Indy's arts council requests more than double its current funding, cites impact of public art

The arts budget for Indianapolis has remained stagnant for years, despite continued acknowledgments about the importance of art in public places.

The 2025 arts budget was heard by the City-County Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee this week. A significant bump in funding, from $1.3 million to $3 million, was requested.

Indy Arts Council President Julie Goodman said it’s been many years since the budget reflected the return on investment from the arts sector.

“While $3 million is not enough to reflect the growth and community impact of our sector, it would be an important move back in the right direction,” Goodman said.

The Arts Council runs the city’s arts program and has requested an increase in funding for the past two years. The budget sat at $1 million from 2009 to 2019. It received small increases and some federal relief funding during the pandemic.

Other city departments have received significant budget increases in recent years.

City-County Councilor Crista Carlino said that where the city decides to invest influences other funding partners.

“When we invest, those partners, not only in philanthropy, but even our corporate partners, will come along and sometimes offer their hands, pay for those supplies, provide the spaces and places we need to be creative,” Carlino said.

Goodman said the amount they are requesting is a bargain considering the art sector’s growth and quality of life impact. She pointed to a recent study that finds the arts contribute more than $500 million dollars in economic impact for the city, and that a majority of residents cite the importance of accessible, public art.

“I think what these numbers also tell us is that arts and culture is not extra to these priorities,” Goodman said. “It is essential and embedded in these priorities.”

The Arts Council facilitates yearly grants to a diverse group of about 100 local organizations. The number of nonprofit arts groups and the needs of those groups has grown in recent years.

Private giving and money from the Capital Improvement Board puts the total arts budget close to $1.7 million, still far below that of its peer cities.

At the meeting Goodman presented a slide that showed Indianapolis at the bottom of a list of peer cities arts investments. Denver was at the top with a $103 per capita investment, Cincinnati was listed second with $56, compared to Indianapolis’s $5.

“So this, this is a tough view, but it also represents the reality that local artists and organizations, and we as your arts council, are facing every day, trying to deliver on the full potential of arts and culture in our city,” Goodman said.

Additional funding would create a new grant program and increase awareness of public art opportunities in Indianapolis.

The Arts Council has partnered to administer arts programming in Indianapolis for 37 years.

Contact WFYI City Desk Managing Editor Jill Sheridan at jsheridan@wfyi.org.