seen in AD, Dwell, Elle Décor, PATTERN, Robb Report, and Wallpaper. @robertgranoff

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS:

CREATIVE ECONOMY In the United States, the creative economy is defined as comprising various sectors that focus on the production and distribution of goods and services rooted in intellectual property. These sectors contribute significantly to the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), job creation, wage growth, and export earnings.

Understanding the language of the creative economy is essential for anyone involved in this vibrant and ever-evolving field. Whether you're a policymaker, entrepreneur, artist, or enthusiast, this glossary aims to demystify the jargon and provide a clearer understanding of key terms and concepts.

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CREATIVE INDUSTRIES & ECONOMY

BUSINESS & REVENUE MODELS

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: Sectors that focus on the creation and distribution of intellectual property, like arts, media, and design.

CREATIVE PLACEMAKING: The use of arts and culture to revitalize or shape a community's identity.

CREATIVE ECONOMY POLICY: A set of guidelines or regulations aimed at promoting and sustaining the creative industries.

TALENT PIPELINE: The flow of qualified candidates from education or training programs into the workforce.

CREATIVE SKILLSET: Specific skills that are highly valued in creative sectors, such as problem-solving, innovation, and adaptability.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: Programs or initiatives aimed at equipping people with the skills needed for specific types of jobs, often in the creative economy.

FREELANCER: An individual who works on a contract basis rather than being employed by a single company.

CONTRIBUTED REVENUE: Funds received through donations, grants, or sponsorships, typically in the nonprofit sector.

GIG ECONOMY: A labor market where shortterm or freelance jobs are common.

PAY-FOR-SERVICE: A business model where services are offered on a fee basis, common in the commercial sector.

CROWDFUNDING: Raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the internet.

INCUBATOR: An organization designed to help startups succeed.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP): A collaboration between a government agency and a private-sector company for the purpose of financing, designing, and operating projects and services.

IMPACT INVESTING: Investments made in projects or organizations that offer both a financial return and a positive social or cultural impact.

DUAL MISSION: Organizations that operate with both a commercial and a social or cultural mission, often leveraging commercial activities to fund nonprofit endeavors.

EARNED REVENUE: Income generated through sales, tickets, or services, common in both nonprofit and commercial sectors.

INNOVATION & DESIGN

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP): Legal rights that protect creative and intellectual works, such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM: A network of organizations, individuals, and resources contributing to innovation within a particular industry.

HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN: A design approach that prioritizes human needs, desires, and behaviors.

VALUE CHAIN: The series of steps or processes that add value to a product or service.

INTRAPRENEURSHIP: The act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a larger organization, often seen in creative roles in non-creative sectors.

CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION: Partnerships between creative and noncreative sectors to achieve common goals.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: The integration of digital technologies into all aspects of business and society.

LICENSING & SHARING

CREATIVE COMMONS: A public copyright license that enables free distribution of copyrighted work.

CREATIVE COMMONS LEGISLATION: Laws that allow creators to grant certain usage rights to the public while retaining others.

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ED

PERFORMING & FINE ARTS

UC AT

IO N A

ND

EXPERIENCES & TOURISM

TRAI

AUDIOVISUAL & INTERACTIVE MEDIA

AS D EFIN ED BY THE U. S . BUREAU OF ECONOMIC AN ALYSIS ( BEA) AN D THE N AT ION A L E NDOWME NT

CREATIVE SERVICES

DIS C

FOR THE ARTS ( NEA).

IP

LIN E

S

MEDIA & PRESS

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N I N G I N C R E AT I V E

The CREATIVE ECONOMY includes, but is not limited to, arts, design, film, advertising, and software. Collectively, these sectors contribute to job creation, wage growth, and export earnings.

It focuses on the production and distribution of goods and services that are rooted in intellectual property and contribute to the nation’s GDP.

SOCIAL & CULTURAL IMPACT

CULTURAL CAPITAL: The value of cultural knowledge, competence, and networks.

CULTURAL COMPETENCY: The ability to work effectively in culturally diverse environments, often a key skill in creative sectors.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: The use of business to solve social problems.

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY: The use of cultural assets to foster international relations, often supported by governmental policy.

CULTURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Business

FUNDING & LEGISLATION

CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Developing and selling innovative creative products or services across creative sectors like visual arts, music, design, and film, blending creativity with business insight.

creative projects or organizations.

TAX INCENTIVES FOR ARTS: Tax breaks or credits offered to stimulate investment in the creative sectors.

FAIR USE POLICY: Legal doctrine that allows the use of copyrighted material under certain conditions without permission from the copyright holder.

GRANT PROGRAMS: Government or private funding opportunities specifically aimed at

CENSORSHIP LAWS: Regulations that may restrict or control the production, distribution, or exhibition of creative works.

PUBLIC ART MANDATE: Requirements for incorporating public art into new developments or public spaces.

CO-WORKING SPACE: A shared workspace where freelancers and remote workers can work independently but alongside others.

SKILL TRANSFERABILITY: The applicability of skills learned in one sector (creative or noncreative) to another.

MAKERSPACE: A collaborative workspace for making, learning, and exploring, often equipped with various tools and materials.

HYBRID ROLES: Jobs that combine elements of both creative and non-creative work.

SUPPORT ROLES: Non-creative jobs that are essential to the functioning of creative sectors (e.g., finance, HR, and operations roles in a film studio).

SUSTAINABILITY & STRATEGY

CULTURAL DISTRICTS: Designated areas that receive special attention and funding to promote arts and culture.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) LEGISLATION: Laws that protect creative works, including copyrights, patents, and trademarks.

ARTS EDUCATION POLICY: Guidelines or laws that govern the inclusion of arts education in public schools.

WORK ENVIRONMENT & ROLES

endevours focused on the creation and distribution of cultural products while promoting cultural values and economic growth.

SUSTAINABILITY: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, often applied to environmental and social goals.

SUSTAINABILITY MODELS: Strategies for long-term financial stability, differing between nonprofit (relying on a mix of grants, donations, and some earned income) and commercial sectors (relying on profits).

CROSS-SECTOR FUNDING: Instances where commercial sectors invest in nonprofit creative

EMBEDDED CREATIVES: Creative professionals employed in traditionally non-creative sectors (e.g., a graphic designer in a healthcare company).

endeavors, or vice versa, for mutual benefit.

ROI (RETURN ON INVESTMENT): A measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANS: Strategies that include the creative economy as a pillar for regional or national economic growth.

MEDIA REGULATION: Laws that govern the production and distribution of various forms of media.

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FOR RICHER UNVEILING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INDIANA’S WEDDING INDUSTRY PHOTO GR APHY BY C H R I S W H O N S E T L E R WA R D R O B E S T Y L E B Y K AT I E M A R P L E F O O D S T Y L E B Y A S H L E Y B R O O K S H A I R B Y K A L E B TA L A R I C O + M A K E U P B Y J O N G R E G O R Y F O R A E S T H E T I C A R T I S T A G E N C Y CAKE DESIGN BY C L A S S I C C A K E S

J E W E L R Y P R O V I D E D B Y M OY E R J E W E L R Y

WEDDING COUTURE BY A N G E L O L I V E R A FLOR AL DESIGN BY AU T U M N K E L L E R FOR ISIBE AL S TUDIO D E S I G N B Y L I N D S AY H A D L E Y

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“CLASSIC CAKES OPENED IN 1995 AND HAS BEEN A LEADING CAKE BAKERY IN THE CENTRAL INDIANA WEDDING INDUSTRY FOR OVER TWO DECADES.” — M E G A N M A L L O R Y, C L A S S I C C A K E S

In 2022 Indiana saw more than $1 billion in revenue driven by over 47,230 weddings, not that anyone’s counting. Turns out love’s not just in the air, it’s in our economy, too. And the story of its impact doesn’t stop at the altar–the wedding industry employs a sweeping tapestry of talent and entrepreneurship.

If you’ve ever been involved with planning a wedding we don’t have to tell you about the engagement rings (average spend $3,729), invitations, dresses (average $1,476), hair and makeup, centerpieces, bouquets (average $401), photography, videography, music, and cake (average $476). The list goes on. It’s undeniable; weddings are big business for the creative economy.

The following is a collaboration that wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity and expertise of fellow creatives. Here we share the total dollars spent on just a few of the wedding-related businesses–flowers, dresses, jewelry, and cakes–with the tiniest peek into the world of an Indiana entrepreneur who operates in each of the respective industries. ✂

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SPENT ON WEDDING CAKES IN INDIANA IN 2022

$17,760,512 19

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SPENT ON WEDDING DRESSES IN INDIANA IN 2022

$29,279,412

"NINETY-FIVE PERCENT OF MY CLIENTS ARE HOOSIERS FROM MANY PARTS OF THE STATE. BUT I HAVE A FEW CUSTOMERS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES THAT COME TO INDY TO WORK WITH ME." — A N G E L O L I V E R A , ANGEL OLIVER A COUTURE

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SPENT ON WEDDING FLOWERS IN INDIANA IN 2022

$42,287,680 22

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"OUR COUPLES PRIORITIZE A BEAUTIFUL ENVIRONMENT AND OFTEN ALLOCATE AT LEAST TWENTY PERCENT OF THE TOTAL WEDDING BUDGET FOR OUR FLORAL STYLING." — AU T U M N K E LLE R , ISIBEAL STUDIO

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"WE’VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR FORTY-FOUR YEARS NOW AND ARE DOING ABOUT $10 MILLION IN BRIDAL JEWELRY EVERY YEAR.” — D A N M OY E R , M O Y E R J E W E L R Y

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SPENT ON WEDDING RINGS IN INDIANA IN 2022

$82,680,975

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WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE INDY MUSIC STRATEGY? IN 2021, THE UK CONSULTING FIRM SOUND DIPLOMACY COMPLETED A REPORT COMMISSIONED BY MUSIC BUSINESS LEADERS AND FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS IN INDIANAPOLIS. THE PURPOSE WAS TO PROVIDE AN ASSESSMENT OF OUR MUSIC INDUSTRY AND PROVIDE PATHS FOR FUTURE GROWTH. THE REPORT MADE NINETEEN SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS AND LAID OUT A THOROUGH SITUATION ANALYSIS, SPECIFYING INDY’S STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES REGARDING ITS MUSIC INDUSTRY.

WORDS BY RICK WILKERSON ILLUSTRATION BY CRISTOPHER MARTINEZ

"WE GOT THE LARGEST CULTURAL ENTITIES TO TALK ABOUT MUSIC AND MADE IT A PRIORITY IN A WAY THAT IT WASN’T BEFORE. PEOPLE NOW SEE MUSIC AS BEING AN IMPORTANT PART OF CULTURAL CONVERSATIONS."

Many of those recommendations were far-reaching, ranging from increasing music education, all-ages access, and expanded diversity of opportunity to enhancing artists’ compensation, training, and increased access.

How important is Indiana’s music industry? In 2021, a group known as Economists, Inc. (with participation from all major music businesses) published music business economic impact data for all fifty states.

In the U.S., the total economic impact is estimated at $170 billion; Indiana is measured at $1.1 billion, which might seem small, but it’s more than twice that of Kentucky and comparable to Louisiana, which includes New Orleans.

Other surrounding states include Illinois at $4.3 billion, Ohio at $2.6 billion, and Michigan at $2.3 billion. Given the population differential between our neighbors and the large cities therein, Indiana’s music industry—without little nurturing outside the marketplace—is quite strong already. Sound Diplomacy’s report shows that 1.85% of our jobs are in the music business.

Making it comparable to that of the real estate and information sectors—a detail some might find both surprising and hopeful.

HOW MUCH GROWTH COULD BE AHEAD IF PROPERLY SUPPORTED? Compare with Texas, which towers over all Midwestern states at $27.3 billion in impact, home to the governmental agency Texas Music Office, founded in 1991. While only a couple of states have similar initiatives, the Texas Music Office, headed by Brendon Anthony, is embedded in the state’s annual budget, which has insulated it from politics and allowed the entire state to benefit from efforts to grow the music industry. “We have fifty-two satellite offices now, in every major city and town across the state, and this has changed our impact immeasurably,” says Anthony, who has directed the office since 2016. The Texas Music Office is connected to tourism and economic development agencies and has its own funding for staff and offices, providing a solid and sustained footing. “If more states got this done, together we could have a federal presence which could take funding for music businesses to a much higher level,” says Anthony.

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When the Sound Diplomacy report was released, the world was deep in the throes of the Covid pandemic, a major and unforeseen limiting factor, especially for businesses focused on entertainment at a time when health and survival were the primary concerns. Drew Kincius, director of Indy Music Strategy, notes that “The entire music industry was on life support during the pandemic.”

The Indiana Independent Venue Alliance rose up to save those venues.

A combination of PPP loans, grants, and private funding got that done, but not without a lot of heavy lifting from prominent music leaders.

Many of these leaders were also involved with Indy Music Strategy, the nonprofit that contracted Sound Diplomacy and was expected to help foster growth and change in the local music industry by overseeing the implementation of the report’s recommendations.

According to Josh Baker, co-founder of Fountain Square’s HI-FI venue and MOKB Presents, and one of the driving forces in both Indy Music Strategy and the venue alliance, the Indiana Venue Alliance served as a national advocate for Indiana alongside the National Independent Venue Alliance (NIVA) to help pass a landmark federal grant (Shuttered Venue Operator Grants). Dayna Frank, NIVA’s founder, praises the Indiana arm’s work, stating that “Hosting round tables with politicians, speaking to media, and running benefits was imperative to getting Save Our Stages passed.”

Jim Rawlinson, who headed Indy Music Strategy prior to passing the baton to Kincius, says that the best thing to come out of the Sound Diplomacy report was that “We got the largest cultural entities to talk about music and made it a priority in a way that it wasn’t before. People now see music as being an important part of cultural conversations, and entities like the Arts Council, GangGang, Big Car, Musical Family Tree, and others are doing bits and pieces of this work in a meaningful way, which was always the intention.”

Kincius sees economic development as the way forward, by either establishing an “Indy Music Office” that could operate as Indiana Sports Corp has done in attracting and building the city and state’s sports industry or via a broader entity that would advocate and build the “creative economy, encompassing not only music but dance, theater, visual arts, perhaps even culinary arts.”

FRUSTRATINGLY, THE SOUND DIPLOMACY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE AN UNFUNDED MANDATE. While the study was fully funded, and there was a CICF grant for leaders to attend a 2022 Sound Diplomacy conference in Tulsa, there is no funding supporting Indy Music Strategy’s efforts to follow the recommendations. Volunteer efforts can only go so far and are not sustainable.

Kincius says he’s an “army of one” in running Indy Music Strategy.

Rawlinson, his predecessor, notes that “Funding is the fundamental issue across the board. There isn’t enough funding for organizations,

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“WE HAVE TO REMIND POLICYMAKERS, PHILANTHROPIC HEADS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LEADERS THAT THE CREATIVE ECONOMY ISN’T JUST ARTISTS: IT INCLUDES NON-CREATIVE ROLES IN CREATIVE FIELDS AND CREATIVE ROLES IN NON-CREATIVE FIELDS. THIS COVERS A MUCH BIGGER CROSS-SECTION OF PROFESSIONALS THAN MOST PEOPLE REALIZE. AND THE POTENTIAL TO GROW OPPORTUNITIES IN THESE TWO SECTORS IS VAST.” artists, businesses, etc. There is more funding at a city level than there has been in the past, but it’s still not enough to make up ground that has been lost for decades.”

He further states, “We have to remind policymakers, philanthropic heads, economic development leaders that the creative economy isn’t just artists: it includes non-creative roles in creative fields and creative roles in non-creative fields. This covers a much bigger crosssection of professionals than most people realize. And the potential to grow opportunities in these two sectors is vast. Helping to build this vocabulary for key stakeholders will be crucial for fostering the necessary emotional investment to procure financial investment.”

Baker says, “Our biggest struggle is keeping momentum. Everyone’s attention had to be diverted during the pandemic. Once we can regain focus and momentum, we have all the pieces in place to make a big impact for Indianapolis.”

There’s no way to say where Indy Music Strategy and the report’s recommendations would be absent the Covid pandemic, but clearly, it was a major detour that resulted in the unprecedented success of the Indiana Independent Venue Alliance. That in itself is something everyone involved should be proud of, and a great gift to music fans in Indiana, where we could have been left with venues in shambles.

It’s tough enough for musicians, businesses, and venues to prosper without such obstacles.

The time is right for the city, the state, and other funders to embrace the vision of Sound Diplomacy and Indy Music Strategy and make available the funding needed to advance the music business in Indy and throughout the State of Indiana, which clearly should lead to a governmental entity that uses our tax dollars to do this. The groundwork has been laid. The opportunity is real. ✂

RECOMMENDATIONS

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PLANNING Transform Indy Music Strategy into a properly funded organization that can pay salaries, contractors, and expenses, and have a physical location. This organization could lead events and advocate for musicians and music businesses. This could be funded by a combination of grants, private investment, and city/state funding, and should be an easy sell to anyone that understands the potential impact of music on tourism and the local economy.

Once Indy Music Strategy is in a sustainable position, create a plan and set of definite actions with six-month, one-year, three-year, five-year, ten-year horizons. This includes highlighting the wins thus far but also garnering a couple more quick victories that face the public so momentum can be demonstrated, and use PR to build awareness and move to the next level.

Eliminate dance permits from the city’s municipal code, a significant barrier to all-ages venues; having to constantly obtain permits inhibits business, youth music education and creativity. Also, remove age restrictions from live music in general.

Promote Indy as a “working class” creative center that features entrepreneurial music business opportunities as well as a place to hone musical craft.

ESTIMATED U.S. ECONOMIC IMPACT TOTALS $170B

2

Find ways to keep the expansion of public transportation from altering the ability of neighborhoods to execute festivals.

OH $2.6B

Explore opportunities outside of Indianapolis to work with cities, towns, and the state legislature to expand the Indy Music Strategy statewide, as has happened in Texas. Advocate for music as an economic development and tourism tool.

Stake a serious claim to Indy and the state’s incredible music history. Fund initiatives that work to preserve and promote our history, and that educate the public on the many major contributions musicians and music businesses have made to the fabric of our daily life.

IN $1.1B

TX $27.3B

CONNECTING

IL $4.3B

MI $2.3B 29

HOW ARTS & CULTURE CAN BUILD UPON THE SUCCESS OF SPORTS IN INDIANAPOLIS

LESSONS FROM THE SPORTS STRATEGY PLAYBOOK WORDS BY MARC D. ALLAN ILLUSTRATION BY CRISTOPHER MARTINEZ

HANGING IN SANDY KNAPP’S HOME OFFICE IN AUSTIN, TX, ARE POSTERS FROM THE 1982 NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL, THE 1984 HOOSIER DOME TRIBUTE, AND THE 1987 PAN AM GAMES. SHE KEEPS THEM AS A REMINDER–NOT ONLY OF THE WORK SHE AND SO MANY OTHERS DID TO MAKE INDIANAPOLIS A DESTINATION FOR SPORTS BUT ALSO OF THE LOCALLY CREATED, EYE-POPPING ARTWORK THAT WAS A VITAL COMPONENT OF THE EVENTS. “There was a real conscious effort to make sure that every single event had an arts and culture component and a youth component,” she says. “A city that has nothing but sports is not going to be a successful place to live and work and raise a family. So there was always a conscious effort to make it much, much, much more than about sports.”

The president of the Indiana Sports Corporation from 1980-91, Knapp will be the first to remind us that the sports strategy was not created as a sports strategy. So, what can Indianapolis learn from its sports strategy to apply to arts and culture strategy?

In 1979, a group of civic leaders were brainstorming about how to revitalize Indianapolis. They asked themselves: How do we make Indianapolis a better place to live and work and raise families? They considered five initiatives: health and medicine; arts and culture; education; agriculture, food and nutrition; and sports and fitness. Their goals were to enhance the quality of life, provide opportunities for young people, improve the city’s self-image and national and international reputation, and stimulate the economy.

Knapp remembers Ted Boehm, the first chair of the Indiana Sports Corp and later an Indiana Supreme Court justice, saying that it didn’t matter to him if it were a violin competition or a boxing match that came to the city, as long as it achieved those objectives.

“Sports is one of those common denominators that captures a lot of media attention,” she says. “As a result, it looked like it was the only thing happening.

But it wasn’t so much that they chose sports. Sports chose us.”

The sports strategy helped bring in the 1982 National Sports Festival.

The following year, the U.S. Gymnastics Federation and U.S. Synchronized Swimming moved to Indianapolis. In 1987, Indianapolis played host to the Pan Am Games. And now, more than forty years later, the Indiana Sports Corp has hosted more than 450 national and international sporting events.

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“SPORTS IS ONE OF THOSE COMMON DENOMINATORS THAT CAPTURES A LOT OF MEDIA ATTENTION. AS A RESULT, IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS THE ONLY THING HAPPENING. BUT IT WASN’T SO MUCH THAT THEY CHOSE SPORTS. SPORTS CHOSE US.”

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FUNDING

EDUCATION

“We’ve been so underfunded for so long in marketing and in being able to invite the community to the opportunities that exist today,” Goodman says. “There are about five arts organizations that have a marketing budget of any notable size.

So, it’s kind of an Easter egg hunt to try to understand the breadth and depth of the incredible range of arts and cultural experiences we have in Indianapolis. So, awareness and building engagement within the community is a basic first step.”

“I’d like to see policies that include mandatory arts education in our schools and more funding at the collegiate level for the Herron School of Art and Design,” says Mindy Taylor Ross, owner and chief curator of Art Strategies and former director of the Indianapolis Arts Council’s Public Art program.

“There has to be investment in public space and public art. Government needs to work with civic leaders like they did with sports.

They need to say we want this for our city.

We know that being engaged in art and culture is important for people.”

SPACE “If the city was to offer artists lots and lots of affordable studio space, the artists would figure out the rest,” says artist Philip Campbell. “We always have.

We always keep making, and we always make neighborhoods where we congregate better–Broad Ripple, Mass Ave, Fountain Square, The Stutz. And then we get priced out and move somewhere else.”

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Goodman says the city is in an excellent position to become an arts and cultural destination in the next decade. There are “huge opportunities” to leverage the city’s festival and host-city infrastructure, and “unanimous political support at the city level and encouraging progress at the state level for arts and culture investment.”

“We’ll have a significant foothold by 2030,” she says. “If we as a community choose– like they did with the sports strategy–to embrace that opportunity, we have all of the ingredients to make that possible.”

THE FOCUS ON SPORTS SUCCEEDED BECAUSE OF COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION. “There has to be collaboration amongst the arts organizations–and among city organizations–to make that happen,” says Sarah Myer, chief marketing officer for the Indiana Sports Corp, whose early career highlights included eight years in marketing for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. “I don’t think it can be done in a silo. Like, the ISO and IRT and Newfields, if they’re all separately successful, that’s great. But I think there’s got to be some collaboration, working together on some common goals.”

“They got everyone on the same page–and that includes organizations that had competing agendas,” says Allison Melangton, senior vice president at Penske Entertainment, former president of the Indiana Sports Corp and president of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee. “The vision that was painted for the city was collective and impactful. And it didn’t happen overnight. It took leadership that was willing to roll up their sleeves and fight hard, arm in arm, with organizations and individuals, to make sure the right plan was going to have the right outcome.”

TODAY, SPORTS IS THE CITY’S FAVORITE CHILD. The Indiana Sports Corp has thirty employees and a roughly $10 million budget; the Indy Arts Council operates with half that.

“But take a closer look at what the arts has achieved,” says Julie Goodman, president of the Indy Arts Council– starting with the concentration of arts organizations now headquartered in Indianapolis. She ticks off a list: International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, American Pianists Association, Music for All and Bands of America, Drum Corps International, the Percussive Arts Society and Rhythm! Discovery Center, and Discovering Broadway Inc. Goodman goes on, “And look at growth of the city’s core arts and cultural organizations–The Children’s Museum, Newfields, the Indiana State Museum, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Eiteljorg Museum, White River State Park, the Indianapolis Zoo, the Indiana Repertory Theatre, the Madam Walker Legacy Center–and how many organizations and events have been established in the last few decades, including BUTTER Art Fair and GangGang, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, the Cabaret, Indy Jazz Fest, All IN Music and Arts Festival, WonderRoad, and the hip-hop festival Chreece. Overall, the city has more than a hundred arts organizations.”

Ask what those organizations need to elevate them to the level of sports, and you’ll get a variety of ideas. ✂

“THE VISION THAT WAS PAINTED FOR THE CITY WAS COLLECTIVE AND IMPACTFUL. AND IT DIDN’T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. IT TOOK LEADERSHIP THAT WAS WILLING TO ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES AND FIGHT HARD, ARM IN ARM, WITH ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS, TO MAKE SURE THE RIGHT PLAN WAS GOING TO HAVE THE RIGHT OUTCOME.” THE INDIANA SPORTS CORP WAS FOUNDED IN 1979 AND WAS THE FIRST SPORTS COMMISSION IN THE NATION. NOW, THERE ARE MORE THAN 300 ACROSS THE COUNTRY SINCE THE ORGANIZATION’S INCEPTION,

SPORTS AND RELATED EVENTS HAVE BROUGHT IN MORE THAN $4 BILLION INTO THE INDIANA ECONOMY. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT GLOBAL FRANCHISES, NATIONAL EVENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS, ORGANIZED REGIONAL SPORTS, INDIVIDUAL SPORTS, AND SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS,

SPORTS ACCOUNTS FOR 2.7% OF THE INDIANAPOLIS METRO-AREA’S ECONOMY.

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FROM TAX CREDITS TO CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS, A STORY OF PROGRESS

CRAFTING A THRIVING FILM & MEDIA ECOSYSTEM IN THE HOOSIER STATE

WORDS BY SHELBY HILTUNEN ILLUSTRATION BY CRISTOPHER MARTINEZ

INDIANA IS WITHIN REACH OF ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH THE FILM AND MEDIA INDUSTRY. MINNESOTA, NEW MEXICO, AND MONTANA ARE A FEW OF THE STATES THAT HAVE ALREADY MADE THIS LEAP, AND–IN ADDITION TO REAPING THE BENEFITS–THESE LANDLOCKED STATES HAVE LAID OUT A BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS. Not surprisingly, sustained success in the film industry requires longevity and a well-crafted foundation. Minnesota serves as an example, having recently increased its tax credit cap from $5 million to $25 million and extending the program for eight years. This commitment signals to industry decision-makers that Minnesota is a reliable long-term partner.

In addition, the policies in Minnesota ensure locals directly benefit from the tax credits. In order to qualify for the tax credit, productions must spend at least $1 million in the state and employ local residents whenever possible, championing the local economy. Minnesota is also home to the country’s only nonprofit film commission, which further bolsters the industry’s success.

States that invest in education, training, and mentorship programs in film and media can create a foundation for sustainable, well-paying jobs. New Mexico, for instance, established the Film Crew Advancement Program to provide on-the-job training for residents, incentivizing companies to offer job opportunities.

Furthermore, they share industry FAQs, job postings, and casting calls, along with opportunities for job seekers and volunteers. Notably, they also run the New Mexico Veteran Crew Training Program, fast-tracking veterans with transferable skills to higher industry positions.

This strategy expands the labor pool and attracts more investments, studios, and major projects, stimulating the broader economy. According to the New Mexico website, for every dollar the state invests in the program, the economy benefits by $8.40.

“HAVING AN INCREASED PRESENCE OF THE FILM INDUSTRY IN INDIANA NOT ONLY ENCOURAGES ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH EMPLOYMENT BUT ALSO THROUGH THE SUBSEQUENT TOURISM DOLLARS FROM FANS COMING TO SEE THEIR FAVORITE FICTIONAL LOCATIONS IN REAL LIFE. THE FILM INDUSTRY HAS ALREADY CONTRIBUTED TO INDIANA’S ECONOMY IN THE PAST. MY HOPE IS THAT MORE STUDIOS WILL BE ATTRACTED TO FILM IN THE HOOSIER STATE.”

Montana also presents a compelling case for supporting the film and media industry, having realized substantial economic, fiscal, and cultural benefits from its Montana Economic Development Industry Advancement (MEDIA) tax credit program. The program, effective from 2019 to 2029, recently increased its cap from $12 million to $20 million annually. Their analysis showcases both the direct and indirect impact of the MEDIA ACT on Montana’s economy.

Indirect impact includes film-induced tourism, fostering arts and culture, and capital investment in infrastructure, all contributing to economic growth and social opportunities.

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BACK TO INDIANA A strong advocate for this opportunity, Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch shares, “Having an increased presence of the film industry in Indiana not only encourages economic growth through employment but also through the subsequent tourism dollars from fans coming to see their favorite fictional locations in real life. The film industry has already contributed to Indiana’s economy in the past. My hope is that more studios will be attracted to film in the Hoosier state.”

Nathan Bechtold, President of the Indiana Filmmakers Network (IFN) has been working diligently to connect filmmakers in the state for years. IFN is getting ready to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary and continues to host free monthly workshops across the state. Bechtold says, “Indiana needs a film commission with representatives from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC), and Film Indy. We need to work together.”

INDIANA HAS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO POTENTIALLY EARN IN THE FILM INDUSTRY

New Mexico

The IEDC has recently taken a visionary approach when it comes to supporting entrepreneurs by introducing ConnectIND, a first-of-its-kind virtual portal designed, as the name suggests, to connect entrepreneurs to resources. And while there is not currently a film commission in Indiana, strong partnerships are starting to form. A perfect example is The Creative Crossroads: Indiana’s Creative Economy Summit hosted by PATTERN and the IEDC. The Summit and events like it are paramount in the effort to unite visionaries across all sectors.

Minnesota

“Efforts like ConnectIND and the IEDC’s support of initiatives and events like Creative Crossroads are important steps in advancing the creative economy in Indiana,” says Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg.

“Supporting this sector of entrepreneurs aligns perfectly with the IEDC’s strategic vision, and we know that fostering creativity only enhances the vibrancy of our communities.”

Film Indy is also starting to take steps to form partnerships and support the film industry. “In partnership with IEDC and Film Indiana, Film Indy will be attending American Film Market this fall for the first time ever. This event will provide us the opportunity to network with producers and directors to pitch Central Indiana as a film-friendly destination,” says Morgan Snyder, spokesperson for Film Indy.

Film Indy has shared indicators that there is potential for great economic impact from the film and media industry, as showcased by their success with NBC’s American Ninja Warrior, which generated about $2 million into the city twice and utilized local talent and businesses. Productions like these have the ability to boost our economy substantially and create an interest in our city and state.

Montana

Indiana

In addition to the compelling work of the IFN, the IEDC, and Film Indy, in March 2022, yet another promising development occurred when Senate Bill 361 was signed into law and allocated $5 million for a film tax credit. This act showcases Indiana’s commitment to fostering creativity, attracting talent, and igniting a spark of innovation in our entertainment sector. The IEDC is currently accepting applications on a rolling basis.

So, what comes next? Like other states, we must strengthen the film industry by supporting a flourishing creative and economic success right here in Indiana. With lessons learned from New Mexico, Minnesota, and Montana, what steps should Indiana take? ✂

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AMOUNT OF TAX INCENTIVES ALLOCATED TO THE FILM INDUSTRY PER STATE

HOW INDIANA CAN STRENGTHEN THE FILM INDUSTRY FILM COMMUNITY

LEGISLATION

Create other funding opportunities and grants for those in the film and media industry. For example, Minnesota is home to the country’s only nonprofit film commission, which provides countless resources to media and filmmakers.

Pass legislation to increase the amount allocated to film and media and film tax incentives to be competitive with other states. While Indiana has allocated $5 million to the film and media tax incentive, New Mexico has allocated $120 million, Minnesota has allocated $25 million, and Montana has allocated $20 million (recently raised from $12 million).

Implement training and mentorship programs for students and local film crews. Allocate a percentage of the film tax incentive to hiring students and Indiana residents. New Mexico has created a successful blueprint for a program that supports students and local film crews with their Film Crew Advancement Program.

Pass legislation ensuring that locals directly benefit from the tax credits. In order for productions to qualify for Minnesota’s tax credits, the production must employ local residents whenever possible, ensuring a direct impact on residents.

Support veterans in the film industry by creating our own version of New Mexico’s Veteran Crew Training Program to fast-track the careers of those with transferable skills.

Pass legislation allowing tax incentives to be refundable and transferable.

TAX CREDIT

RESOURCES

Extend the timeline for the tax credit. As an example, Montana recently extended their MEDIA Act to be active until 2029. This ensures a longterm commitment to investing and supporting the media and film communities. Notably, the IEDC has set a precedent with other state tax credit programs, ensuring that when they make an award, their commitments survive the sunset, ensuring that the availability of the credits doesn’t go away. This is a big win for filmmakers looking to apply for the tax credit.

Continue to unite visionary leaders who support film in our community by establishing a state-supported film commission with representatives from the IEDC, IDDC, Film Indy, IFN, and other supportive organizations.

Cities and counties can join the action by augmenting existing tax incentives. As an example, Minnesota offers a number of regional film production incentives and rebates in addition to its state tax credit. This is a surefire way to bring film to the various wonderful locations around our great state.

Utilize the IEDC’s visionary new tool, ConnectIND, as a resource for creative entrepreneurs and those in the media and film communities. Continue to update and add resources to the IEDC’s current production directory, which includes resources for locations and crew.

With visionary thought leaders guiding the way, and the continued efforts of the IEDC, IFN, Film Indy, and those a part of the creative community, together, we can make films In Indiana and become a powerhouse in the film and media industry.

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HISTORIC THEATERS BRING NEW LIFE TO DOWNTOWN COMMUNITIES W O R D S B Y PA I G E WA S S E L , I N D I A N A L A N D M A R K S DESIGN BY L E A H B R I N K M A N PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

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When watching a movie takes no more effort than pressing a button from the comfort of your home, visiting a historic theater is like having a ticket for a time machine. Designed to delight the eye inside and out, these palaces of entertainment are imbued with the patina of years past, carrying generations of goodwill as places where people gathered to watch plays, see the latest films, and attend meetings and concerts. Revived historic movie theaters can serve as downtown magnets, bringing foot traffic to shop and dine at nearby businesses.

On any given evening in Franklin, Indiana, the Artcraft Theatre’s red-and-white marquee illuminates the north side of the city’s courthouse square. Inside, neon lighting and vintage murals draw the eye of patrons waiting to buy locally grown popcorn at the concession stand. Owned by nonprofit Franklin Heritage Inc., the 1922 theater hosts classic cinema, concerts, talks, and special events, attracting locals and visitors from surrounding states. Costumed characters greet movie-goers, who see classic cartoons and Three Stooges shorts before films.

S TAT E T H E AT R E E X T E R I O R

“What sets the historic theater apart is the character, the history, the nostalgia, and the memories. You don’t have that in a new multiplex,” says Rob Shilts, executive director.

“Here, grandparents can take their grandkids and show them the seat where they first sat to watch The Wizard of Oz.”

Nostalgia paired with potential as an economic catalyst can fuel interest in vacant movie palaces like Anderson’s State Theatre, which closed in 2008. A series of attempts to redevelop and reopen the 1930s landmark in the heart of downtown stalled before the City purchased the property in 2019, hoping it could become part of downtown redevelopment efforts. Indiana Landmarks added the building to its 2023 list of the state’s 10 Most Endangered places, hoping to raise awareness and attract potential investors.

In Wabash, the restored Eagles Theatre provides an inspirational example of how restored theaters can regain headliner status.

When the Honeywell Foundation acquired the building in 2010, it aimed to save the town’s last historic movie theater, a landmark suffering from years of deferred maintenance.

It wasn’t long, however, before a new vision emerged, setting the stage for a $16 million makeover to revive the community anchor as a state-of-the-art regional attraction. Today, the rehabilitated auditorium hosts both movies and live performances. On the second floor, high school students get hands-on production experience for careers in mediarelated industries. The fourth-floor ballroom, with its restored hand-painted ceiling, provides a memorable space for weddings and other special events. It’s a perfect example of what can be done when historic theaters get a second act.

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The Eagles Theatre opened in 1906 as a large auditorium for vaudeville shows. In the 1920s it was renovated to accommodate talkies, but the theater's popularity started to wane in the later half of the century as megaplexes opened up in town. The Honeywell Foundation purchased

the theater in 2010 and closed the space for major renovations in 2017.

The Eagles Theatre reopened in 2020. The five-story building now holds a theater for movies and live entertainment, a second smaller movie theater, music lesson rooms, recording studios, and a restored ballroom.

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ARTCRAFT THEATRE

Ar tcra f t T h ea tre

Sta te T hea tre

Ar tcra ft T hea tre, c.1940

The Artcraft Theatre opened in 1922 as a silent movie theater and vaudeville stage. It spent more than sixty years as the premier movie theater In Franklin until the rise of VHS rentals and megaplex reduced the Artcraft’s revenue. Although the theater never closed, the facility had been left in disrepair until Franklin Heritage bought the Artcraft in 2004. Major renovations have restored the theater's charm, and it now attracts tourists from across Indiana and beyond to downtown Franklin.

STATE THEATRE Opened in 1930, the State Theatre features an eclectic Spanish Baroque façade, with white glazed terra cotta. Along with the still-operating Paramount Theatre, which now features live acts, the State Theatre is one of two movie palaces built in Anderson by the Publix Theater Corporation of Chicago in the early twentieth century. With seating for over 1,500 movie-goers, the theater was operational until 2008. Its interior incorporates state-of-the-art systems, including modern sound and projection technologies and an early form of geothermal heating and cooling. It was purchased by the City of Anderson in 2019 with the intention of incorporating in downtown revitalization plans. ✂

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HOME

INDIANA THRIVING CREATIVE COMMUNITIES ACROSS

DESIGN BY L E A H B R I N K M A N

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CREATIVE INVESTMENT IN

ELKHART COUNTY

WORDS BY M E G A N F E R N A N D E Z PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

When the last half-mile of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail was laid in September in Elkhart County, completing a thirty-three-year, edgeto-edge project, some community leaders hoped it marked the beginning of a new path forward for the creative community.

Where trails spring up, art and culture tend to follow–restaurants, parks, murals, sculpture, programming like live music and festivals.

Elkhart County is investing in this kind of placemaking as it moves to diversify its economy, which is still about sixty percent manufacturing, thanks to the recreational vehicle industry. Not many communities around the country can say the same thing as good manufacturing jobs have gone overseas.

Elkhart County still produces about eighty percent of RVs in the country.

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LEANING INTO WHAT’S AVAILABLE Dave Weaver is one of the community leaders who would like to see that balanced out with other types of economic activity.

After selling his supply-chain company, Kem Krest, and retiring at thirty-seven, Weaver started a foundation called weImpact to set a new vision in his hometown, where he sees so much potential to become a more “liveable and loveable community.” Among those assets are natural ones like two rivers converging downtown–and large coffers to fund good ideas.

Ten years ago, the Community Foundation of Elkhart received a $150 million bequest from a local businessman. Since then, the foundation has raised another $250 million and is now the second-largest community foundation in Indiana, after the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

“Generosity is strong in Elkhart County,” says Weaver, the vice president of the foundation.

“But if you look at the data surrounding liveability, it’s challenging. My generation chooses place over paycheck every time.”

He thinks Elkhart needs a new approach.

“Philanthropy hasn’t taken enough risk,” he says. “We constantly complain about deficiencies in our economy and don’t do anything to resolve them.”

REIMAGING WHAT’S POSSIBLE One of weImpact’s big projects, the River District downtown, had $160 million

support for two communities to start their first arts councils. One of them, Nappannee, used funds to create an Art Path and an annual public art exhibition with a theme, like junkyard dogs. Local artists work with metal fabricators to create the installations, and each year after the exhibition, the pieces are moved to the Art Path permanently. The council also has its own building and started offering arts workshops.

“It’s just a really cool thing that we have supported and the kind of thing we are really excited to keep doing,” says Marshall King, the communications director for the Community Foundation, which seeded its placemaking committee, focused on trail development, with $2.5 million.

The $5 million restoration of the historic Goshen Theater recently brought back arts and music to the town after a thirtyyear closure, and last year, the Northern Michigan Clay Alliance formed to build on the region’s rich tradition in ceramics and an established pottery tour every September that has attracted $100,000 in sales from thousands of visitors.

committed to shovel-ready projects within its first two years and plans to attract $300 million in investment and use $30 million earmarked for public infrastructure improvements. Weaver says design is leading the way in the River District development with more intention to create communities where residents can live, work, and play in the same area, and visitors are tempted to explore.

And because arts and culture are one of weImpact’s stated values, Weaver expects the creative economy to play a bigger role in Elkhart than it has in the past as the city improves its modern livability.

Weaver has already brought two new

storefronts of 450 square feet–accepting a percentage of profits as rent. “We’re betting on the retailer and they’re betting on the developer,” he says.

The development has also spurred Weaver and his partners to do something about a lack of tradespeople in Elkhart. He says there is only one mason worker in the county, and other artistic building trades, like ironwork and glasswork, are similarly understaffed because the RV industry keeps them all employed. He said a project is underway with nearby Notre Dame University’s Center for Preservation, Reliance, and Sustainability to create vocational training for these specialties.

Right when the pandemic hit, the Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau (ECCVB) launched a new identity called Well Crafted, drawing upon the county’s RV industry and the large Amish community that has been a primary tourism driver for decades in communities like Shipshewana and Middlebury. But it also encompasses what county leaders think is a new energy and excitement around arts and culture that’s bringing communities together. “I don’t know if people see city boundaries the same way as they used to,” says Terry Mark, a spokesperson for the ECCVB who grew up in Elkhart County.”

It doesn’t feel like there’s as much rivalry as there used to be. A lot of those walls are coming down.” ✂

“I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE SEE CITY BOUNDARIES THE SAME WAY AS THEY USED TO... A LOT OF THOSE WALLS ARE COMING DOWN.” T E R RY M A R K , ECC VB SPOKESPERSON

restaurants and a rooftop bar to downtown Elkhart’s new Riverbend Building. The next projects in development with weImpact are taking an innovative approach to attracting small, local retail in five manageable

REGIONAL IMPACT OF INVESTMENT The new energy and investment aren’t contained to the county seat of Elkhart. A 2016 countywide tourism initiative called Vibrant Communities is bearing fruit now. It provided

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MADISON

MUSIC + ECONOMICS 101:

SETS THE GOLD [RECORD] STANDARD W O R D S B Y N ATA L I E D E R R I C K S O N PHOTOGR APH PROVIDED

Where there’s music, people follow–and so does the money. Recent data shows that the cumulative value-add of the music industry has surpassed the typical industry leaders, challenging the status quo of how and with whom cities invest and what ROIs might be. All signs point to a ModernDay Renaissance where creative work is crucial to a community and economy’s overall health and success.

It’s no secret that music brings people together, but what if its cultivation, at scale, is the secret ingredient needed to revitalize communities, spark economic growth, and improve our very existence?

THE SECRET IS OUT IN MADISON The draw? It’s not the city’s beautiful downtown district or stunning mansions dotting the Ohio River, although no slouches themselves. In Madison, the top draw is its burgeoning music scene, and the city intends to become a music hotbed for singers, songwriters, producers, and every key player required in the music ecosystem.

If the idea of a small city like Madison rivaling those synonymous with music sounds outlandish, think again. In 2019, the city saw 400,000 visitors, just over thirty-three times its population, resulting in an economic impact of $35 million. In Jefferson County, visitor spending in its boundaries jumped twenty-five percent from 2020 to 2022, a thirteen percent jump from the previous best year in 2019.

When passion intersects with potential Like most movements with staying power, things start organically. Scrappy, passionate music lovers and artists share an entrepreneurial spirit when it comes to perfecting and sharing their craft. And when they work together, magic can happen.

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A barbershop can transform into an intimate listening room with MTV Unplugged vibes and exclusivity only because of the size.

City blocks become a full-scale festival, a Sundance for music. In Madison, the entire city can open up to unbridled musical discovery down alleys, into shops, and beyond.

At any one time, more music is being played in Madison than anywhere else in Indiana.

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE If a city doesn’t want something to happen, there are a myriad of ways to make things difficult–complex permitting, zoning restrictions, and good old-fashioned gatekeeping. Or, a city can be like Madison and lean into the potential of doing things a little differently.

Mayor Bob Courtney has earned the clout and respect of those involved in the city’s grassroots music movement.

By focusing on quality-of-life markers, engaging with community leaders, and advocating for the smart use of incentives to drive growth, Madison is leveraging nearly every opportunity to its fullest.

It’s what’s known as the comprehensive wealth approach, an economic development marker in which a community’s amenities are added into the equation of overall wealth, putting a number on the quality of life.

This means that investments in amenities like parks, public art, and supportive infrastructure can be a key driver to economic and population growth.

“Jobs follow people,” shares David Terrell, Executive Director of the Indiana Communities Institute at Ball State University and of the RUPRI Center for Local and State Policy.

GETTING ON THE NATIONAL STAGE Elevating performances and cultivating experiences are essential, but so is supporting the business side of music. In 2022, the Madison Area Arts Alliance, the Madison Music Movement, the Indiana Arts Commission, and the Indiana Small Business Development Center hosted a free half-day workshop for musicians, venue owners, and music enthusiasts on the business side of marketing, selling, and protecting their craft.

AT ANY ONE TIME, MORE MUSIC IS BEING PLAYED IN MADISON THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN INDIANA.

"Madison has a local government that understands quality of life and the role that creative culture can play in the economic growth of a community.”

As the founding executive of the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and a full-time resident of Madison, Terrell’s perspective is comprehensive: “The investment in the community is largely driven by the music and arts scene, and it deserves to be in the spotlight.”

Indiana is increasingly earning a unique position for population growth, and communities like Madison that maximize their creative hotbeds stand to be at the forefront of opportunity. Madison is already actively recruiting new residents to choose their city as home, and the offer is getting sweeter with each year. Indiana’s income tax is already set to decrease to just under three percent by 2027, and a two-year study committee is exploring whether further changes are economically feasible.

Events like these bring together valuable connections and present major opportunities.

Last year’s event put Madison on the map, literally, with an invitation to participate alongside fourteen other music cities in the Americana Music Triangle at the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin, TN. Featuring headliners The Lumineers and Zach Bryan, Pilgrimage drew over 20,000 passionate fans daily, and community leaders got to share the Madison story, music scene, and as a visitor destination in the southern market.

RIDING THE WAVE OF A RENAISSANCE Madison’s creative economy is a growing contributor to the $1 billion economic impact of the music business in Indiana, with postpandemic numbers expected to grow.

National data on recorded music revenues reached an all-time high, growing more than nine percent in 2023, and if this summer’s music frenzy is any indicator, people are hungry for more.

An investment in music as an economic tool doesn’t begin and end with tourism; a strong music city results in a carryover impact through lodging, dining, and other forms of entertainment. A city’s range of offerings deepens, thanks to the influx of potential customers attracted to the total package offered. Cities taking this approach are increasingly welcoming creatives, entrepreneurs, and dreamers with the reciprocal promise of a thriving environment to buy into.

Music, much like the descent down the hill into Madison, can transform the way we think, feel, and believe. “There’s an energy here that speaks to optimism,” Terrell reflects. “We’ve caught lightning in a bottle, and it’s time for Madison’s music scene to shine.” ✂

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SUDDENLY, LOCAL TEENS, STUDENTS, AND YOUNG ADULTS WHO HAD ALWAYS FELT ISOLATED IN THIS RURAL COMMUNITY HAD A WELCOMING SPACE WHERE THEY COULD BE THEMSELVES FOR THE FIRST TIME.

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PATTERN VOLUME NO. 24

RETHINKING

GREENCASTLE'S MAIN STREET W O R D S B Y K AT E G R I M M

PHOTOGR APH PROVIDED

I may not be from Greencastle, but after eleven years of living there, I feel like I can claim it and all of its twelve stoplights.

I was there when Greencastle was named one of the inaugural Stellar Communities in Indiana in 2011, and I learned about it through The DePauw –we were getting a Starbucks. Finally, my pumpkin-spiced dreams were becoming a reality!

Conspire’s new storefront was located in the same spot where Eli Lilly’s first drug store originally opened–an auspicious moment in Conspire’s history. Grove continued to grow their business and “enlarge the number of artists I could represent.

I started out with thirty-five in that tiny little space and I was using every square inch of it.”

As it turns out, the Stellar Communities program is a multiyear, multi-million dollar investment initiative led by the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and it brought a lot more than just a Starbucks to Greencastle. (Over the next ten years, downtown Greencastle would receive $30 million in public and private investment.) Along with all of the Greencastle natives and transplants, I watched our downtown transform from a pawn-shop-filled ghost town to a welcoming and stylish community. Sidewalks were repaved. Parking improved. New and redeveloped apartments–I would later live like a queen in one of the converted warehouses, a loft with ten-foot windows for only $750 a month.

Along with the expanding Conspire’s artistic collection, the move also provided Grove with a large space where the LGBTQ+ community (and consequently much of the unhoused community) in Putnam County could come together and share a meal. Conspire started hosting LGBTQ+ craft nights, dinners, and hangouts. Suddenly, local teens, students, and young adults who had always felt isolated in this rural community had a welcoming space where they could be themselves for the first time. The success of these programs quickly skyrocketed Conspire from a quirky gift shop to a beloved local landmark.

CONSPIRE: A CATALYST FOR WHAT'S TO COME All of this added up to a more promising landscape for a new business to take root, which is where Conspire: Contemporary Craft comes into the picture. In 2015 this small storefront opened its doors to sell one-of-a-kind artworks made by Indiana artisans, eclectic jewelry, handmade skincare, cool T-shirts, tapestries, crystals, and tarot cards. “We have all the really cool stuff you want in a college town,” says J.D. Grove, the owner, with a laugh.

Today, this store has become a staple for youth culture and the creative economy in Putnam County, but it started like any other business–at first it was just an idea. An idea that Grove took to Courtney Richey-Chipol, Regional Director of the West Central Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

Together, they sat down and worked out a business plan.

Richey-Chipol recommended setting up shop downtown.

“In retrospect, it was a big risk,” says Grove. Although downtown looked nice and was easily accessible, it was still pretty bare of business aside from the Starbucks and a few lunch-only restaurants. But within a year of opening Conspire, Grove was able to upgrade their tucked away storefront into a corner store with great foot traffic. “Things kinda grew up around me that brought business to Conspire– to the point where we were able to move into the Eli Lilly building,” Grove says.

LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE Conspire was the first of its kind to open up downtown, and since its inception, many new boutiques, restaurants, and creative companies have made downtown their home.

The Stellar Community Program, in partnership with a growing alliance with the SBDC, allowed Greencastle to set a new foundation for a vibrant downtown community.

Ultimately, the city made a financial commitment to bring on a part-time SBDC advisor. “Having someone at the pulse of all things in the business community allows for better access to relevant programming,” says Richey-Chipol.

The support is needed, especially considering the reality that many new businesses don’t make it through their first year, and temporary road restrictions are currently rerouting travelers around downtown Greencastle. This traffic disruption has caused Conspire’s sales to go down forty percent. With construction planned to continue into November 2024, it is an uncertain time not only for this cherished community staple but also for the many locallyowned businesses throughout downtown.

It’s important that city officials and developers don’t see creative entrepreneurs like Grove as expendable, unavoidable casualties of growth. To the people of Greencastle, to me, Conspire is so much more than a store. It’s a space and a community that has made so many humans feel seen and safe. ✂

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VALPARAISO

ART MAKES A HOME IN

W O R D S B Y K AT E N E V E R S

PHOTOGR APH PROVIDED

Tucked away in the northwest corner of Indiana, the city of Valparaiso–Valpo to nearly 35,000 locals–is home to the best iced oat milk lattes, summer nights at the drive-in, Julys spent at the Indiana Dunes, Octobers spent at the apple orchard, and my childhood. The way I see it, I grew up in the best that Indiana has to offer, and I’ve had the privilege of watching Valparaiso grow with me.

While my memories are filled with the establishments and seasonal flashes ingrained in Valparaiso’s creative scene, it turns out that not all of that was as organic as I might have assumed–largely thanks to the commitment and work of the Valparaiso Creative Council (VCC).

Devoted to elevating and growing the city’s creative presence, the VCC mission reads,

“THE VALPARAISO CREATIVE COUNCIL ENRICHES THE COMMUNITY BY PROMOTING, DEVELOPING, AND ADVOCATING FOR AND WITH LOCAL ARTS EFFORTS, ARTISTS, AND ORGANIZATIONS BY PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL, PROGRAMMATIC, AND MARKETING SUPPORT.”

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about the support, challenges, and growth that the VCC has seen since its inception nearly a decade ago.

HOW IT STARTED In 2015, Valparaiso researched, drafted, and adopted the Creative District Plan, which identified the Arts as a largely untapped, underfunded reserve of professional and economic opportunity. Mayor Jon Costas held a public assessment to pinpoint changes residents wanted to see in their city, and the glaring consensus was a severe lack in the Arts sector. With input from public forums and panels, the Costas administration formulated thirty-four action points, all emphasizing ways to further develop it.

At the same time, Valparaiso was selected to be part of America’s Best Community Competition. Their quarter-finalist round finish was a testament to the city’s artistic potential. They received seed money from the competition to strategically develop the Valparaiso Creative Council, effectively setting in motion the investment into Valpo’s Arts District.

And through business partnerships, grants, facilitator-led workshops and panels, and community-wide events and programs, the VCC has done just that.

Since the Plan’s finalization, the VCC has become a liaison between the city, businesses, and artists to actualize its vision. It spent the first several years meeting its base goals: establishing nonprofit status, adopting bylaws, and creating a website to provide a community calendar. Efforts were stalled by Covid, but by 2021, goals had become reality, and the VCC hit the ground running.

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Jessica Corral, Executive Director at the VCC, and Stephanie Swearington, Board President,

HOW IT'S GOING STARTED Since 2021, the VCC has achieved admirable success in a relatively short period of time–

PATTERN VOLUME NO. 24

tackling eighteen of the thirty-four action items on the Creative District Plan and establishing a new five-year strategic plan.

Corral and Swearington credit this success to the VCC’s passionate team, whose voices and hard work have launched a movement.

As the team looks ahead, they are passing the mic to focus group discussions with local artists–of all art forms–in order to best support and capture the needs of those they serve.

Over the past three years, the Council has garnered the support of large business donors, grant awards, event fundraising revenue, and 100% Board contribution. In May of 2022, the city invested in a major mural project in partnership with the Valparaiso Community Schools. The 10’ x 20’ painted mural was led by art teachers who facilitated the involvement of over 4,000 students K-12.

WHAT’S NEXT The VCC is slated to receive over $75,000 in grants this year, and ninety percent of those funds will finance contracted artists for community art projects. Just this August, it added the city’s first monumental outdoor mural at Blockhead Beerworks (do yourself a favor and order their Korean BBQ fries). In Spring of 2024, the Council looks forward to the community’s first large sculpture in the “Flounder and Friends Skatepark” through the #ARTinthePark initiative.

All of this is funded by money raised through the VCC’s small team of fifteen volunteer board members and one part-time executive director. While they are supported by the City, they operate as a separate entity, so the VCC strives to correct the misconception that it is one hundred percent funded by the City.

THE VCC IS SLATED TO RECEIVE OVER $75,000 IN GRANTS THIS YEAR, AND NINETY PERCENT OF THOSE FUNDS WILL FINANCE CONTRACTED ARTISTS FOR COMMUNITY ART PROJECTS.

At its heart, the VCC is a grassroots organization that developed out of the community’s desire for a greater art presence.

It is small but fierce. Through community #ARTreach initiatives, they have given away 900 free art kits to young artists who do not have access to these resources for creative expression. Partnering with the Valparaiso Family YMCA, they hosted a “Valpo Creates Camp” that connected 180 campers to local painting, dance, theatre, and music businesses.

They paid artists over $50,000 through public art projects and brought four public art projects to the community. And my personal favorite: as of September 2023, they will have engaged half of Valpo’s citizens by having a presence at local festivals, hosting ribbon cuttings for new projects, and involving local business owners in new public art projects.

Pretty cool, right? We think so, too.

From artist studios and galleries to arts and crafts classes, live music performances to interactive art installations, the creative community is maple from the sweetest sap.

The Valparaiso Creative Council is one of Indiana’s proudest examples of what happens when you tap all the right trees. ✂

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THE IMPACT OF ARTS & CULTURE INITIATIVES ON

CARMEL W O R D S B Y M A U R A M A L L OY

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

In 2010, Carmel Arts & Design District received a cultural district certification, one of the first certifications granted by the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) for “a well-recognized, labeled, mixed-use area of a community in which high concentrations of cultural assets serve as the anchor.”

The certification reflects longtime Mayor Jim Brainard’s choice and a commitment to supporting arts and culture.

When Mayor Brainard took office, Carmel had been growing like many similar suburbs–lots of residential development and a few strip malls. The original town was rundown, neglected, home to a few dying businesses. The residents wanted more. According to Dan McFeely, who works in the Economic Development and Community Relations for the City of Carmel, residents “wanted to be able to go to a show and have a nice dinner without having to drive thirty minutes into the city.”

A plan was hatched with two major redevelopment projects at the core: an “Arts and Design District” (located in the oldest part of the downtown area) and the “City Center” (a new downtown). The City Center would include new public spaces as well as a new concert hall and theatre building.

THE ARTS AND DESIGN DISTRICT Mayor Brainard saw an opportunity to reimagine the old part of town and started investing in basic infrastructure like sidewalks and drainage systems. He built four archways to identify the area, naming it the Carmel Arts and Design District. Working collaboratively with private sectors and city leaders, the long-term plan was to bring vitality and restore historic charm by building mixed-use buildings–retail on the first floor with apartments above.

According to Ros Demaree of Indiana Artisan, Mayor Brainard and then city councilor Ron Carter came upon the organization at the 2014 Indiana Artisan Marketplace.

“They were drawn to the wide range of art and fine craft available and felt it a good fit for an addition to the Carmel Arts and Design District,” says Demaree. “Ron often said, ‘Indiana's premier arts organization should be in Indiana's premier arts district.’ We agreed but did not have any retail stores then and were a fledgling nonprofit at the time,

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PATTERN VOLUME NO. 24

so we did some research, opened our first store in 2016 in the French Lick Hotel, and opened our first Carmel store in late 2017. We opened our larger, present Carmel store in May 2019.”

Today, the Arts and Design District has attracted over one hundred businesses to the district, ranging from art galleries to interior design showrooms, restaurants to antique dealers, and a variety of specialty retail stores.

Demaree finds the investments impressive. “Galleries and stores like Indiana Artisan Gifts & Gallery could not exist here without the help we get through rent assistance, arts grants, promotional opportunities, and the numerous high-quality events that the city brings to the Arts District.”

But there’s more. Festivals abound. And with festivals comes an even larger crowd.

The Carmel International Arts Festival brings more than one hundred artists in nine different mediums and more than 40,000 art enthusiasts into town. It’s a two-day festival, and the artists go through a rigorous juried process that ensures that they are of the highest quality possible and that their products are not mass-produced. But that’s only one aspect of the festival. According to Demaree, it “is always our highest foot traffic weekend of the year.”

Artomobilia creates a setting where art and car enthusiasts unite. The event brings in over 500 artists, collector cars, and motor enthusiasts to the streets of Carmel. According to its website, it “boasts one of the most eclectic gatherings of original, period-correct cars.”

The Carmel PorchFest recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. It began in 2014 and is an opportunity to highlight lesser-known streets in the area. This free event creates a hyper-local vibe: it’s family-friendly, and the live musical acts perform on neighborhood porches.

Those three festivals merely scratch the surface. Sun King opened a distillery in Carmel, and Promotions Director Beth Belange says that Sun King works closely with the city of Carmel “on all events big and small. No two are alike.” This

In 2019, nine years after the IAC grant, the Indiana Arts Commission gathered statistics on the impact of investing in arts and culture.

3,706 JOBS WERE CREATED. OF THESE JOBS...

$161.2 MILLION was earned in the Creative Economy.

The following sectors had the greatest earnings...

SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS

$61M

416

WRITERS & AUTHORS

ARTISTS, WRITERS, PERFORMERS

336

ADVERTISING AGENCIES

PHOTOGRAPHERS

$12.1M $7.6M

336

ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES

MUSICIANS & SINGERS

$7.1M

234

INTERIOR DESIGN SERVICES

MARKETING MANAGERS

230

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

programming is essential to the effectiveness of the redevelopment. As McFeely notes, “It’s hard to fail at a business in Carmel.”

People come to festivals, and then they stay for a drink or meal, according to Belange.

“The summer months are filled with local people of all ages from the community and with folks visiting from out of town whether it is for sports, arts, or other live entertainment.

We support as many of the programmed events that are hosted in the Carmel Arts District or the Midtown Plaza.”

$6.6M CULTURAL NONPROFIT REVENUE IN ZIP CODES SURROUNDING DISTRICT

$21.4M

CITY CENTER With the Arts and Design District underway, Carmel purchased eighty acres of farmland (and a couple of stores, later relocated) to begin developing the City Center. Located on the Monon Greenway, the City Center aims to strike the balance between “the appeal of a neighborhood and the vibrancy of a downtown.” But it does so with panache, as the buildings’ architecture is reminiscent some the finest cities in Europe. There are outdoor living spaces and fountains, street lights and stone walkways.

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“COMPETITION IS FOR SPORTS. THE ARTS NEED COLLABORATION TO THRIVE.” ROS DE M A RE E , INDIANA ARTISAN

Carmel’s weekly farmer’s market–located at Carter Green in the warm months and at the Wire Factory during the winter–boasts over seventy weekly vendors and attracted 110,000 visitors in the summer of 2022.

The Carmel Christkindlmarkt, a premier holiday attraction, welcomed over 400,000 visitors in 2021, and rightfully so. There’s ice skating and a kids’ corner (“Kinderecke”).

The Kulturecke explores the rich GermanAmerican history of the area. The Spielhaus–or Playhouse–is another family-friendly entertainment option that might even serve as a palace to visit Santa, if you find yourself on the Nice list. The Werkstatt–or Workshop–is a place to learn how some traditional Christmas decorations are made.

And that’s just the exterior.

The Center for the Performing Arts includes The Palladium Concert Hall, a beautiful 1,600-seat space with a domed European-style design; the 500-seat Tarkington proscenium; and the black box Studio Theater. It hosts hundreds of events each year, including educational and experiential programming.

According to its website, since opening in 2011, it hosted “more than 3,000 performances and over 1.3 million ticketed patrons from ninetytwo counties in Indiana, all fifty states, and thirty-plus nations.”

Hotel Carmichael is a boutique hotel that aims to offer its visitors both comfort and style.

A member of the Autograph Collection, the building is inspired by the work of 18thcentury architect Robert Adam while offering top-of-the-line modern-day amenities.

Designed to feel like an extension of the Palladium, music from the Great Songbook Directory was a definitive source of interior design inspiration.

Why the Great Songbook Directory? Because the city wooed Michael Feinstein to Carmel to establish the American Songbook Foundation, focusing on the music of the 1930s-1950s.

Feinstein’s at Carmichael combines fine dining and eclectic live music. One day, the city hopes to establish the American Songbook Museum (think the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame).

BRINGING THE TWO TOGETHER While the Monon Trail was a natural connector of the Arts and Design District and the City Center, stretches between the two were lined with old factories and the like. Mayor Brainard is known to say, “No one wants to take a romantic walk by a Walmart parking lot,” so changes were made.

The city expanded the trail from fifteen feet wide to 140 feet wide and added public art. They added an outdoor pool table, astroturf, and a giant TV screen. This is also the location of Sun King Brewery’s distillery.

When asked about why Sun King chose Carmel, Belange explains, “One of our cofounders, Dave Colt, and his family live in Carmel and are active in the Carmel community. Locating our distillery and tap room in Carmel seemed like a natural fit on many levels. Many folks commute to Indianapolis and become familiar with our brand because of our community involvement and programming that we did at this taproom, and we have a great partner, Old Town, that knew this location was a good fit for Sun King.”

Allied Solutions bought a building nearby. Its employees use the space for their lunch break, and the general public uses it in the evenings and on the weekends. “The space always has people in it,” says McFeely.

But Indiana Artisan’s Ros Demaree views the investments as more far-reaching than simply financial. “As important as the events and programming, the city's Community Development Department works diligently to build camaraderie and collegiality among the merchants. One gallery or shop sending customers to others who might seem like competitors is a daily occurrence in Carmel.

Customers are surprised when we do that, but I tell them that competition is for sports. The arts need collaboration to thrive. Collaboration among city offices, merchants, and galleries is strong in Carmel.”

Over the last thirteen years, the redevelopment plans have moved quickly, transforming neglected areas into bustling hot spots, both day and night. Local and international arts and culture have come to Carmel year in and year out. There is something for everyone, be it porch concerts, piano concertos, beer festivals, or French cuisine. And if there is something for everyone, the cultural district will most certainly continue to grow, fulfilling its mission of that original certification. ✂

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WITH FEWER THAN 36,000 RESIDENTS, RICHMOND BOASTS AN ART MUSEUM, A CIVIC THEATER, A SYMPHONY, AND A SHAKESPERE COMPANY.

RICHMOND

A RENAISSANCE OF THE ARTS IN

WORDS BY D E N I S E H E R D

PHOTOGR APH PROVIDED

The quiet community of Richmond celebrates a long-standing, influential relationship with the arts and is today experiencing a welcomed renaissance of creativity. Telling the entire story here won’t be possible, but many would argue that it began in the late 19th century with the Starr Piano Company, one of the nation's largest manufacturers and distributors of pianos for decades.

THE FOUNDATION OF RICHMOND’S CREATIVITY While the piano manufacturing business created hundreds of jobs, what really elevated Richmond’s creative profile was Gennett Records, a division of the Starr Piano Company founded in 1917. Gennett Records catapulted the reputation of Richmond and earned the city the moniker of "the cradle of recorded jazz." Jazz musicians including Hoagy Carmichael, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, and Tommy Dorsey went as far as to recognize Richmond as “the birthplace of recorded jazz” and often traveled to Indiana to record.

Around the same time, the Richmond Group–a collection of impressionist painters–was self-organizing, and just down the road in Cambridge City, the Overbeck sisters were establishing their ceramics studios. Charles Francis Jenkins was developing early motion picture technology, and Joseph E. Maddy was setting up the nation’s first complete high school orchestra.

All the while, the community of Richmond was creating a built environment steeped in these creative practices (much of which was made possible through the manufacturing industry). The architecture of the time clearly demonstrates the premium that residents and developers placed on aesthetic excellence and on the city’s long-standing commitment to creating places for gathering, such as its historic downtown, and the community's openness to all types of different people. And all of this was happening right along the first highway, US-40. Not a bad place to be, though today most travelers find it by way of I-70.

It’s an incredible legacy of individual and collaborative creativity–almost hard to believe–and one that, according to artist India Cruse Griffin, kept the people of Richmond a little stuck on the styles popular in its original artistic heyday.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO REIMAGINE A FUTURE THAT HONORS THE PAST Cruse Griffin, a collage painter who has seen both local and national success, has lived in Richmond for more than thirty years. When she arrived as an adult, an artist ready to settle down, she recalls, “Richmond was focused on classical art, but when Shaun Dingwerth came on at the Richmond Art Museum, things started to change. He pushed for more diverse and contemporary representation, and the community followed suit.” When asked if she meant Richmond the community or the art museum, Cruse Griffin laughs, Richmond is small enough that a change in the art museum can mean a change for the entire community.”

Dingwerth, though clearly an advocate for comprehensive exposure, honors the legacy of visual arts in Richmond and still sees “Many of the local artists continue painting in the 'plein air' tradition of recording the landscape just as the artists did hundred years ago.”

He goes on to say, “Richmond has always had a strong arts school curriculum and with the addition of an art museum housed next to the high school, students have access to the visual and performing arts early which has led to many becoming artists. Many of the teachers, such as India Cruse Griffin, are artists, conveying to students that they too can become involved in the creative scene or art scene.”

With fewer than 36,000 residents, it boasts an art museum, a civic theater, a symphony, and a Shakespeare company, to name a few. Cruse Griffin says, “There is so much art and so many types of people, which has ultimately strengthened the community.”

Richmond still relies on manufacturing as a major source of revenue, but it has and continues to embrace a cultural renaissance. Artists and artisans, antique dealers, and historians are working together to make Wayne County a cultural destination that continues to enhance the city’s economy. This collaborative effort positively impacts the creative economy and builds the financial position for hotels, restaurants, and local businesses that all call Richmond home. ✂

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AT THE INTERSECTION OF STEM AND ARTS WORDS BY L E A H R . S I N G E R

PHOTO GR APHY PROVIDED

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has been ranked the number one college for undergraduate engineering in the United States for twenty-four years. Yet that distinction does not mean a Rose education is solely STEM focused. Humanities, language, social sciences, and the arts are a big component of a Rose education.

Whether it’s an artist-in-residence program, classes that focus on the combination of math and music or a robust performing arts program, Rose is invested in providing students an education that fuels creative thinking.

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The artist-in-residence program was started by Associate Professor of Art Soully Abas. Her goal is to bring a variety of artistic voices and styles to Rose and the greater Terre Haute community.

She believes Bundza’s art also helped students develop their creative thinking skills.

From counting the beats in musical measures to the sounds that accompany video game soundtracks, music and mathematics have a symbiotic relationship and provide a symphony of learning opportunities. That idea is the impetus behind two courses—Math and Music and The Study of Video Game Music—offered through Rose’s Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts (HSSA) department in collaboration with the mathematics department. The premise behind Math and Music as a class was that music and math are useful lenses for understanding each other.

“Music needs engineers, and engineers need music,” says Associate Professor of Music David Chapman, PhD. “Engineers are whole people and courses like these provide practical and meaningful application for their humanities studies.”

Rose’s commitment to the arts also extends to the visual arts. The college welcomed an artistin-residence to campus for the 2022-23 school year. Professor Alan Bundza taught one art class per quarter and spent the rest of his time working on his own artwork and collaborating with Rose’s different departments. He explores in his own artistic work the relationship between nature and man-made objects, and boundaries between chaos and control—boundaries realized daily in both the scientific and artistic fields.

“Students often come in as engineers and expect answers to be either right or wrong,” says Bundza. “I explain how there is subjectivity to this process and there are multiple correct answers, because the abstract nature of art and receiving it in its forms is very subjective.”

“Students are linear in how they think, and they think an artist problem should have an answer like a math problem,” says Abas. “When they see an artist at work and they see multiple creative solutions to the same creative or visual problem, it expands how they think about things.”

That’s exactly what happened for Kaitlyn Chandler, a first-year chemical engineering student, who took Introduction to Drawing with Bundza.

“TAKING THIS CLASS GREATLY ENHANCED MY EXPERIENCE STUDYING CHEMICAL ENGINEERING,” SAYS CHANDLER. “IT IMPROVED HOW I LOOK AT THINGS FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, WHICH IS IMPORTANT FOR A ENGINEER’S ABILITY TO PROBLEM SOLVE.” In addition to a robust HSSA Department and course offerings, Rose-Hulman offers minors in art, music, theater, language, and literature.

Students showcase their artistic talents in Drama Club performances, which include three shows each school year. Several Rose students are part of the school’s performance groups, including choir, concert band, jazz band and symphony ensemble. All productions and musical groups perform on the stage of Hatfield Hall Theater.

In addition to student performances, Hatfield Hall brings several well-known performers to Terre Haute, including groups such as Mannheim Steamroller and the State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine.

Through coursework and performing and visual arts, Rose-Hulman fosters an environment that encourages art and creative expression.

Rose provides learning experiences that enrich a scientific and technical education, and gives students the tools to think critically and creatively about culture and society. ✂

“MUSIC NEEDS ENGINEERS, AND ENGINEERS NEED MUSIC.” DAV I D C H A P M A N , P h D , A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R O F M U S I C

BUILDING CREATIVE CAPITALS UNLOCKING THE CREATIVE ECONOMY

In today's hyper-connected, mobile society, it's easy to assume that location is irrelevant–that we could thrive just as well anywhere. Yet, the Covid pandemic has shattered this illusion for many, underscoring the profound influence our chosen–or imposed–locale has on every facet of our lives. The stark disparities in life expectancy across different ZIP codes, notably in Indianapolis,* serve as a compelling testament to the enduring importance of place.

WORDS BY LO U R E N Z O G I P L E

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PATTERN VOLUME NO. 24

Here, building on this notion of the significance of place, we explore into the symbiotic relationship between a locale and its creative economy, focusing on how it serves as a catalyst to attract and retain talent.

Throughout my career in the built environment, one truth stands out: the quality of a place is pivotal. It's not just about aesthetics; it's about fostering a sense of belonging that encourages people to invest in their community–living, working, and advocating for it.

However, enhancing a place's visual appeal is only scratching the surface. True, quality of place delves into complex issues that many municipalities often shy away from. In my view, it's a tapestry of interconnected, authentic experiences. Richard Florida, who originated the term for the creative class, outlines it as a construct built on three key dimensions:

THE ESTIMATED WORTH OF THE CREATIVE ECONOMY IS $985 BILLION WITH NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN. This expansive category covers a diverse array of sectors, all contributing economic value by capitalizing on intellectual property, artistic and cultural output, as well as innovative practices.

•

What’s there: the combination of the built environment and the natural environment; a stimulating, appealing setting for the pursuit of creative lives.

This is the storytelling part of the economy and produces the creative works we leave behind so that future generations can understand us. It is also unique because it operates at the intersection of multiple domains. It contributes to economics by boosting GDP (gross domestic product), fosters growth and competition in traditional activities to drive innovation, stimulates knowledge and talent for social value, and relies on the unlimited input of creativity and intellectual capital for sustainability.

•

Who’s there: diverse people of all ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations, interacting and providing clear cues that this is a community where anyone can fit in and make a life.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the creative economy.

•

What’s going on: the vibrancy of the street life, café culture, arts, and music; the visible presence of people engaging in outdoor activities–altogether, a lot of active, exciting, creative goings-on.

The easiest way of understanding quality of place is through the physical realm.

The physical aspects of an area, such as the buildings, infrastructure, and natural surroundings, are one component of the overall concept. It also encompasses practical ideas such as the ease of walking and getting around, the vibrancy of street life, the presence of community events, and the availability of public spaces.

These tangible and intangible factors come together to form the unique and recognizable character of a location, ultimately influencing people's overall sense of health, comfort, and happiness. Yes, the design and architectural style of a place contribute to its character and appeal but it has to include both the built and natural environment, as well as the social and cultural aspects of a town, area, or even region.

Let’s take a closer look at the concept of the creative class.

Coined by Richard Florida, this term signifies a shift toward human ingenuity and expertise as the new driving forces in economic structuring. The creative class encompasses professionals in fields like science, technology, business management, arts, culture, media, entertainment, law, and healthcare. Complementing this idea is the notion of the creative economy. This refers to economic activities that are anchored in creativity, specialized knowledge, and intellectual assets.

The creative economy continues to gain prominence as traditional manufacturing and service industries have been complemented and, in some cases, supplanted by industries focused on creativity and intellectual assets. According to Forbes, “Today, the creative economy is estimated to be worth $985 billion with no signs of slowing down. G20 Insights predicts that the creative economy could account for 10% of global GDP by 2030, and Deloitte believes we will see up to 40% growth in creative sectors by 2030.” According to UN estimates, the creative economy industries generate annual revenues of over $2 trillion and provide employment for nearly 50 million people globally. It is worth noting that approximately half of these workers are women, and the creative economy employs more individuals between the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine than any other sector.

The creative economy isn't just a financial powerhouse; it's a transformative force that enriches our social fabric and shapes our collective identity. It's a realm where innovation meets tradition, where economic value is intrinsically linked to cultural worth.

As we navigate an increasingly interconnected world, the creative economy stands as a testament to the enduring power of human ingenuity and the profound impact of place. It's not merely about dollars and cents; it's about the stories we tell, the communities we build, and the future we envision. As we look ahead, let's recognize the creative economy as not just an industry but as a vital ecosystem that nurtures talent, fosters inclusivity, and has the potential to redefine our understanding of prosperity and well-being for generations to come. ✂ * The 2021 study “Worlds Further Apart” by Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health and SAVI.

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DESIGN -ING FOR OUR CITY’S FUTURE

WORDS BY A N N E S U R A K

I have made Indianapolis my home for almost sixteen years. It is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. While it is the thirteenth largest city in America, in comparing our city to counterparts of its size regionally and across the country one thing is clear–Indy’s quality of place far outweighs its identity of place.

A city’s creative ecosystem is a powerful tool in attracting talent, building community, and bolstering tourism. As I see it, all of that starts and stops with investments made in the built environment. More than a century ago, investments in the development of Indianapolis were important tools in setting the stage for what is today a beautiful, well-plotted, and connected city. How can we plan for Indianapolis’s next hundred years by investing in our built environment, and investing more heavily in art, culture, and creativity as key parts of our city’s identity?

How do we balance the equation between our excellent quality of place and a more dynamic identity of place?

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Indianapolis’s investments in the built environment involved working with visionary architects and designers in the fields of urban planning, architecture, and landscape.

Alexander Ralston, the surveyor and engineer who had previously worked with Pierre L’Enfant on his Baroque-inspired grand plan for Washington DC, designed a layout for Indianapolis reminiscent of DC’s plan with a mile square grid system. Alongside this, D.A. Bohlen Architects was actively designing many of the homes in the beautiful neighborhoods around downtown as well as the City Market (1886), Majestic Building (1896), and Murat Temple (1910).

Also at this time, landscape architect George Kessler took on Frederick Olmsted’s vision for a park and boulevard system, remarkable for its comprehensive design and interconnectedness, linking different parts of the city through a network of transportation and recreation corridors that were also intended to function as a way to conserve the natural environment and guide urban growth.

Although there were additional investments in downtown cultural institutions like the Madam Walker Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre and the Old National Center (Murat), much of the visionary investment in the built environment died down early in the 20th century.

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y H A D L E Y ' TA D ' F R U I T S

“MEDIOCRITY IS EXPENSIVE.” —J. IRWIN MILLER How can we be as visionary in our day as our ancestors were in theirs?

In contrast, Columbus, only forty-five miles south of the Mile Square, realized in the early 1950s that it needed to create a strong quality of place in order to attract talent to live and work in the small city of about 18,000 people.

Community leaders J. Irwin Miller and his wife Xenia have been credited with leading the charge in growing Columbus’s investments and identity around architecture, art, and design from the early 1950s through the late 1990s by commissioning buildings for Cummins Inc, the Miller family’s banking enterprise, supporting city master plans, and donating artwork to schools, parks, and other public spaces.

As president and then chairman of Cummins, Miller emphasized a corporation's responsibility to the community in which it was located and its other stakeholders. One of the most important examples of this was the development of the Cummins Architecture Program, founded in 1960 and still in existence today.

The program is designed to pay an architect’s design fees for any facilities in the county-owned and operated by public tax dollars–such as schools, libraries, parks, and civic buildings–as long as the architect is selected from a Cummins Foundation approved list.

Miller captured the spirit of the program with this statement: “Every one of us lives and moves all his life within the limitations, sight, and influence of architecture–at home, at school, at church, and at work. The influence of architecture with which we are surrounded in our youth affects our lives, our standards, our tastes when we are grown, just as the influence of the parents and teachers with which we are surrounded in our youth affects us as adults.

American architecture has never had more creative, imaginative practitioners than it has today. Each of the best of today’s architects can contribute something of lasting value to Columbus.”

More than fifty projects have been sponsored by the Cummins Foundation, and many other significant works of architecture in the community have been privately commissioned. The resulting partnership between private and corporate resources devoted to design created a city celebrated around the world for its architecture.

Today this kind of relationship is known as a publicprivate partnership, and the development of Columbus’s architectural legacy is one of the most interesting and impactful examples of a publicprivate partnership in our country’s history.

Design Matters In recent years, Indianapolis has invested in several visionary projects that used architecture and design to define our quality of place. The development of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail from 2008 to 2013 refocused attention on the revitalization of downtown, which still retains its original Mile Square layout. The Cultural Trail was the first of its kind and served as inspiration for the world-renowned High Line in New York City. To this day, it serves as a guideline and example for urban trail systems being designed in cities around the country.

Indianapolis also implemented the Greenways Master Plan, an expansion of the parkway system beyond Kessler’s original vision into new sections of the city.

There are now over sixty miles of trails in an extended network, nearly doubling the original infrastructure constructed during Kessler’s time.

Connecting Columbus back to Indianapolis, I would argue the most significant recent example of investment in architecture, landscape, and art downtown was the development of the Cummins Global Distribution Headquarters, designed by Deborah Berke Partners (New York) and Ratio Design (Indianapolis), with landscape by David Rubin Land Collective (Philadelphia), and artwork commissioned

by Art Strategies (Indianapolis). The project brought together internationally renowned architects with local stakeholders, and set an example for what a well-designed, inspiring development in our downtown core should be.

What’s next?

With that said, the momentum of investing in Indianapolis’s built environment has come in fits and starts as financial and political leadership shifts and changes the city’s dynamic. This begs the question: How do we plan for a future with an enhanced identity of place that more clearly sets Indianapolis apart from peer cities? How do we envision what our city and its built environment might become in thirty, fifty, hundred years? We need to lead by example.

Which stakeholders in our community today are going to understand the successes of past investments in our city’s built environment, and stand behind a vision that design matters to our city’s future? We need to invite–and invest in–forward-thinking contemporary architects and planners to create meaningful spaces and places in our city. To quote J. Irwin Miller again, “Mediocrity is expensive.” We need to up our game in order to compete with other cities of our size for talent attraction, tourism, and for the people who already call our city home. We need to craft an identity for Indianapolis inspired by a quality of place that is defined by investments in the quality of our built environment, art, and creative culture. ✂

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TOP FIVE ARTS AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES $157.9B

Broadcasting

$153.8B

Info Services

$127.3B Publishing

$118B

Cultural Institutions

$65.1B

Motion Pictures

THE IMPACT OF THE US CREATIVE ECONOMY The creative economy is a dynamic and vital force that encompasses industries such as art, design, entertainment and media. It boldy fosters innovation, drives cultural expression and generates significant growth. By valuing and promoting creativity, the creative economy not only provides diverse and enriching experiences, but also stimulates job create and attracts business.

14.4%

INCREASE IN VALUE ADDED

4.1%

INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENT

11.3%

INCREASE IN COMPENSATION

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$1.1T VALUE ADDED

4.9M JOBS ADDED

WE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT CREATIVES

FOR THE BOLD WORDS BY G A R R E T T S A I K I

Confident in its transformative power to advance economic growth and elevate residents' lives, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) is committed to fostering the growth of the creative economy throughout Indiana.

In a state more often thought of for biomedical innovation, advanced manufacturing, and agriculture, the IEDC sees investment in Indiana’s creative economy as an opportunity to diversify proven sources of revenue while simultaneously strengthening the cultural and entrepreneurial fabric of communities from Michigan City to Lawrenceburg.

When we talk about public art, live music, and theater, not to mention thoughtful space design and architecture, we only scratch the surface of how the creative economy brings color to daily life. It's more than entertainment and aesthetic experiences. It’s a force that challenges perceptions and encourages engagement, shaping our worldview in profound ways. It’s a dynamic and inclusive ecosystem where innovation and economic growth are fueled by imagination and innovation.

Based on a 2021 study by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies

(NASAA), the creative economy has been a powerhouse, contributing over $1 trillion in economic value and generating 4.9 million jobs. And this economic contribution isn't limited to urban centers alone. It resonates across rural areas, supporting entrepreneurship and investment that reinvigorate local economies.

In the heartland of America, Indiana stands as a testament to the power of nurturing bold ideas and innovation, paving the way for the creative sector–and by extension, entire communities–to thrive.

Revenue and occupational opportunities within the creative economy span from arts, media, and marketing roles to STEM-driven operations. Which is to say, creative ventures hire for non-creative roles and vice versa.

Indiana's commitment to nurturing this synergy positions the state at the forefront of economic growth, ensuring that innovation isn't confined to laboratories and research centers but permeates through every aspect of the economy–ultimately tapping into a wellspring of job opportunities, attracting and retaining a skilled workforce that's essential for future economic prosperity.

Within the creative economy, inclusivity also stands as a core pillar of a vibrant ecosystem, breaking down barriers to participation. It ensures that individuals from all walks of life have the opportunity to contribute, engage, and reap the rewards of their creative endeavors.

This equity-driven approach not only ensures a more diverse representation of perspectives but also enriches the creative output itself. A diverse array of voices contributes to a wider range of ideas and narratives, resonating with a broader audience and fostering a deeper sense of connection within the community.

Consider the city of Indianapolis,

which has blossomed into a cultural beacon, largely due to the persistent efforts and dedication of longtime arts & culture advocates such as Big Car, Harrison Center, Dekademics, Midwest Leak, Cultural Manifesto, Indy Arts Council, Indy Film Fest, Chreece, People for Urban Progress, and PATTERN. Not to mention the fresh perspectives brought in by newcomers like GangGang, 10 East Arts, and Aurora PhotoCenter. Collectively, these organizations and many others have been pivotal in reshaping the urban canvas with public art installations, film and music festivals, and multimedia events.

Building on this foundation, the creative economy emerges as a potent force driving our tomorrow. It not only challenges our current perceptions but also propels us into a horizon of boundless possibilities and economic expansion. Indiana's unwavering support for this vibrant sector not only reflects its commitment to innovation but also sends ripples of inspiration across its borders.

As others witness Indiana's accomplishments, they too are inspired to bolster their own creative communities, resulting in a nationwide movement. By championing the creative economy, Indiana nurtures both artistic expression and a thriving milieu that attracts talent, families, businesses, and visionaries. The potential of creativity isn't just to be admired–it's to be harnessed and celebrated. ✂

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READI SET GROW

HOW INDIANA’S REGIONAL ECONOMIC ACCELERATION AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE IS TRANSFORMING HOOSIER COMMUNITIES AND THE STATE’S CREATIVE ECONOMY

W O R D S B Y A M Y LY N C H

For Indiana residents, quality of life, quality of place, and quality of opportunity drive and determine the way we work and live. To that end, Governor Eric J. Holcomb launched the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (a.k.a. READI 1) in 2021, allocating $500 million toward those three key areas in seventeen different regions throughout the state.

With additional contributions from public, private, and philanthropic sources, READI 1 generated funding for more than 350 projects in 2022. Now in its second wave, READI 2 continues striving to attract and retain candidates in order to expand its base of talent, and in general, aims to keep finding ways to improve Indiana communities for everyone.

Here, we talk with Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s (IEDC) READI director Jim Rawlinson to get his thoughts on how the impacts of the initiative play a role in supporting and growing Indiana’s creative economy.* Amy Lynch: How long have you been involved with READI? JIM RAWLINSON: I started at the IEDC just prior to the launch of READI 2 this summer. Our READI team is led by our Senior Vice President of Community Affairs, Mark Wasky, and consists of myself, two project managers dedicated to different parts of the state– Nassif Kouton (North) and Heidi Young (South), and Chantel Anderson, our Director of Development Operations.

AL: What was the impetus behind the creation of this initiative?

JR: In 2021, after consecutive years of population growth and record numbers in economic development, Governor Holcomb rolled out this initiative to help fund quality of life, quality of place, and quality of opportunity projects across the state.

READI 1 was intended to impact and further

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accelerate Indiana’s population growth, and to enhance Indiana’s regional communities to attract and retain the talent of tomorrow’s economy. The initiative set the national standard for economic development, and we will continue to build more momentum in READI 2. We are one of the only states investing this amount of money into these priorities, and it really has given us a competitive advantage nationally.

AL: The state dedicated $500 million to READI 1. How much funding has been received in addition? The initial hope was for $2 billion?

JR: In READI 1, we were blown away by the return on the State’s investment. To date, we’ve seen nearly $12 billion leveraged for the $487.5 million awarded across 361 projects.

AL: In what ways does READI feed into and support Indiana’s creative economy specifically?

JR: READI is an opportunity for regions to invest in their quality of life and quality of place efforts.

The creative economy is intrinsically tied to these priorities, and we’re excited to see what kinds of projects we can help fund in READI 2 to help drive our key performance indicators.

People are drawn to places that have dynamic and rich creative assets and amenities. It’s critically important to consider how we can expand the state’s creative economy as we push to achieve our vision for the program. When working with regions as they

• Riverside Amphitheatre & Splash Pad (Anderson) — $1.5M • Swope Art Museum (Terre Haute) — $145,000 • Grant County Performing Arts Center (Gas City) — $2.75M

DIFFERENT STROKES FOR CREATIVE FOLKS — HOW READI IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE O U T L E T S A N D O R G A N I Z AT I O N S T H AT RECEIVED READI 1 FUNDING FOR

• The Mill Event Center and Amphitheater (Terre Haute) — $194,000 • Kennedy Arts Center (Marion) — $100,000 • Children’s Museum of Evansville — $580,000 • Ellettsville Heritage Center — $226,000 • Ohio County Pavilion and Pop-up Project (Rising Sun) — $50,000 • Morris Performing Arts Center 100 Project (South Bend) — $1.5M • 180 Makeover (Central Indiana region) — $2.9M • Wellfield Botanic Gardens (Elkhart) — $1.2M

A R T S A N D C U LT U R E - O R I E N T E D

• Liberty Theater (Lawrenceburg) — $600,000

P U R P O S E S T H R O U G H O U T T H E S TAT E :

• Arts Campus Fort Wayne, Arts United Center — $6M

develop their strategies for READI 2, we’re encouraging them to identify investments the State can make in public art, support for creative entrepreneurs, and other cultural assets to provide opportunities that will draw people from around the world to share their work and to visit and experience Indiana.

initiative, we were able to fund a broad array of arts projects owned or spearheaded by nonprofits and creative organizations alike. In READI 2, we’re only able to fund capital expenses, so if there are programmatic funding needs, those dollars would need to come from somewhere else. However, if there are opportunities that require programming, through our engagement with regions and projects, I anticipate we’ll find a way to work with funders to support both and set our capital investments up for long-term viability that will only strengthen the state’s creative economy.

We’re excited to see what kinds of projects the regions bring to us.

AL: Which of the three READI categories–Quality of Life, Quality of Place, Quality of Opportunity–do creative endeavors seem to fall within?

JR: I think the creative economy stretches across all three of these priority areas, and that’s one of the things that makes this sector so interesting and vital to communities. Quality of Life and Quality of Place are the obvious ones because they include things like theaters, museums, public art, and public spaces, as well as architecturally significant buildings, music venues and amphitheaters, and programs.

But the creative economy is highly involved with Quality of Place as well–placemaking and investments into infrastructure to plan for growth.

Programs like the work Big Car Collaborative is doing with artist housing could come into play here. And let’s not forget about Indiana’s diverse gastronomic experience as well! When we talk about Quality of Opportunity, we’re considering how we can invest in supporting the assets I mentioned before through workforce development, education, innovation, entrepreneurship, and attracting talent through film and media production. All of these things come into play through an initiative like READI–design, gastronomy, music, film, and more.

The creative economy touches everything.

AL: Do you see much of a distinction between traditional arts and culture nonprofits and emerging creative projects/organizations in need of funding?

JR: With the requirement goal to have a 1:1 public match as well as a 3:1 private match for the entire

AL: Are there any geographic locations within the state that seem particularly poised for creative growth?

JR: Statewide, we’re seeing communities understand and embrace more and more the impact that creative growth can have. Many people can now work from home, and home can be anywhere with access to the Internet, meaning they can live almost anywhere. With that opportunity for choice, communities that make investments in artistic and creative assets, together with addressing housing and other important quality of life and quality of place factors, will enable them to play in this competition for talent. Communities that are focused on growth realize that investing in themselves, specifically in quality of life, will keep them on a growth trajectory.

Of course, larger cities like Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, and Indianapolis have made great investments in arts and culture. At the same time, Gas City, for example, is building an amphitheater, Plainfield is building a performing arts center, and other communities are also investing in theaters and public parks. ✂

For more information, check out indianareadi.com. *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

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MEET A GROUP OF CREATIVES WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN THE PHRASE "STARVING ARTIST."

D E S I G N B Y L I N D S AY H A D L E Y

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AS AN ARTIST AND A BUSINESS OWNER, I’VE LEARNED HOW TO PRIORITIZE MY TIME TO FEED MY CREATIVITY + STRATEGICALLY CREATE.

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BOXX THE ARTIST

A multi-talented creative entrepreneur, Boxx The Artist works in acrylic painting, digital art, public murals and installations, and films, attempts to capture and celebrate different elements of life from the African diaspora.

Her process integrates the relationship of a dark past and melanin skin to radiate what she refers to as deeply pigmented skin, uncovering the beauty in Black history. She is part of the Creative Entrepreneur Residency program at the Stutz.

BOXX THE ARTIST: Not exactly. I earned a dual degree in Mass Communications and African American studies from Purdue as well as a certificate in entrepreneurial innovation that activated my leadership and organizational skills. The African American studies classes opened my eyes to the history of my people and my culture. I determined that whatever business I started should nourish and impact my culture, my roots, and my community.

LN: What would you say distinguishes you as an artist?

BA: Being surrounded by Black women my whole life, I create visual representations of Black people in spaces of love and joy. I’m a dark-skinned Black woman, so I capture dark melanin skin, and that’s very important when we think of experiences of colorism.

Inspired by my mother, I’ve always wanted to own a business. To develop and execute a plan while also demonstrating measurable growth. As an artist and a business owner, I’ve learned how to prioritize my time to feed my creativity and strategically create.

That’s why I think of my work as a practice.

LN: Sounds like you’re definitely into the business side of art. Does the Creative Entrepreneurship Residency at the Stutz support that?

BOXXTH EARTIST.COM

I’ve recently had four exhibits and a show at Newfields and been a panelist and visiting lecturer at a handful of colleges. So, it’s been nice to have this support.

LN: Tell us about your side hustles and how they involve you in the community.

BA: I don’t like to think about them as side hustles.

They’re just other ways to explore my creativity–like photography. To cultivate my practice like curating art installations or providing creative consulting services.

To bring art to underrepresented communities which don’t have access to public art.

During the pandemic, I took on contracts for public artwork such as the interactive Martindale-Brightwood community canvas and a five-story mural for Indy’s Bicentennial Legends project in collaboration with Chicago artist Shawn Michael Warren.

LN: You seem like a person who always has a plan. What’s next for you?

BA: I try to balance my creative work with the work I do for others. My nonprofit organization, Authentic Arts, provides resources and workshops for emerging artists, especially BIPOC artists, to get the opportunities and guidance they need. We really help them on the business side of being an artist. ✂

PHOTOGR APH BY E S T H E R B O S TO N

I’ve always been creative, but I worked in corporate until I was laid off in 2017. I started to paint. I posted my work online, and it started to sell! Since then, I’ve grown my practice as a full-time multidimensional visual artist.

BA: This residency program offers much needed studio space, but it also includes opportunities, visibility, and mentorship to propel participants to the next level of their professional careers. Being in the Stutz, and as a part of the Makers Alley, I’m surrounded and motivated by other creators like the clothing brand We Don’t Run from Adversity (WDRFA). The Stutz is a collaborative community, a creative incubator which catalyzes growth.

W O R D S B Y L AVA N YA N A R AYA N A N

Lavanya Narayanan: Have you always been an artist by trade?

BILLY TWY MON

ZA: When you talk with the artists you represent, what do you hear from them about the positives of being a creative in the Evansville region?

And also, the negatives, which are always a part of the story?

BT: I think the negatives have always been that, you know, the arts here have sort of been pushed down, and now this is certainly not to suggest that we haven't tapped into some exciting and creative people, but I think the arts get pushed down here for other interests.

The positive side is people are becoming a little bit more aware of the use of art and how it can be incorporated into our cultures and in our society is to make positive change. We're living in some turbulent

ARTBYTWYMON.COM

ZA: It was seven years ago when you opened your first gallery. Do you have a vision for what the creative economy and world in Evansville could be like seven years from now?

BT: Behind the scenes, I've been working with a group of artists, and our vision is that there is a location across the street from me . . . a 10,000-square-foot building that we would like to turn into a cultural arts center, which would be basically the hub for where you go to find art in Evansville.

We want artists to be able to take their crafts and their ideas and be under one roof that we can collectively share ideas on a regular basis, as well as make it affordable for marginalized artists who don't necessarily have the resources to be able to create the way that they want to.

Part of my plan was to make tools available for marginalized groups of artists and put on workshops where we would offer free lessons to artists that couldn't afford to have any sort of schooling. I would also provide business tools to teach them how to navigate through the business world when it comes to how we market ourselves as artists.

And another thing for me being a senior citizen, I am trying to make sure that when I hand the baton off, I'm handing it off to someone that takes this idea and this concept and they’re able to sort of build from the foundation that Twymon Art sets. ✂

P H O T O G R A P H B Y S T E P H E N K E N N E DY

BILLY TWYMON: Back then, I felt like the creative Evansville economy was sort of sluggish. Now granted, there were certainly a lot of great artistic minds, and I still believe that there are, but when I first started thinking about promoting art, I was particularly concerned about how art was being introduced to marginalized groups because as a person of color, I always felt somewhat marginalized trying to tap into the art world. It can be sort of an elitist environment to try to tap into. But I was able to sort of break down some of those barriers by being a little bit more inclusive and inviting.

times right now. And I do feel myself that art is going to help us to sort of weave through the madness–to show us some sort of clarity and some brightness and what the world has to truly offer.

W O R D S B Y Z A C H E VA N S

Zach Evans: From opening the East Side location seven years ago to moving into your Old Towne location last year, how would you describe the health of the Evansville creative economy within that time period and today?

Billy Twymon wants to progress the artistic ecosystem in Evansville, Indiana. Twymon, a seventy-two-year-old artist, opened Twymon Art Gallery in 2016 in a commercial area on the East Side and moved the gallery to a neardowntown historic Black neighborhood last year. Twymon Art currently represents fifteen artists, including painters, photographers, potters, and more. Now, his goal is to create a new cultural arts center to provide resources to marginalized artists in Evansville.

FROM

MARG INALIZED TO MAINSTREAM

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CHRIS BAN TA

When he’s not up on stage shredding as the frontman of Indy rock ‘n’ roll duo Brother O’ Brother, Chris Banta heads up the DIY record label Romanus Records and Romanus Custom Vinyl MFG–where he magically makes records filled with sand, slime, and more. Recently, Banta came on as the resident Creative Entrepreneur at the Stutz.

CHRIS BANTA: It’s truly grown through two main things–hard work and great relationships. It started out of my own band Brother O’ Brother. We were on all these different independent labels, and we wanted the most insane vinyl we could have.

In 2014, that looked way different than it does now.

So we started making handmade customs, which was barely even an idea at the time.

SJ: What have been some of the most important innovations and collaborations that have helped in the growth of Romanus?

CB: From a collab standpoint, the MFG side of Romanus has brought about some of our most high-profile creations, no doubt. Working with a lot of major label artists has helped the label side, which works with independent artists.

The MFG side and label side work in a weird symbiosis together.

The King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Polygondwanaland liquid-filled LPs we made to pay for my son’s surgery really gave the label a big PR boost. Then, the scorpion-filled King Gizzard LPs helped start a big tech push here that led to the world’s first playable guitar pedal LPs. (It’s a guitar pedal that is also a playable record.)

ROMAN USRECORDS.COM

SJ: What challenges have come along the way that you've had to overcome in order to reach this point?

CB: Every day is a challenge. Processes that you think are bulletproof show a weak point you could never imagine, like getting custom materials for really weird records. (We had trouble finding real black dead flies recently for an upcoming project.) There’s also keeping up with demand, growth, and the need for more space. My family and I built a studio onto my home a couple years ago that I work out of, but I’ve outgrown it pretty quickly. So the Stutz space we are using right now is a huge blessing.

SJ: What are some of the advantages that come with being a smaller-scale record label, from your experience?

CB: There are less cooks in the kitchen, so to speak.

You can run the label as lean as possible, which helps maximize profits for bands when we are doing things on the label on a DIY model at every turn. We aren’t hiring some $8,000 PR campaign–it’s all grassroots all the time.

SJ: What are some future goals you have for Romanus?

CB: To get a secondary space. It’s so needed right now.

Ideally, we would love to have a small retail area where people could come in and snag LPs. I’d love to be able to afford a full-time employee at some point, but we have a few great part-time folks now. Joshua Powell is our help anchor. We couldn’t do it without him. ✂

PHOTO GR APH BY E S T H E R B O S T O N

It went so well that we started the label, kept touring, started bringing friends we met on the road onto the label, and over time opened Romanus Custom Vinyl MFG to allow other bands and labels to place orders for our handmade customs. We’ve now worked with everyone from Fall Out Boy to Young Thug to Mötley Crüe It’s kind of mindnumbing to think about how it has evolved.

Beyond that, dialing in our sand-filled LPs has honestly led to a lot of other breakthroughs.

WORDS BY S E T H J O H N S O N

Seth Johnson: How did Romanus Records start out, and how has the label grown over the years?

In the vibrant tapestry of Indiana's creative landscape, Denisha 'Dlang' Ferguson emerges as a trailblazer whose journey from beauty school to healthcare services ultimately led her to found the Indiana Fashion Foundation.

Her story is a testament to the enduring power of passion, determination, and unwavering belief in the transformative potential of the arts.

DENI SHA FERGU SON

As life unfolded, Ferguson embarked on a career in healthcare services while pursuing her MBA. During this phase, her understanding of the critical significance of art and creativity in promoting mental and physical well-being and healing within communities grew exponentially. Alongside this, she became acutely aware that many Black and Brown creatives were often left without the necessary support to pursue their aspirations. This heightened awareness only intensified her resolve to drive positive change through creativity.

IN DIANAFASHION FOU N DATION.COM

The inception of the Indiana Fashion Foundation was a culmination of over two decades spent in Indiana, during which Ferguson engaged in designing clothes, producing shows, and nurturing her fervent desire to cultivate more fashion and entrepreneurship opportunities for local talent. The foundation's mission is clear and resonant: to provide aspiring individuals in the fashion industry with the necessary resources, networking opportunities, skill development, and education to empower them to create and establish their businesses. Prior to the foundation's establishment, Indiana lacked the infrastructure and support systems that thrived in fashion capitals like Los Angeles and New York. Ferguson and her team were determined to bridge this gap.

“I vividly recall the excitement surrounding events like Ebony Fashion Fair, which left me longing to be part of the industry,” Ferguson says. “This longing became the catalyst that ultimately paved the way for the flourishing community of fashion enthusiasts in Indiana today.”

PHOTO GR APH BY P O L I N A O S H E R OV

“As a child that was in shows, I felt like the best way to showcase the interesting things around me was to create one,” Ferguson recalls. “So I drew on my experiences to create opportunities for others, and in many ways, I’ve been doing that my entire life.”

“Growing up, I saw that the ability to chase your dreams often felt unrealistic within Black and Brown communities,” Ferguson says. “I wanted to create opportunities where everyone–from young children to retired adults–could dive into fashion or their creativity regardless of their skin color or income level. In many ways, Indiana Fashion Foundation was created to provide exposure to the fashion industry while celebrating cultural expression and identity for everyone in my community.”

WORDS BY C A S E Y H A R R I S O N

At the tender age of fifteen, Ferguson was in beauty school surrounded by incredible creatives whose talents deserved to be showcased. Drawing from her early experiences in runway shows as a child, Ferguson recognized that the most effective way to ignite enthusiasm for local talents was to bring their skills to life on the stage. And so, she took the bold step of producing her very first fashion show. Little did she know that this would mark the beginning of a lifelong commitment to uniting people, elevating creatives, and advancing opportunities for those in her community.

CHAMPIONING

INDIANA'S FASHION INDUSTRY

PHOTO GR APHY BY JA S M I N E N O R R I S PHOTOGR APH BY JA SMINE NORRIS

Yet, despite her tremendous efforts since the launch of Indiana Fashion Foundation in 2019, Ferguson acknowledges that there are still challenges to overcome.

Put simply: Indiana lacks the necessary infrastructure, resources, and industry connections to fully support the fashion industry compared to larger fashion hubs like New York or Los Angeles. However, the right conversations could help fill these gaps in impactful and sustainable ways.

While current data isn’t readily available, in 2015, the Indy Chamber reported that 6,763 individuals were employed in Marion County in the fashion industry. Those employees earned a combined income of $215,015,780, which averages $31,798 per employee. The total impact of the industry, including value-added factors such as taxes and cost of production, equaled $616,562,059. One can only imagine the robust growth of this industry since 2015.

If Indiana had a mechanism to track job creation, talent retention, and economic impact within the fashion industry, the state could be more intentional in capturing and sharing that story nationally.

“The development of a comprehensive fashion ecosystem, including educational programs, networking events, and access to resources, would provide a tremendous advantage for Indiana’s fashion industry,” Ferguson says. “In establishing this living, breathing ecosystem, and promoting collaborations between the creative industry and other sectors, Indiana would enhance opportunities for fashion entrepreneurs, driving talent retention and leverage a new economic opportunity for the entire state.”

The significance of Indiana's creative economy extends far beyond the fashion industry; it holds the potential to elevate the state's reputation and enhance its national competitiveness. A thriving creative economy contributes to Indiana’s job growth, tourism, and vibrant cultural identity, positioning Indiana as a hub for innovation and artistic expression.

And while Ferguson recognizes there’s an opportunity for greater alignment and support, she’s excited about what’s ahead for Indiana Fashion Foundation.

IN 2015, THE INDY CHAMBER REPORTED 6,763 INDIVIDUALS EMPLOYED IN MARION COUNTY IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY. THOSE EMPLOYEES EARNED A COMBINED INCOME OF $215,015,780, WHICH AVERAGES $31,798 PER EMPLOYEE. “My focus lies on establishing strategic partnerships across Indiana's core industries, including agriculture, technology, healthcare, and sports. These partnerships, exemplified by the recent collaboration between MELI and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, present innovative opportunities for corporations to join forces with creative entrepreneurs.

The potential outcomes are boundless, from designing health products for patients to researching sustainable resources for fabric and dyes within the agricultural space.”

In addition to fostering partnerships, Ferguson envisions a fully funded Indiana Fashion Week featuring a twelve-week program where students can gain realworld portfolio experiences. Furthermore, the Foundation aims to expand its fashion programs beyond the Youth Designer Entrepreneurship and the Be Me programs.

Accredited training will enable the Indiana Fashion Foundation to enter schools and continue scaling efforts to help students build careers in the fashion industry.

Denisha 'Dlang' Ferguson's journey is an inspiring testament to the power of creativity, community, and the unwavering belief in the potential for positive change.

Through Indiana Fashion Foundation, she not only shapes the future of Indiana's fashion scene but also empowers individuals to realize their creative aspirations. As Ferguson continues to lead by example, Indiana's creative economy stands poised to thrive, leaving an indelible mark on the state's cultural fabric. ✂

For Bloomington-based Blockhouse Studios, buildings are canvases. Take the mesmerizing, ethereal cinematography on the ceiling of the Clowes Pavilion, for example.

Or the spooky, character-filled show projected onto the Lilly House during Harvest Nights at Newfileds. Pick an adjective that sounds like magic–hypnotic, ethereal, beautiful, breathtaking–and you’ll be describing any one of their bespoke projects. From the Carmel Palladium to immersive projection rooms, Blockhouse has a knack for transforming spaces into extraordinary showcases.

Dawn Olsen: According to your LinkedIn profile, Blockhouse Studios was founded in 2014. What inspired you down this particular path?

BLOCKHOUSE STUDIOS: We noticed a gap in the market where art meets technology. Integrators and content creators are usually separate entities, so we saw the opportunity to design installations that use both the latest tech and art techniques. In the same way that Apple does both hardware and software, we work on both sides of the tech-art integration equation.

BLOCKHOUSE.M EDIA

DO: How has Blockhouse Studios grown since?

BS: In just the last eighteen months, we’ve grown from four to nine employees in addition to a fairly deep roster of freelancers. Currently, our staff includes our chief innovation officer/director of photography, creative director, lead audio designer/writer, installation and integration services manager, project manager, and production manager, as well as editors, compositors, animators, and 3D designers.

We are fortunate to have creative, supportive clients who allow us to make stunning art in their venues.

We’re then able to reinvest our earnings and scale the company in effective ways. Repeat clients are the heart of our business, but we are steadily gaining traction with new work.

DO: How would you describe the Blockhouse Studios style?

BS: Our shows are story-based, with characters and storylines we don’t see often in our industry. But we also use a ton of practical effects, which means we do as many in-camera things as possible. The clouds in the show on the Palladium, for example, were created using a seventy-gallon tank filled with saltwater and freshwater. We injected a combination of paints while filming the tank at an extremely high frame rate and resolution. We think this adds a surrealness to our shows you won't find in other shows.

DO: Speaking of surreal, what inspired the imagery projected in the Clowes Pavilion at Newfields?

BS: The client wanted to bring the outside in, so we filmed the museum’s gardens to create the illusion the audience is outside. We also drew inspiration from the paintings inside the Clowes collection, specifically the artists’ palettes and how the colors would dance if they came to life. In addition, we filmed original fluid art using special, in-house techniques, and mounted a 50’x30’ LED ceiling that has a spectacular resolution.

DO: What can you tell us about your clients?

We’re looking for clients and patrons who appreciate the importance of art and creative thinking in the economic sector. If more companies realized the qualitative benefits that art offers and chose to leverage that belief with direct investment, that would be a very great day indeed. ✂

PHOTO GR APH PROVIDED

Harvest Nights attracts several hundred thousand visitors to Newfields in October, and we feel our annual installation is a main attraction that drives a good number of those ticket sales. Ongoing relationships like Harvest Nights are the heart of our business.

Our ability to grow and change with the client is key to our longevity and success.

W O R D S B Y D AW N O L S E N

BS: We work with Epson internationally and frequently travel for out-of-state projects in places like Las Vegas and LA. But we’ve also done work around Indiana. In Carmel, for example, we just installed a permanent architectural cinema system on the Palladium, which has been drawing large crowds nightly.

BLOCK HOUSE STUDIOS

LE S SO N S FROM A SELF-MADE PHOTOGRAPHER

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ERICA CLAY TON

Book a session with photographer ERICA CLAYTON today at Through Her Lens Studio, and you can expect to spend $500-1400. That rate has nearly quadrupled from when she first got serious about photography eight years ago. For the past six years, in addition to these sessions– twenty to thirty in a good month–Clayton has been coaching aspiring photographers. To date, she’s easily worked with more than a hundred students, a handful of whom have stuck around to share studio space and build a community of photographers with Clayton. It’s a creative wonder, and she’s an entrepreneurial marvel.

Jenny Walton: How did you get into photography?

JW: Aside from this flexibility.

What has worked well for you?

EC: Social media has worked really well. And having a team, a crew, to work with has been great. A lot of my ideas are pretty wild, and my team is great to bounce ideas off of to figure out what’s possible and to help pull it off.

I decided on photography, so I got a camera and I gave myself a year. I told myself if I can’t make this happen in a year, I’ll go find another job.

EC: My team is full of photographers I’ve trained and who I share studio space with. And we make a point to meet up to work on projects together. We also just like to hang out together in the space together, too.

JW: What convinced you to make the switch to full-time photography?

Having this community helps me creatively. We share ideas and we all learn so much from each other.

Sometimes it’s something in Photoshop or it could be building a set for a particular shoot.

When I was starting out, I had a little studio setup in my house. I would post concepts on Facebook for shoots, looking for models. And I did a lot of selfportraits to help me improve my skills in Photoshop.

But it was really word of mouth that got things going.

I was having people come over multiple times a week. Back-to-back clients. My schedule was getting packed, and I was like okay, this is working.

JW: How has your business grown over the years?

EC: I’ve been a photographer for eight years, and of that, I’ve had a studio for the last six years.

And a lot has changed. I went from wanting a school to wanting my own studio by myself. I feel like every year I want a new thing from my business, and that’s one of the great things about being an entrepreneur.

You don’t have to stick to one thing. You can let the idea change over time.

ERICACLAYTON PHOTOG RAPHY.COM

JW: What does goal setting look like for you?

EC: I set monthly goals for how many shoots I want to do and how much money I want to make. But you know, with entrepreneurship, you’re winging it a lot.

If something’s going super slow, you need to make a change. Maybe it’s more social media or email blasts.

JW: What have been the biggest challenges for you?

EC: You know, this year has been really rough.

It’s been the first year in eight years that I’ve been wondering if I need to pivot to do something else because, for the first time, the money hasn’t felt totally stable. I know a lot of entrepreneurs who have said that they’ve felt a slump at some point this year. But I say that and it’s picked back up in the last couple of months, thankfully.

But I’d say the biggest challenge is staying focused.

When you work for yourself, you can wake up in the morning and make the decision to just stay in bed.

You’re your own boss. No one’s going to tell you to get up and put in the work. ✂

PHOTO GR APH BY G A R I O N B R I G G S

EC: The store I was working for shut down. All the managers were able to collect unemployment, so I was able to do that for a few months while I figured out the photography thing. But after those three months, all my income was coming from photography.

JW: Tell me about your team. Who are they?

W O R D S B Y J E N N Y WA LT O N

ERICA CLAY TON: I had my first son, and I was working in retail. I was the store manager, and we went through our first Black Friday, and I hated it.

I was literally at work for twelve or fourteen hours a day. And because daycares were closed for the holidays, I was taking my son to family members.

And I knew I couldn’t keep doing it. I knew I wanted to do something more creative, and I wanted to work for myself.

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y E R I C A C L AY T O N

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ERICA CLAY

Vevay (pronounced VEE-vee) is a teensy Indiana town along the Ohio River unheard of by many Hoosiers–let alone most Californians. However, Katherine Von Drachenberg is an exception.

Having happily sacrificed the urban amenities of Los Angeles in favor of Indiana’s natural beauty, the multifaceted creative now proudly calls Vevay's historic Benjamin Schenck Mansion her own, alongside her husband, Rafael Reyes, and their son, Leafar Von D Reyes.

Keen to unravel Von D’s vision for her future in the Hoosier state, we took a trip to Vevay to discuss her new ventures and explore her hidden gem of a home.

K ATHERINE VON DRACHENBERG: I’ve been a huge fan of Victorian architecture and have been pretty damn lucky to have lived in several unique, historic homes in my lifetime. Before moving out here, I spent over seven years restoring a Queen Ann Victorian built in 1890 in Los Angeles, which was my biggest restoration to date until now.

The Schenck Mansion here in Vevay has just as much character but needs a lot more attention to detail on the interior, which has taken me longer to restore and renovate than expected. But that’s usually the case with old projects like these.

Eventually, I’d love to expand some of my design aesthetics into developing a home goods line.

You know, something that appeals to all my fellow goth homemakers out there!

KF: Did you give much consideration to the location? Can you share some of the unique aspects of Vevay that drew you there?

KVDVEGAN BEAUTY.COM

KF: Any aspects of Indiana's local culture that have surprised or delighted you?

K VD: I can’t really speak for the entire state of Indiana, but boy, has it been so delightful discovering Vevay’s local culture. My son and I have made it part of our nighttime routine to take a walk around our neighborhood as the sun sets every evening. One time, we heard the sound of delicate banjos and guitars in the near distance. As we made our way closer, it was one of my neighbors casually having an intimate practice on her porch with her musician friends.

Turns out, they practice every Thursday evening.

They get together, without an audience, without any agenda other than to be in the company of dear friends and creating for the sake of creating. It doesn’t get more inspiring than that!

KF: How do you see your creative ventures contributing to Indiana's growing creative economy?

K VD: Our town doesn’t have a social media presence whatsoever. I know it might sound silly, but there are so many beautiful corners of this little town and so many compelling stories of the people here and the town's history. I want to be able to share it with the world. So I do plan on starting an Instagram account introducing the town I fell in love with through the eyes of a newcomer like myself.

PHOTO GR APHY BY W I L F O S T E R

Katie Freeman: You said that you’d been eyeing the house online for a while before it went up for sale.

Did you give much consideration to the location? When did you think of browsing historical homes?

K VD: To be honest, I couldn’t tell you much about the state of Indiana. Other than passing through on tour, neither I nor my husband had spent much time here.

But once I saw the Schenck Mansion was for sale, my husband and I flew out to this little town in the middle of nowhere and truly fell in love. We love its potential, history, and tradition. And the people that make up the community. Well, most of them, anyway.

W O R D S B Y K AT I E F R E E M A N

While Vevay remains a well-kept secret to many, Von D’s choice to make it her home speaks volumes.

Her move–which was preceded by major career changes, including selling her namesake beauty brand and closing the doors to her LA tattoo shop– serves as a testament to Indiana’s untapped potential.

KAT VON D

F RO M LA TO INDIANA KAT VON D'S UNEXPECTED MOVE AND THE TOWN THAT STOLE HER HEART

"WE PLAN ON EVENTUALLY OPENING CREATIVE BUSINESSES IN TOWN THAT WILL INSPIRE AND DRAW MORE CREATIVE TYPES TO THE AREA."

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Other than that, we plan on eventually opening creative businesses in town that will inspire and draw more creative types to the area.

KF: Your current projects include making music and Von D Shoes.

How does being in Indiana play into meeting your goals?

KVD: In all honesty, living out here has made it more challenging to get certain work done. Everything from having inconsistent Wi-Fi to being located outside of pretty much anything or anyone is far from convenient. But I believe there are pros and cons to living anywhere, and I prefer to take the cons of living in nature with crappy wifi and no delivery services to living in a hectic city with all the amenities.

KF: Would you consider hiring Indiana-based creatives for your projects?

KVD: Always! I love building a community wherever I go. I plan on moving distribution and creative for Von D Shoes here to Indiana very soon. As far as my music goes, my bandmates, producers, and mixers are all in Los Angeles and will most likely stay there.

KF: You’ve teased the idea of opening a tattoo shop in Vevay.

Any chance that’s in the works?

KVD: Quite possibly, but not before we finish the house.

KF: What opportunities do you see for innovation and creativity in Indiana that might not be as apparent in places like LA? KVD: There is so much potential in Vevay that I see. There’s an obvious desire for food, activities, and art here. It’s kind of like working with a clean slate because there isn’t much competition.

I think places like Los Angeles make it a lot more challenging to open creative businesses with so much neighboring over-saturation. Like, you can have a cool, innovative store pop up one day, be popular for several months to a year,

and then gone when a hundred similar businesses open up and the next “trend” moves in.

It makes the attention span a lot shorter there, whereas people here can build more lasting relationships with the community.

KF: Can you share a moment where you felt a strong sense of community in Indiana?

KVD: There’s definitely a stronger sense of community here in Vevay than what I felt in Los Angeles. In LA, we lived in our last home for about eight years, and I couldn’t tell you my neighbor's name. Whereas here, the minute my cat went missing, people came out of the woodwork to help us search together.

KF: What do you look forward to doing in Indiana in the future?

KVD: A lot of people think I'm crazy for moving to such a different place, but I'm so grateful that I was able to have the choice of relocating and can't wait to truly make this place my home.

We plan on starting a little homestead farm on the land that we can pass down to our son, as well as open up a few different businesses on the Main Street block here.

Our goal is to bring something to the table without changing the charm of this place.

And who knows, maybe run for mayor one day! ✂

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Magic boxes. The kind illusionists use to disappear rabbits or playing cards. These are highly engineered boxes, and someone’s got to make them. On the day I visited the Marc Adams School of Woodworking & Time-Honored Crafts (MASW), a class of ten was busily constructing magic boxes under the tutelage of a Las Vegas magician-turned-propmaker.

Anne Laker: How does the school work?

AL: How did you come to found the school?

MA: I actually majored in education and wanted to go into teaching, but jobs were scarce at the time.

My dad was a woodworker. He died suddenly, and so I went in and started playing in his shop and fell in love with it. For about ten years, I had a custom woodworking business, probably one of the largest custom shops in the state of Indiana. But I had this epiphany that I could better serve my craft if I could teach, so my wife and I started MASW. AL: Do a lot of your students succeed at having their own businesses?

MA: Well, to be a mechanic or plumber, you have to be licensed. But anybody can do woodworking.

It's hard to make a living as a woodworker. I have to buy the equipment. I have to buy the wood. I invest time. But grandpa, down the road, he's retired. He can make something and not charge much for it.

To compete with that is much harder.

The original thought, when I started the school, was to teach people who really wanted to make a living at their craft. But before the end of the first

MARCADAMS.COM

AL: Do you have opinions on the state of education today?

MA: When I was in junior high, I could take a foundry class on how to melt iron, or auto mechanics and electrical. It's all been taken away. This year, I was the speaker at the American Association for Surgery of the Hand. We talked about craftsmanship. I made a point that in America, we don't fix things anymore, we buy things. So we offer scholarships for people ages eighteen to twenty-five who want to take a workshop but need financial assistance, made possible through our foundation.

AL: The in-person, family-like quality of the school is obviously key.

MA: Yes, there is an abundance of knowledge and creative spirit here. And the majority of people I recruit to teach here are the best in class. Like Michael Dubber, master engraver of firearms and jewelry. He’s been practicing his craft for fifty-plus years. There's nothing else like what this guy can do. The people who are changing craft for us today are the YouTubers. A student in my joinery class says, “Man, I've never cut a dovetail before, but I could shoot a video and in six months, I could be a sensation.” And it's true. But a lot of the instructors that you find in my brochure are not YouTube people.

They are the people who took all the risks. ✂

PHOTO GR APHY BY D I A N E D R A K E

Marc Adams: The bulk of what we do are one-week workshops, but we also do weekend workshops.

The instructors I hire have pretty big followings. I pay them well to come here and teach. I’ve got an amazing staff of eleven. We serve between 2,000 and 3,000 students a year, probably eighty-five percent from out of state. I figure somewhere between 15,000 to 18,000 hotel room nights get booked here in the area, so the economic impact goes beyond MASW.

year, I realized that the majority of people who signed up were hobbyists. Today, our students are mostly people who can afford to take off work for a week and enjoy this, or retirees. We get many doctors who want to de-stress from their day jobs. Today, probably fifteen percent of our students are intending to use what they learn to start a business or make a living.

WORDS BY A N N E L A K E R

On an unassuming county road twelve miles south of Indianapolis, with seven neat-as-a-pin, equipmentrich studios, MASW exists because people need to make. No less than 245 workshops were taught by 125 craftspeople between April and October 2023 at MASW, a for-profit enterprise fueled by tuition revenue from students who come from every state (and even nations) to partake. Now in its thirtieth year, MASW has more than 30,000 alumni across the country, making it one of the biggest schools of its kind.Now in its thirtieth year, MASW has more than 30,000 alumni across the country, making it one of the biggest schools of its kind.

MARC ADAMS WOOD WORK ING

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CHUCK SUR ACK , SWE E T WATE R , AND THE CRE ATIVE PUL S E OF FORT WAY NE 98

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W O R D S B Y A M Y LY N C H PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED BY

S W E E T WAT E R S O U N D AND TIM BRUMBE LOE O F D E S I G N C O L L A B O R AT I V E DESIGN BY L E A H B R I N K M A N

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Having grown up in Los Angeles, Dr. Kristal “Doc” Walker had never even heard of Fort Wayne when she interviewed to become Sweetwater Sound’s inaugural Vice President of Employee Wellbeing in 2020.

“I was skeptical about relocating my entire family since we had just moved to Las Vegas a year earlier,” she says.

The chance to become part of the culture Chuck Surack has established at the country’s leading online retailer of musical instruments and professional audio gear was what won Walker over.

“I learn and continue to be reminded how much Sweetwater is valued as a company every time I go out,” she explains.

“Once people find out I work there, I become something of a celebrity.”

She’s not alone. The sum total of Surack’s imagination, integrity, and dedication to outstanding customer service is what continues to convince job candidates from much bigger, flashier markets to move to the Midwest and adopt Indiana’s second largest city as their own. By intention, working at Sweetwater feels more like play. Employees and visitors enjoy access to a showroom full of hands-on instruments and equipment, state-of-the-art recording studios, a cafeteria/ café, and concerts on indoor and outdoor performance stages.

There’s even a curly slide connecting the first and second floors.

“Our culture is all about having fun and doing the right thing.

That’s our motto we’ve always used,” Surack says.

That approach is obviously working. During forty-four years of steady company growth, Surack is proud to say he’s never had to lay off a single employee, worry about making payroll, or delay paying a vendor invoice.

“The fact that we’ve been able to attract talent from all over the country speaks volumes about Chuck and his vision,” Walker adds.

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“CHUCK’S DRIVE AND VISION...

HAVE HELPED OUR CITY AND REGION BECOME A POINT OF DESTINATION.” F O R T WAY N E M AYO R T O M H E N R Y

Born in southern Ohio, Surack has claimed Fort Wayne as his hometown since seventh grade. After graduating high school, his family expected him to join General Electric as a tool-and-die maker. He opted to pursue a career in music instead, finding work as a saxophone player and keyboardist with touring bands. Running his own 4-track recording studio out of a VW bus proved the perfect way to marry Surack’s entrepreneurial flair and his musical sensibilities. Sweetwater was born in 1979 when he settled his mobile enterprise into a permanent Fort Wayne location. Five years later, the purchase of a Kurzweil K250 sampling keyboard opened up a new world of possibilities to work with major artists like Dolly Parton and Stevie Wonder, with Sweetwater later becoming a retailer for the brand.

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In the following decades, the company has thrived by constantly reinventing itself and the retail music shopping experience, revolutionizing the way gear and instruments are sold. All told, Sweetwater now claims more than 2,800 employees and a massive physical footprint that includes a 500,000 square-foot fulfillment center in Fort Wayne and another in Arizona.

Organizations and efforts that make music accessible to young people are particularly near and dear to Surack’s heart. To that end, Sweetwater sponsors a variety of elementary, middle, and high school music programs; houses the Purdue University Fort Wayne Music Technology Program on campus; and hosts a series of highly popular summer Rock Camps for kids.

“I can’t tell you my dreams were ever to grow to this size,” Surack recalls. “I just wanted to take care of my friends and produce music.

I really love helping people become better musicians. That was my inspiration.”

Sweetwater’s presence and reputation have also helped put Fort Wayne on the concert circuit map as an attractive stop for major touring bands and artists, many of whom shout out the company during shows.

In a sense, Sweetwater and Fort Wayne have grown up together over the past forty-plus years. Since its inception, the company has become a driving force for the local economic and tourism sectors. A self-proclaimed ambassador for the city, Surack supports pretty much every local arts-oriented organization that exists and has always encouraged his family and employee base to get actively involved in the community as well.

“I never get tired of that,” Surack says. “People will send me recordings of bands that mention us on stage, and it’s incredibly flattering.”

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p Em loyee Well-bein g

“I appreciate and value all that Chuck does to make Fort Wayne a better place to live, work, and play,” says Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry.

“Chuck’s drive and vision as a business owner and community leader have helped our city and region become a point of destination for job growth, new economic development opportunities, downtown revitalization, strong neighborhoods, and quality-of-life amenities that make Fort Wayne unique.”

Although Surack stepped back from Sweetwater’s day-to-day operations a couple of years ago, he continues to offer input and direction as the company’s chairman of the board. Don’t call him retired, though. As an owner of a business portfolio that covers more than a dozen Fort Wayne enterprises (including several other Sweet-branded ventures), a mentor, and a sought-after board member, he’s busier than ever.

“I didn't go to college; I started Sweetwater with almost nothing,” Surack remembers. “I’ve personally done most of the jobs here at one point or another. I consider myself extremely fortunate that I was able to grow the company to $1.6 billion. And I did it by surrounding myself with fabulous people.”

In a full-circle turn, Surack still performs with different local bands half a dozen or so times each month.

“Right now, I’m playing with some of the best musicians I’ve ever played with in my life,” he laughs. “Many of them are Sweetwater employees.” ✂

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“THE FACT THAT WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO ATTRACT TALENT FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT CHUCK AND HIS VISION.”

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BIGGER PICTURE SHOW FUELING INDY FILM FEST’S MISSION WHILE CELEBRATING LOCAL DESIGN TALENT It’s 2010, and the Indy Film Fest is in need of a signature fundraiser. Lodge Design, a boutique branding agency, sees an opportunity to celebrate the local creative community in a way that has never been done before in Indianapolis.

The Bigger Picture Show is born.

From that first exhibition in the secondfloor gallery of the Murphy building, the Bigger Picture Show grew and grew and grew. Today, the Indy Film Fest’s annual silent auction features one-of-a-kind movie posters by more than a hundred local graphic designers and artists.

to re-imagine movie posters based on a unique theme. In the show’s history, themes have celebrated everything from movie sets and soundtracks, to Indy’s hometown hero Greg Kinnear and otherworldly movie mash-ups (think There’s Something About Mary Poppins and Purple Rain Man). At the end of the night, all proceeds from the event and auction are donated to the Indy Film Fest to help fuel its mission to champion movies that entertain, challenge, and expand perspectives in Indianapolis and beyond.

Every spring, the Lodge team invites a growing group of Indy’s best designers

Over the past fourteen years, the Bigger Picture Show has grown into one of the

indyfilmfest.org // thebiggerpictureshow.com

city’s most anticipated arts and culture events, raising nearly $100,000 for the Indy Film Fest. That financial support has enabled the Festival to fund unique year-round programming that engages local organizations to create shared experiences around film. Film series like Roving Cinema, Cereal Cinema, Rock + Reel, and Film-to-Fork are all possible thanks to the vision and commitment of the Indianapolis design community.

It all comes down to good people doing good things together. That’s what the Bigger Picture Show, Lodge Design, and the Indy Film Fest are all about. ✂

WORDS BY JASON ROEMER

DESIGN BY AMY MCADAMS-GONZALES

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GHOST IN THE SHELL, ERIC STINE

MAN OF STEEL MAGNOLIAS, LINDSAY HADLEY

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL ISLAND, BRIAN KUMLE

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THIS IS SPINAL TAP, JAN MICHAEL BENNET & VICTORIA NOSSER 106

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CARRIE, KAYLEE GREEN

I’M STILL HERE, CODY THOMPSON

GATTACA, ERIC KASS

MULAN, KATHERINE CLEMENTS 107

THE PIANIST, RYAN PICKARD 108

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2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, JOHN ILANG-ILANG

CLERKS, DAVE WINDISCH

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, JARRETT HAGY

BOTTLE ROCKET, AARON SCAMIHORN 109

JURASSIC PARK, JACK CANNON

PEARL, ROSS SHAFER

HELP, AMY MCADAMS-GONZALES

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, NATHAN ZARSE

NOPE, PARKER MCCULLOUGH 111

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GOOD SHIRTS THE BRAND WITH MIDWESTERN MIDWESTERN VALUES VALUES AND GLOBAL APPEAL W O R D S B Y K AT E G R I M M

I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y A A R O N S C A M I H O R N

HOW A TEAM OF FRIENDS TURNED THEIR DESIGNS INTO A MULTICHANNEL BUSINESS

DESIGN BY L E A H B R I N K M A N

In the digital landscape where memes and fashion often collide, Good Shirts has found its sweet spot. Started by Hoosier native John Mannheimer and fueled by a team that spans from Indiana to LA, Good Shirts has carved out a niche at the intersection of internet culture and streetwear.

This brand is more than just a fashion statement–it's a social commentary.

With a presence in hundreds of stores and a knack for viral marketing, Good Shirts is redefining what it means to be a successful brand in the digital age.

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Kate Grimm: How do you define your brand?

JOHN MANNHEIMER: It’s all about being able to find a gap in the meme-o-sphere that we can fill with something unique. It’s a healthy crossover between surprise and wearability.

We have to have a sense of what’s going on in the streetwear world and be able to contribute to the general social discourse that’s happening on the internet.

ALEC STEWART: Andrew, don’t we have a brand motto?

STORES SELL GOOD SHIRTS KG: When did you know you were ready to bring on a team?

JM: I decided once we had some consistent success for a year or so that I wanted to try and build it into a bigger business.

KG: Do you have a business plan?

ANDREW JONES: Yeah, Good Shirts is a thoughtfully curated archive, a content creation platform, and an incubator for virality.

JM: We have long-term goals and aspirations.

We’re exploring wholesale, and we’ve already got shirts in upwards of 900 malls across the country.

Is that right, Andrew?

KG: What was the moment you knew you could support yourself with this business, John?

AJ: Yeah, at Spencer’s Gifts.

JM: When it started making enough money that I could pay my rent and afford food.

Sometime in 2020 I became full-time. Once my early designs started going viral, the thought formed that I could make a living doing this.

AS: We’re developing wholesale, very tentatively, based on the market. We’re also leveraging our social media platform for other brands to tap into.

Where they will come to us and use our platform to advertise our collaborations or their drops.

Part of that involves us constantly creating viral moments with our videos and shirts.

AJ: We’ve been working on some more highquality products recently that, two years ago, seemed out of the question.

AS: We’re experimenting with our specialty items. The first step was hats and socks, but now we have jerseys and shorts. Anyone can make a meme tee, but generating these kinds of products–a lot of people don’t have the capabilities to make those. And that’s already putting us steps ahead.

KG: How have those product launches gone?

AJ: We’ve pretty much sold out every drop we’ve done. We try to be cautious with what we order, but we’ve seen huge success with the jerseys and hats. We’ve had hats that sell out within a weekend.

AS: We’re willing to do restocks. It’s a very safe way to expand. Especially with a new product we’ve never done before.

TH EGOODSHIRTS.COM

S H I R T S P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y L E O S OY F E R

KG: Earlier, you said you’re in 900 stores now–incredible! How many T-shirts are you expecting to sell this year?

AJ: When John first started in 2019, he was getting one or two orders each day. Now, we're averaging about a hundred orders per day. On our best days, when something goes really viral, we've sold over 300 of one design in a day. Our daily revenue for all our sites combined is around $4,000-5,000, depending on how we're doing on socials.

AS: Also, I want to insert that one of the T-shirts we have in every Spencer’s store reads, “The CIA killed JFK.” And I think having the ability to do that is just so bonkers.

KG: Tell me a little bit about how you all met.

JM: Andrew and I played on a basketball team together when we were twelve. Garret was my sister’s good friend in high school. Then Alec and I got to know each other during the pandemic when I was back in Indianapolis and we linked up.

We’ve all been a family ever since.

KG: What was it like being willing to put your fate in the hands of your friends?

JM: Well, it’s not always the smartest thing to do. But it’s not just any friends. It’s people who I respect. They’re all hard-working guys. They know you, where you’re from, your values. They trust you, and you trust them. And that’s not something you might get with everyone you work with. It’s a really cool thing.

KG: You’re all on the same page.

JM: Yeah, we’ve all got those midwestern values.

At this point, the interview devolves into a robust discussion about various JFK conspiracy theories.

No one can agree on which conspiracy theory reigns supreme. This is a topic they’ve discussed since the company began, and it’s not going away anytime soon. I suspect these guys are still arguing about it as you read this article. ✂

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THE RESILIENT ARTIST

PHOTO GR APH BY J E N N I F E R W I L S O N - B I B B S

JE FF HAGE N

LESSONS FROM ON-RAMP'S CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR ACCELERATOR

WORDS BY S A M U E L LOV E

At a point in his career when most people would be planning for retirement, Brown County artist Jeff Hagen, whose watercolor impressions of Midwestern architecture and landscapes have appeared in a dozen books and countless nationally syndicated publications, wanted to take his work to the next level. This summer, after "navigating a political minefield of obstruction," he and his partners opened the Brown County Art Farm, a few miles north of downtown Nashville. This venture harkens to the spirit of the original Brown County Art Colony, offering a resource to the working artist in a town that increasingly serves the tourist.

“ON-RAMP SERVES ARTISTS WORKING IN A WIDE VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES AND IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS. BUT THEY ALL BUILD DEEP RELATIONSHIPS. THEY HAVE THIS NETWORK OF PEERS TO CONTINUE TO DRAW SUPPORT FROM." C O - C R E AT O R O F T H E O N - R A M P C R E AT I V E E N T R E P R E N E U R A C C E L E R AT O R

EL AINE GROGAN LUT TRULL

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A LVA K R Y S TA L W I L S O N

On the other end of the state, Alva Krystal Wilson, the Gary-born poet and recording artist who performs as the Gem of Shaolin, and whose often-introspective work explores spirituality, racism, and Afro-Caribbean identity, is strategically expanding her network of supporters and allies, taking jobs with Chicago and Northwest Indiana production companies while making professional connections at regional and national levels for her independent practice.

Both artists, working in vastly different themes and mediums, from different backgrounds and experiences, and based in different corners of the state, are applying the lessons learned during the On-Ramp Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator program and fellowship.

Since 2018, nearly 200 Hoosier creatives have completed the three-day intensive training and applied for up to $2,000 each in fellowship funding to implement what they’ve learned. Turning manuscripts into publications. Getting films and film directors to film festivals. Covering travel and booth fees for attendance at important art fairs.

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What On-Ramp has offered its five state-wide cohorts and six smaller regional iterations in 2021 is, according to Luttrull, an "aggressively artistcentered curriculum, not just imported from a generic entrepreneurial course but developed with artists in mind, rooted in technically accurate, robust information from entrepreneurs but adapted to the artists in the room."

Selected artists learn to clearly define their unique value, develop strategies for identifying and securing assets and allies, and discuss different ways of confronting uncertainty.

A common theme running through each section during the long weekend training is building resiliency–something the first two cohorts put to the test directly during the economic disruptions of the Covid pandemic.

Surveys of the 2019 cohort found fewer artists reporting a loss of income, fewer unanticipated expenses, and a slightly lower loss of income than reported national averages for artists.

More than eighty percent of the cohort agreed that the program helped them navigate and pivot during a challenging period. Surveys of the participants in each cohort find that, after a year, a large majority still feel more knowledgeable and less stressed about the business aspects of their practice and more confident in their ability to control business decisions and realize their creative plans.

FROM GARY

"What comes out of every training are the relationships forged by the artists," says Elaine Grogan Luttrull, founder of Minerva Financial Arts consultancy and co-creator of the On-Ramp Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator with the Indiana Arts Commission. "On-Ramp serves artists working in a wide variety of disciplines and in different stages of their careers. But they all build deep relationships. They have this network of peers to continue to draw support from."

Supporting equipment upgrades. Furthering technical training. And creating dozens of opportunities for creative public engagement.

TO NASHVILLE

S I N C E 2 0 1 8 , N E A R LY 2 0 0 H O O S I E R C R E AT I V E S H AV E U S E D O N - R A M P T R A I N I N G :

TURNING MANUSCRIPTS INTO PUBLICATIONS. GETTING FILMS AND FILM DIRECTORS TO FILM FESTIVALS. COVERING TRAVEL AND BOOTH FEES FOR ATTENDANCE AT IMPORTANT ART FAIRS. B U T W H AT A B O U T A F T E R T H AT F I R S T Y E A R ?

"What On-Ramp does well is highlight existing resources that may not be on the radar of individual artists," says Luttrull. "For example, having the Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) join a panel with artists at the Next Level training. We remind the artists that they have access to these resources and share links to free legal support for Hoosier artists.

The artists might not be drawn to business or the secretarial aspects of their practice, but those resources are still there and exist for them, too. The icing on the cake would be gathering the groups together to continue connecting, to be rejuvenated, and to grow their businesses at their chosen pace."

That first taste came in August 2022 with what informally became "On-Ramp 2.0," part of the larger Next Steps Creative Business trainings collaboration between the Indiana Arts Commission and the SBDC. For the first time, On-Ramp fellows met across cohorts (if still divided by geography: one meeting was held in Bloomington, the other in Lafayette) to reconnect, make new connections, and learn from each other, with particular focus paid to strategies for navigating economic uncertainty and a section on mindful branding.

That latter section was presented by Christopher Jones, CMO and co-founder of Warhol and Wall Street, a creative engagement consulting firm based in Columbus, Ohio. Jones says, “I had a first-hand experience of how the program and the workshops were a benefit to the attending artists.”

“There was so much curiosity in the room, and the participation level was nothing short of awesome as the artist really had specific questions about how their brand, and their brand qualities, can help them achieve another level in their sales, awareness, or positioning to their customers. I really enjoyed the back and forth interactions and can't wait for a part two of my involvement in a future On-Ramp!”

But with the conclusion of the Next Steps institutional collaboration, which, in tandem with regional partners, hosted training opportunities for more than 250 creative small businesses across Indiana, no plans for future gatherings of On-Ramp graduates seem to be in the works.

And while Luttrull assures that On-Ramp will continue “as long as Indiana artists want to apply,” another essential strategy for Hoosier creatives to receive the level of continuing support they deserve would be to remind their state representatives that Hoosier artists deserve nothing less than continuing support in growing their creative businesses. ✂

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W O R D S B Y J E N N Y WA LT O N PHOTO GR APHY BY R O B E R T G R A N O F F D E S I G N B Y L I N D S AY H A D L E Y

MUSEUMS OF PASSION AND PLACE ARE FOUND IN SMALL COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. LITTLE SHRINES TO A LOCAL HERITAGE OR, ON OCCASION, A WELL-FUNDED FANATIC. These museums aren’t always a traveler’s final destination, but they’re a reason to stop. A reason to get gas and eat here rather than waiting for the next town. They also make for delightful day trips, encouraging exploration beyond the interstates and exits for those already living nearby. And, again, while you’re here, you might as well spend some money.

The museums in the following pages represent communities with populations ranging from 10,000 to 100,000. It's hard, if not impossible, to track the comprehensive economic impact of these museums, but it’s not a stretch to assume that their impact is real.

Of course, economic impact isn’t the point of a museum. They just can’t help themselves. They open their doors to educate, celebrate, inspire. They honor a legacy and a community. It’s honest work, and whether it pays the director or not, there’s no doubt that the neighboring businesses benefit from the extra foot traffic.

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To tip our hat to the work of a few of these cultural gems around Indiana, we asked architectural photographer Robert Granoff to do what he does best.

We hope you’re as charmed by the beauty of these unique spaces as we are–and we hope you start planning that trip soon. ✂

MIDAMERICA WINDMILL MUSEUM K E N D A L LV I L L E

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AU BU R N CO R D DU E S E N B E RG AUTO M O B ILE M U S EU M

AUBURN

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C ARMEL

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PERU

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MARION

R O TA R Y J A I L M U S E U M

C R AW F O R D S V I L L E

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K E N D A L LV I L L E

SUSTAINABLE FASHION IS THE FUTURE

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