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Indiana’s arts sector drives more than $500 million dollars in economic activity every year and sustains 47,000 jobs, but Jeff Kuehl, president of the Indiana Coalition for the Arts, says the state still ranks 38th when it comes to funding the arts.
"Two point nine million, that’s less than 50 cents per Hoosier that gets allocated to the arts," says Kuehl. "When you compare that to Kentucky or Illinois that’s not even there."
Tuesday was lobbying day for the arts and over 100 people reached out to lawmakers to talk about the impact that arts have in Hoosier communities.
The day kicked off with the Indiana Arts Commission grants awards. In 2015, 123 awards are being given to individuals, schools and cultural organizations totaling mroe than $2.6 million.
Yorktown Democratic Representative Melanie Wright says a lot of the recipients are organizations that she includes in her curriculum as a music teacher.
"Many of the things that they mentioned I have taken my students to see, like the Reperatory Theater, the Benjamin Harrison Home, it's so encouraging to see that there's a core support of art supporters out there," says Wright.
Arts supporters are hoping for an additional $400,000 in state money to focus on projects tied to Indiana’s bicentennial in 2016.
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