Arts organizations in Indianapolis fear they will have to shrink staff and cut programs in the wake of another loss in government funding.
In May, only days after the Trump administration canceled hundreds of federal arts grants nationwide and in Indiana, Gov. Mike Braun signed a two-year state budget that will cut the Indiana Arts Commission by 34%, or $1.7 million, leaving it with $3.4 million.
The impact in Indianapolis could be profound, according to Mirror Indy’s analysis of arts commission data. Over the last two years, the commission distributed more than 180 grants totaling about $1.9 million to people and organizations in Marion County.
A commission spokesperson said in a statement that the number of grants and the award sizes will be affected this year, but by what degree is unclear. The organization declined an interview with Mirror Indy.
At least one arts leader isn’t optimistic.
“It would shrink everything,” said Marcia Eppich-Harris, founder of Southbank Theatre Company.\
How local arts organizations in Indy are impacted
Arts for Learning last year received more funding from the arts commission than any other organization in Marion County. The nonprofit provides artist residencies, workshops and performances that reach thousands of K-12 students across the state.
Anya Aslanova, president and CEO at Arts for Learning, said while only 5% of her organization’s budget comes from city and state sources, cuts to state funding would widen existing gaps and deepen inequities.
Other top recipients include the Indianapolis Arts Center, Newfields, ArtMix and the Harrison Center.
“It’s too early to say exactly what cuts we’d have to make if this budget were to pass, but it would threaten our ability to maintain the level of service we currently provide. The real cost would be felt by our community, specifically our children,” Aslanova said in a statement on April 25 before Braun signed the budget.
Indy Convergence co-founder Caitlin Negron said much of what her organization does is at risk.
It hosts an annual two-week professional residency, The Convergence, for local and out-of-state artists. Artists are paid a minimum stipend of $500.
In addition to its annual residency program, it also hosts arts classes at Hawthorne Community Center, works with local artists to create murals and collaborates on street festivals.
One of its signature programs, A Rising Tide, is a free seasonal series where adult musicians and dancers perform on a floating stage along the White River.
Negron said a loss in grant funding puts this program in jeopardy. Indy Convergence received more than $30,000 from the Indiana Arts Commission over the past two years.
“My ability to work with these community centers, that’s grant funded. Our residency right now is grant funded,” she said. “Without these programs, our community is missing out on a vital opportunity to express ourselves, to share our hopes, our dreams to be a place where everyone feels they belong.”
What does this mean for local theater?
The cuts to arts funding in the state budget could potentially kill Eppich-Harris’ dream of owning her own physical theater.
She founded Southbank Theatre Company in 2021. Its mission is to produce thought provoking plays rooted in history, politics and philosophy.
Southbank produces four shows and works with 25 to 50 actors per season. Actors who work on productions are paid $250 a show, an increase from $100 that Eppich-Harris said was made possible after receiving a grant.
Any cut brought on by the reduction of the Indiana Arts Commission budget will have an impact, she said.
“We would have to lower the amount of money that we pay artists,” Eppich-Harris said.
She said there would be no chance to hire anyone full time.
Eppich-Harris works in project management at the IU School of Medicine. Her husband, Aric, does marketing and graphic design for the theater. Karen Cones, costumes and props master, works on every show.
They mainly rely on volunteers and board members.
The theater company’s budget is between $35,000 to $45,000. Last year, Southbank received $4,000 from the Indiana Arts Commission. Eppich-Harris said the amount is significant for her small organization, which does not often meet the eligibility requirements for other grants. It helps to cover at least half of a show.
She said grants make up about 44% of Southbank’s total budget. The organization also receives private donations.
Last year, Southbank’s expenses were about $48,000. Grant funding often helps small arts organizations on a tight budget like Southbank manage occasional production cost overruns. Eppich-Harris said without grant funding, the theater would struggle to meet costs and could only produce one to two plays a season, about half as many as now.
“We work so hard, and we can’t pay ourselves,” Eppich-Harris said. “It makes me proud that, you know, we’ve done so much in such a short amount of time, but also living with the threat of having stuff just taken away from you, it’s really hard. It’s stressful, and it keeps you up at night.”
Lauren Briggeman, a professional actor and founding artistic director of Summit Performance Indianapolis, was unaware there would be cuts to arts funding in Braun’s budget.
She said her organization, a resident theater company of Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, relies on grants for up to 80% of its budget.
The nonprofit received more than $37,000 in the past two years, according to Mirror Indy’s analysis. She told Mirror Indy this money is spent directly on operations and pays the team of two. Briggeman is Summit’s only full-time employee.
“This has the potential to be pretty devastating. The times we’re living in. I’m kind of just ready for anything,” Briggeman said.
Summit puts on two to three projects per season, casting 15 actors per year, mostly women and a small percentage of men, trans and nonbinary actors.
“It became about representation and giving a platform to the artistic voices of women and providing access to stories centering women for the Indianapolis community,” she said.
One of Summit’s signature projects, Community Conversation One-Act, is a one-act play based on interviews with Indianapolis-area women residents. Each showing is followed by a panel discussion with some of the residents who were interviewed.
This year, Summit partnered with IU School of Health and Human Sciences to produce “This is Different,” a play focused on the opioid epidemic. The program was made possible by an Art for Awareness grant through the Indy Arts Council.
“(Community Conversation One-Act) makes it very real and relevant, close to home for the audience. It’s been a pretty cool way to use theater to talk about some serious issues that affect our community,” Briggeman said.
Data reporter Emily Hopkins contributed reporting to this story.