Arts and culture won a pillar fight, gaining equal footing with placemaking, talent, infrastructure, entrepreneurship and innovation, and business development and marketing as a pillar of the Ignite the Region economic development strategy.
Northwest Indiana Forum President and CEO Heather Ennis and Public Sphere Projects planning and placemaking expert Philip Barash discussed the arts and culture Thursday at a Lake County Advancement Committee luncheon in Merrillville.
The latest Ignite the Region plan, with the arts and culture pillar added, will be used to apply for funding under the READI 2.0 grant program, which focuses on blight elimination as well as arts and culture. The 260-page plan, not yet finalized, could be used to seek other grants as well, Barash said. “Money loves a plan.”
The report will be an advocacy tool for the arts. “This is saying arts and culture is vital to the vibrancy of this region,” he said.
Arts and culture were already considered important for placemaking and other quality of life issues. “It was an undercurrent, but not its own place in the plan,” Ennis said. As research for the study progressed, eyes were opened. “We realized what an amazing sector this is and how much more depth there is to it.”
One of the challenges in preparing the study, Barash said, was that there isn’t an easy definition of what constitutes arts and culture. Different federal and state programs don’t have a single definition. The Indiana Economic Development Commission and the Indiana Arts Commission, which are working together for the READI 2.0 funding, didn’t have a solid definition or metrics to evaluate grant applications. Even among people consulted in Northwest Indiana, there wasn’t a single definition.
Northwest Indiana’s plan is among the first among the state’s 15 economic regions to be submitted for state approval, Ennis said.
Inventorying assets in the sector is an ongoing process. “It’s a working document that keeps changing and keeps growing,” Barash said.
Among the things Barash found was that arts districts like the ones in Valparaiso and Michigan City tend to create synergy. Gary’s proposal to have an arts district surrounding the former Union Station sounds promising, he said.
Arts have an important role in preserving culture, Barash said, with many programs like the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Trail at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center in Porter and various ethnic groups going back several generations helping to preserve the heritage of native peoples and immigrants. That’s particularly important as the population shifts older.
Legacy industries like steel, oil refining, publishing and others generated philanthropy that saw the value of the arts and invested in them, Barash said.
He noted that steelworkers and sculptors often have similar skills and safety training, highlighting one area where the arts and industry intersect.
As the plan moves from creation to implementation, it anticipates an arts and culture director being appointed to work under the Northwest Indiana Forum’s umbrella. “That role doesn’t exist in the region yet,” Barash said.
“We now have a place for you to grow, a number to call.”
Spreading the news about the program will be important, Ennis said. “Be excited,” she said. “Everyone involved is a disciple of this plan.”
Lisa Bennett, of Fearless Coaching and Consulting, said it’s important for young people to know about successful people in this sector. “Our kids don’t recognize that great people like that come from our area,” she said. “We just really need more of that creative genius” to be highlighted so kids in Gary and elsewhere can be inspired.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
