The Creative Community Pathway is a roadmap for any Indiana community to start, focus, or deepen arts and culture-based strategies to grow community wellbeing.
As a capacity building program, the Pathway aligns your local creative assets - artists, arts and culture strategies, partners and resources - to support your community’s unique goals and dreams. Simultaneously, it organizes a sustainable, healthy creative ecosystem for artists and cultural organizations. We call this "cultural development."
Is the Pathway for us?
Cultural development is powerful. Do your residents tell you they want more murals, more festivals, more creative activities for everyone? Is your community transforming public spaces, growing its local economic output, addressing mental health? Click here to learn more about the power of arts and culture for community development goals.
The Creative Community Pathway organizes your efforts using best practices, and provides resources to get you there. The Pathway also directly prepares communities who wish to pursue the Indiana Cultural District designation or the Spotlight Community recognition. Participating in the Creative Community Pathway includes:
- Focusing on best practices for cultural development
- Evaluation and feedback from a group of experts
- Grant opportunities - Arts Project Support (APS)
- Consultant referral
- Online resources, templates and examples
- Public recognition of Spotlight Communities
- Capacity building events, like the Indiana Arts Homecoming and topical capacity building
- Other support as available
What are the steps?
These steps build on each other. Expectations and recognition increase at each level. The pathway is a tool-- how will cultural development keep you moving toward your community goals?
How do we start?
- Start with a self-assessment
- Write the Letter of Intent
- Achieve recognition as a Spotlight Community
- Begin the Cultural District Application
- Receive designation and funding - information coming soon!
- Enhance leadership and Innovation - information coming soon!
Looking for more context, examples, and inspiration? Check out these links:
- Creative People Power, Springboard for the Arts
- CreateTN, Tennessee Entertainment Commission
- Call Yourself Creative, Colorado Creative Industries
Timeline
This program will reopen in 2025.
Program Contact
Lydia Campbell-Maher, Communities Services Manager
lcampbellmaher@iac.in.gov