In Tuesday’s (7/21) Indianapolis Star , Dan McFeely reports that the Indianapolis City-County Council “voted to spend $1 million on the local arts community Monday night. … The council’s million-dollar boost to the arts comes after a similar amount typically given by the [Capital Industry Board] was canceled due to the CIB’s own financial crunch. The proposal to make up for the loss won bipartisan support. … The $1 million in funding will be doled out through individual grants administered through the Arts Council of Indianapolis. According to a list of grants posted on the council Web site, they range from $1,000 Indy Baroque and Orkestra Projekt to $100,000—the largest grants going to the Children’s Museum and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. ‘This is a huge relief all around,’ said Simon Crookall, ISO president. ‘It was very encouraging to hear the strong support from both parties for the arts.’ Despite the shot in the arm, the grants are about half what each received last year. Shrinking endowments and lower ticket sales have hurt the local arts.”
Photo of the Indianopolis Symphony Orchestra led by music director Mario Venzago courtesy of Indiana University
Posted July 21, 2009
