The Indiana Arts Commission announced today that 11 Indiana communities have received training and been approved for grant funding through the Creative Convergence program. Creative Convergence is a program of the Indiana Arts Commission, held in partnership with the Indiana Communities Institute at Ball State University’s Miller College of Business. The program was launched in 2023 and consists of a two-day training workshop and an Early Action Grant Program. Teams of community members representing local government, arts organizations, educational institutions, and other community-focused roles were in attendance.
The two-day Creative Convergence workshop was held on April 17th and 18th in Lebanon, IN. The training focused on how to embed arts and creativity in community and economic planning and solutions, how to work collaboratively across sectors, and how to effectively engage with community. View photos of the training.
Following the training program, communities had the opportunity to apply for a Creative Convergence Early Action grant. This grant program is designed to allow communities to apply the learnings from the workshop to a project that benefits creatives and the community. Each community will receive $10,000 in grant funding to support their project.
With the Creative Convergence Early Action Grant, the City of Martinsville is undertaking a new perspective on interactive public art with twelve existing benches that are spread around the city. The city is working to improve its inclusivity and simultaneously elevate local artists by creating murals on these public benches. This initiative is a response to community surveys for interactive, free art in already publicly accessible green spaces.
The City of Rockport will utilize the Creative Convergence Early Action Grant to enhance two green spaces on their Main Street. These green spaces will be used for concerts, art fairs, city events, and also open gathering spaces for games, activities, and photo opportunities. The organizers will gather input on various aspects of the project as a way to involve the community and gather contact information to start an arts organization for Rockport, with a plan to bring creatives together to plan and organize future arts projects.
The complete list of participating communities, and their projects, are as follows:
- Brookville, “Small Town Pics”
- Gas City, “Historical Main Street Tour”
- LaGrange, “LaGrange, INspired”
- Lebanon, “The Lebanon Story Booth”
- Martinville, “Martinsville Public Bench Mural Art”
- Rockport, “The Main Attraction”
- Rockville, “MainStreet Mural on Jefferson”
- Shoals, “Re-CREATE-ing Overlook Park”
- Spencer, “Sweet Owen River Arts Park”
- Union City, “Union City Arts Project Pitch Competition and Delivery”
- Washington, “Building Deeper Appreciation for the Arts in Daviess County”
Read about each of the Creative Convergence Early Action Grant Projects.
Participating communities were identified and invited to participate in the program by the Indiana Arts Commission. Communities interested in learning more about participating in the future should contact Lydia Campbell-Maher, IAC Communities Services Manager, at