Art is storytelling in its most authentic form. Through a song, painting, poem, performance, or shared creative space, art communicates what people have lived, loved, lost, and imagined in ways that facts and slogans cannot.
That kind of storytelling is essential to the human experience. It helps us understand where we have been, make sense of where we are, and imagine what could come next. It is also critical to a city’s success. Cities thrive when people can see themselves in a shared story, better understand their neighbors, and feel connected to a common future.
A city’s identity cannot be reduced to a skyline, slogan or major event. Its truest story comes from its people and communities: the histories they carry, the experiences they share, and the art they create. Indianapolis artists define our city from the inside out. They do not simply talk about our culture; they demonstrate it in action.
“Indianapolis is fortunate to have many people telling our story through their art.”
Indianapolis is fortunate to have many people telling our story through their art. Le’Deana Brown amplifies the voices of young people and creatives, continuing a tradition embodied by the late poet Mari Evans. Camike Jones explores the intersection of public policy and lived experiences through her work with the Indianapolis Recorder. Historian and storyteller Sampson Levingston brings our past to life in the neighborhoods where it happened. Big Car Collaborative co-founders Shauta Marsh and Jim Walker create spaces where artists can experiment, connect, and share their work. Each uses a different medium, but all help reveal the cultures and narratives that make Indianapolis unique.
At a time when our city faces significant needs, some may question whether investing in the arts should be a priority. Families are struggling to afford housing. Young people need greater access to opportunity. Neighborhoods and the organizations serving them are navigating enormous change.
“… art is critical to the work of building a stronger city.”
Those challenges are real, but art is critical to the work of building a stronger city.
Art helps us understand and respond to the world around us. It preserves histories that might otherwise disappear and allows communities to grieve, celebrate, and imagine together. It strengthens our sense of connection and belonging.
Most importantly, art reminds us why life matters — and what it means to be human.
At the Indianapolis Foundation, we see supporting the arts as an investment in the people and communities telling Indianapolis’ story. That commitment includes two recent events that kicked off the city’s art season: Start with Art and the BUTTER Fine Art Fair. They give residents an opportunity to encounter the talent, cultures and stories being created here. They show art not just accompanying our city’s story, but actively telling it.
From Polk Stables to The AMP and beyond, artists are creating spaces where people gather, encounter new ideas, and see their experiences reflected. Our responsibility is to support that work, invest in the people leading it, and give them room to create.
Now is the time to keep telling the story of Indianapolis through art.
Tell it through a song, a canvas, a page, a stage, or a walk through a neighborhood. Reflect on our past or imagine a future we have not yet seen.
There will never be just one Indianapolis story. Art does not collapse our experiences into a single narrative. It weaves our many stories together to reveal who we are as a city, and who we still have the power to become.
Ahmed Young is president and CEO of the Indianapolis Foundation.
AHMED YOUNG
Ahmed Young is president and CEO of the Indianapolis Foundation.
