WINAMAC, Ind. -- After applying late last year, two local communities were awarded Fall 2024 Creative Convergence grants from the Indiana Arts Commission on Monday. 

A two-day workshop was held Nov. 21-22 in Fishers, and, following the trainings, communities had the opportunity to apply for an Early Action grant of $10,000 to employ the lessons of the training.

Both Winamac in Pulaski County and Michigan City in La Porte County, were awarded the funds for their creative arts projects and programs. 

The ten Fall 2024 Creative Convergence communities, and their projects:

Winamac Creative Hub Community Conversations Project: Winamac will engage, educate, and explore opportunities for arts to elevate the quality of life while simultaneously having a positive economic impact. The project will be focused on securing a space for open dialogue, creating awareness through campaign assets, hosting creative workshops to gauge community support, and celebrating the impact of art.

Michigan City Artist-in-Residence Program: The Michigan City Artist-in-Residence Program (AIR) will serve as a pilot for a regular program in Michigan City. A visual artist will be selected to receive a studio space and a stipend to create work for the time of the residency. In exchange, the artist will open their studio and engage with the public for a determined number of hours per week, giving the public a behind-the-scenes understanding of the artist's influences, creative process, choice of materials and their professional practices.

Chesterton Cultural District: Chesterton will establish and designate a Cultural District via town-wide engagement, cross-sector collaboration, and community celebration. A series of community feedback gatherings will provide opportunities for residents and stakeholders to inventory and map our shared cultural assets leading to a district designation via Town Council resolution. The district will then be celebrated and made visible via artist-made markers or signs welcoming creatives, residents, businesses, and visitors.

Kendallville Imaginuity - Immersive Art Experience: Imaginuity is a community project to bring unique & immersive art to Northeast Indiana. The project will curate art that visitors can interact with through visual/tactile experiences. The goal is to expose the community to a wide range of art, spark new ideas, and embrace the artistic talents that exist in Kendallville. The project also plans to create a public work of art that will be created piece by piece by patrons.

Mount Ayr Beacon for the Arts: Mount Ayr's vision is to employ a local artist to design bell tower "Beacon for the Arts" for all to see for miles. Mount Ayr will also use a recently restored historic building owned by the community as an exhibit space to host a public art exhibit. The fabrication will require extensive architectural work, artistic replication, and installation. A local, Mount Ayr artist will fabricate the "beacon" to identify the symbolism to be "called to the arts".

Tipton Teaching Artist in Residence: The Tipton Public Arts Commission (TPAC) will invite youth and older adults to create. Together with a visiting artist in residence, it will build community excitement and curiosity for arts activities with workshops for families, youth engagement, creative community gatherings, and a culminating celebration. These activities will generate input and inspiration for future public art projects and community art opportunities.

Pendleton Creative Convergence - An Interactive Artistic, Cultural, and Eco Trails Experience: The grant will launch a unique program combining art, culture, and nature through a series of guided walking tours in Falls Park and downtown Pendleton. Creative Convergence will transform trails and historical locations into an interactive corridor featuring dynamic, mobile "totems" where residents and visitors gain artistic and cultural appreciation, environmental awareness, and economic vitality through creative placemaking.

Franklin Artcraft Alley Kites: The Public Arts Commission will commission 180 kites to be hung overhead in the Artcraft Alley. The kites will be hung on a platform originally placed to commemorate the state and city Bicentennial in 2023 and had 200 stars held over the alley. These kites will be in the school and city colors, and will have a very unique blacklight feature that will allow them to glow at night, creating an art installation that shines during the day and night both.

Evansville My Evansville (ME) - Veterans' Stories, Told Through Art: Through artwork, the ME Project tells the stories of veterans---particularly POW, MIA or KIA---priceless resources vanishing daily. A trained author/journalist will visit VFWs to teach memoir writing and gather veterans' art, be it plays, poems or paintings. The author will make individual visits (e.g., to nursing homes) for accessibility. The event will end in a traveling exhibition to permanently rest at the VFW. Last, a time capsule will be sealed in the VFW, marked by a public ceremony.

Santa Claus Hometown Holiday Tree: The Santa Claus Arts team will engage the community to help create a 20-foot Hometown Holiday Tree. The tree, displayed near Santa Claus Town Hall, will feature disc ornaments decorated by residents, celebrating the artistic spirit and creativity of the Santa Claus community. The tree will be affixed to a platform with a mobility option to travel to local events. This festive art installation will bring the community together and help launch a larger arts initiative for all of Spencer County.

The groups will have until Feb. 28, 2026, to complete their projects using the grant funds.