Hogsett Unveils ‘Create Indy’

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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett has launched a comprehensive effort aimed at making Indianapolis an arts and culture hub. Create Indy combines the city’s music and film strategies with new grants to support design, media and food projects as well as strategic planning efforts.
One of the new grants will target emerging cultural economies" that often do not quality for traditional funding sources. Individuals and organizations can apply for up to $10,000 each, with the first round of grants totaling $50,000. Another program, the Cultural Distric Awards, will support strategic planning efforts in five of the city’s cultural districts: Indiana Avenue, Fountain Square, Massachusetts Avenue, Broad Ripple and Market East. Hogsett says a group of industry and economic experts will support the efforts.
Create Indy also includes the city’s Music City Strategy, which launched in May during a Music Cities Forum at the Hi-Fi venue in the Fountain Square neighborhood. That effort is a partnership among the Indy Chamber, Develop Indy and Sound Diplomacy, which is a United Kingdom-based organization that advises governments and businesses on building music ecosystems.
Film Indy was established in 2016, and has helped support more than 200 film and media projects since then. The city says those projects have had a collective economic impact of $9.7 million and supported 800 jobs in the region.
"Working with our partners, this cultural investment strategy will strengthen our city’s arts industries, creative individuals, and cultural organizations – not just with recognition, but with resources," said Mayor Joe Hogsett in a news release. "Together, these efforts will drive further economic growth and investment in our community, for through art and innovation, a city creates its identity."