Greater Lafayette Regional Arts & Culture Strategy
Benton, Carroll, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White counties
WHY
The Greater Lafayette READI Region is home to a vibrant, accessible, and inclusive arts and culture ecosystem. In all corners of the region, the arts economically enrich communities while strengthening relationships and enhancing personal well-being. The goals of this plan aim to increase the visibility of arts and culture resources and opportunities; connect communities through arts and culture; develop arts and culture programs that are accessible and inclusive to all; and foster and leverage local arts and culture amenities.
The Greater Lafayette READI Region is made up of seven counties in West Central Indiana: Benton, Carroll, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White. The Wabash River cuts through the middle of the region, creating many opportunities for dynamic waterfront developments. The region varies dramatically in population, containing both one of the largest counties by population in Indiana (Tippecanoe) and two of the smallest (Benton and Warren). Much of the region is rural with an agricultural landscape, with the exception of the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette, though other small towns and communities provide more localized centers for arts and culture for residents.
HOW
Throughout the planning process, engagement was conducted to help identify and assess existing resources and gaps and provide a foundation for transformative projects. Methods of engagement were used to glean information from stakeholders and the general public included community workshops, stakeholder conversations and digital surveys.
WHAT
This Arts and Culture plan tenders a flexible framework, thus creating opportunities for decision-makers to pursue diverse funding sources and pivot implementation priorities to take advantage of changes and growth in the local cultural ecosystem. It also allows the community to continue to dream big, yet places emphasis on actionable, momentum-building steps for growing local arts and culture assets and tackle them as additional funding and capacity becomes available. Each objective outlined is accompanied by strategies to support the objective, timing, personnel requirements, impact, and relative impact, when appropriate. These strategies are expanded upon for each of the regional, county and facility levels.