Indianapolis Arts and Culture in the Late Twentieth Century: The Origins, Activities, and Legacy of the Pan American Arts Festival

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and explain the commitment to arts and culture in Indianapolis from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1980s by focusing on the origins, activities, and legacy of an extraordinary event in the history of Indianapolis’ arts community: the 1986-1987 Pan American Arts Festival. Early efforts by the City Committee, a local growth coalition comprised of several civic leaders, focused on the physical revitalization of downtown Indianapolis’ cultural landscape. The group’s work in this area, which was part of a larger downtown revitalization project, played an important role in the creation of the Pan American Arts Festival. Ultimately, the planning and administration of this festival had a significant impact on the city’s arts community as it shifted the arts and culture commitment from Indianapolis’ physical structures to the actual livelihood of the organizations housed within them.