Indy Arts Council launches new campaign to bring visitors back to the arts

The Indy Arts Council has launched a holiday campaign to welcome Hoosiers back to the arts after last season’s canceled events due to COVID-19.

Julie Goodman, president and CEO, said the campaign is supported by 70 nonprofit arts and culture organizations.

“It’s an invitation to not only reconnect with the organizations and experiences we already know but also to explore and discover new experiences,” Goodman said.

The Arts Council is releasing a new online holiday arts guide to showcase experiences to choose from to celebrate the season. New events will be added weekly.

Nearly 100 percent of Indy nonprofit arts and cultural organizations are open today. Goodman said that's remarkable given the challenges many of them faced to keep their operations afloat during the pandemic.

“When we think about this in the context of the last two years really, and where we were this time last season, we were looking at over 30,000 events canceled, venue shutdowns,” Goodman said.

The holiday campaign is supported by the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation. It's part of a larger reopening push that will continue in 2022, which is made possible by American Rescue Plan Act funding administered through the city of Indianapolis.

Information about the in-person holiday events happening in central Indiana can be found at  explore.indyarts.org

Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Taylor Bennett at tbennett@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @TaylorB2213.