Program areas at Indianapolis Art Center
Education, Art classes, and outreach programs: the indy Art Center promotes life-long learning through hands-on Art classes, workshops and Art activities. Programs are designed to serve a wide variety of audiences and skill levels, ranging from beginning to advanced students, ages 2 and up. Each year, the Art Center offers more than 1200 Art classes and programs in a variety of mediums including drawing, painting, clay, metalsmithing, glass, woodworking, print making, digital arts, photography, video, sculpture, textiles and mixed media as well as visiting artist lectures, demos and workshops. To meet the diverse needs of our community, the Art Center offers a wide variety of hands-on Art experiences including two-hour sample classes ("make it take it"), one to three-day workshops, and class programming ranging from 4-15 weeks in length. Annually, Art Center programs serve approximately 8,000 people. Classes are fee-based; however, tuition assistance is available to low-to middle-income families, people with disabilities, and veterans. Classes are programmed by the Art Center's education department and 100+ member teaching artist faculty based on current trends in arts education and feedback from students. Additionally, the Art Center provides programming at schools, organization partners, and community centers.
Community celebrations: the broad ripple Art fair (braf): established in 1971, braf is the Art Center's largest 2-day program and kickoff to Indianapolis' summer festival season. As Indiana's top nationally ranked fair, braf attracts over 10,000 visitors, showcasing 175+ professional artists and 30 emerging artists from across the country. Braf features free children's activities, an open house at the Art Center, musical entertainment curated by indy jazz fest, food courts, and craft-brewed beer and wine. Braf takes place the third weekend in may on the grounds of the Art Center. All proceeds from braf directly support the Art Center's core programs: education, exhibitions, and outreach.
Exhibitions: the Art Center's exhibition program presents up to 20 major annual contemporary Art exhibitions in seven gallery spaces. These 6-8 weeklong exhibitions include two annual exhibitions, a student show and a faculty show, as well as curated and juried exhibitions focusing on the state of contemporary Art locally, regionally, and nationally. The Art Center has developed a reputation as a strong contemporary gallery and strives to bring compelling work to the Indianapolis community that engages and challenges the mind and spirit. In addition to the major exhibitions, the Art Center manages auxiliary student, outreach and community galleries as well as a 9.5-acre sculpture garden ("artspark"). Seeking to engage more of the community, the Art Center actively pursues collaborations with other local organizations to increase reach, visibility, and scope.
Outreach program: these programs serve as a creative environment for individuals to share their ideas, explore their curiosity, grow their confidence, develop creative problem-solving skills, and celebrate their accomplishments. Specific programs include artreach, senior artreach, smart, teen Art council, Art troop, veterans Art day, and Art bus.