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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowWe’re all familiar with the way city and state officials have hitched central Indiana’s economic wagon to sports and tourism. Arts and entertainment have received less focus over that time, but the sports/tourism strategy has paid fringe benefits by making Indy a more viable option for A-list stars on tour and helping to elevate the city’s profile. It also has provided many opportunities for local artists and performers.
The latest case in point is Indy’s hosting gig for the NCAA’s Final Four in April, which will include a series of concerts for big stars and smaller shows for homegrown talents. Meanwhile, a local actor has made a dramatic entrance on the Hollywood awards circuit—Chase Infinity from “One Battle After Another”—which in its way helps plug Indy as a conduit for top talent. Indianapolis also plays a role in a new movie from two-time Oscar-nominated director Gus Van Sant about the Tony Kiritsis hostage crisis in 1977. And the city is about to get several new arts venues, providing more opportunities for expression and inspiration.
IBJ arts and entertainment reporter Dave Lindquist recently crafted a list of some of the best ways Indy-area residents can soak in culture in 2026. He’s the guest on this week’s IBJ Podcast to talk about “Dead Man’s Wire,” David Byrne, the Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis, cowboy couture, listening rooms and more.
Click here to find the IBJ Podcast each Monday. You can also subscribe at iTunes, Tune In, Spotify and any other place you find podcasts.
You can also listen to these recent episodes:
IBJ Podcast: ‘I joke that I went from selling paper money to toilet paper,’ former banker says
IBJ Podcast: World Cup team could call Westfield home; plus, progress reports on downtown projects
IBJ Podcast: The ‘difficult, complex work’ of extending life expectancy in five Indy neighborhoods
IBJ Podcast: Pete the Planner’s predictions for housing, higher ed, energy and a potential tariff mess
IBJ Podcast: You’re a skeptical, penny-pinching CEO. What are your first steps for adopting AI?
IBJ Podcast: Buc-ee’s, Wally’s and Wawa converge on Indy as convenience stores become cultural forces
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If Indianapolis had used just half the $1.4 billion it spent over 30 years on the CIB’s sports and convention portfolio, then the city could have built a real arts ecosystem instead of asking us to than sports for the few arts crumbs that fell from the table of the ongoing sports venues feast. Here’s what might’ve been:
– A new large scale repertory complex at White River Park or near IUPUI with three permanent stages, education, and a national-caliber resident company, like Minneapolis’s Guthrie Theater ($125mm). – A grand new downtown performance hall anchoring orchestra, opera, and chorus like Cincinnati Music Hall ($140mm).
– A contemporary museum with serious galleries and civic education like Denver Art Museum ($175M).
– A full Indiana Avenue Cultural Quarter: jazz club, black-box theater, film cinémathèque, streetscape, and endowment ($100M). Any of the above could fill any one of our 200+ acres of downtown vacant lots),
Then, in addition, there could be:
– 10–15 neighborhood arts houses citywide plus permanent, affordable artist studios ($150M).
These are all textbook examples of what serious, sustained civic arts investment could look like in a Midwestern city that didn’t rely only on sports to justify culture. But instead, the arts are told to be grateful for concerts attached to tournaments. If the City can’t or won’t step up, then maybe Lilly Foundation could step in and do something now that’s more directly impactful than funding government (where government doesn’t want to fund itself??!!), and with all the funds they have to disburse now, they can do all that and more – where is the vision and civic leadership for real positive change?
Indy people, aspire higher! And step up, PLEASE!!!
Sorry, once again with the proper edits this time!……If Indianapolis had used just half as much as the $1.4 billion it spent over 30 years on the CIB’s sports and convention portfolio, then the city could have built a real arts ecosystem instead of asking us to be thankful for the few arts crumbs that fell from the table of the ongoing sports venues feast. Here’s what might’ve been:
– A new large scale repertory complex at White River Park or near IUPUI with three permanent stages, education, and a national-caliber resident company, like Minneapolis’s Guthrie Theater ($125mm).
– A grand new classically designed downtown performance hall anchoring orchestra, opera, and chorus of the magnitude of Cincinnati Music Hall ($140mm).
– A contemporary museum with serious galleries and civic education like Bilbaos Guggenheim Museum ($89M).
– A full Indiana Avenue Cultural Quarter: jazz club, black-box theater, film cinémathèque, streetscape, and endowment ($100M).
Any of the above could fill any one of our 200+ acres of downtown vacant lots – spuring higher quality residential development), Then, in addition, there could’ve been:
– 10–15 neighborhood arts houses citywide plus permanent, affordable artist studios ($150M).
– And $88mm left over for…?
– Just use your imagination!
These are all textbook examples of what serious, sustained civic arts investment could look like in a Midwestern city that didn’t rely only on big-time sports to justify culture. But instead, the arts are told to be grateful for concerts attached to tournaments. If the City can’t or won’t step up, then maybe Lilly Foundation could step in and do something now that’s more directly impactful than funding government where government doesn’t want to fund itself??!!. And with all the funds Lilly Founatiobn has to disburse now, they can do all that and more – some thing more creative and enduring than only spreading it all to administrators of other charities (but of course they can keep doing that too!).
Where is the vision and civic leadership for real positive change?
Indy people, aspire higher! And step up, PLEASE!!!