By Kallie Sulanke—
MUNCIE, IN – The Creative Space Action Plan, which outlines actionable steps to expand affordable creative spaces, enhance public engagement, and support the arts as a driving force for economic growth and quality of life in Muncie based on extensive input from residents, artists, and local organizations, is now available online at https://www.cfmdin.org/csap.
The Creative Space Action Plan reflects the vision of the Muncie community, which has been instrumental in identifying challenges and opportunities to build a thriving arts and cultural hub. With input from more than 300 community members, the plan provides strategies to foster Muncie’s creative potential.
The plan was developed with the expertise of Artspace Consulting, a leading national constant in arts-focused community development and economic development. Artspace was impressed with Muncie and recognized strengths and opportunities across the community to create a strong sense of belonging for creatives and those who seek them out.
Seeing momentum in arts and culture across the community, The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County commissioned Artspace to conduct a landscape study and provide the Creative Space Action Plan to complement existing community plans.
“At The Community Foundation, we have a broad and unique view of the community often seeing where opportunities overlap,” said Marcy Minton, President and CEO of The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County. “We saw momentum in arts and culture with investments being made by community members, civic groups, arts organizations, and major institutions. The Foundation was already involved in key conversations and felt a landscape study with key stakeholder participation was timely.”
Through extensive focus groups, community meetings, and input sessions, national consultant Artspace identified strengths and opportunities for the community. Their resulting plan creates a roadmap that outlines short- and long-term strategies for strengthening Muncie’s arts identity and broadening the city’s creative offerings. The roadmap provides residents with a plan of action to support the creative sector.
Opportunities outlined in the Creative Space Action Plan include:
- Celebrate rich assets: Enhancing Muncie’s cultural landscape and unifying our creative identity.
- Bring the arts community together: Supporting local artists and advocating for the arts.
- Develop and better utilize public engagement spaces: Creating more accessible workspaces and presentation spaces to retain and inspire local talent.
- Increase connections between cultural hubs: Linking key areas like Downtown, Minnetrista, and Ball State through projects like the Muncie Arts & Culture Trail.
Residents, artists, local businesses, and civic leaders can review the Creative Space Action Plan available on the Foundation’s website at https://www.cfmdin.org/csap. Some action items are already in progress including the development of a core leadership team committed to continued conversation and action, financial support for some consulting services described in the plan, and requests for funding for anchor institutions have been solicited.
The development of the Creative Space Action Plan was made possible by a planning grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of their GIFT VIII initiative, which supports Indiana communities in enhancing quality of life through strategic planning and investments.
For more information or to view the Creative Space Action Plan, please visit https://www.cfmdin.org/csap.
About The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc.
The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County has been serving the local community since 1985, supporting philanthropy, assisting donors in building a permanent source of charitable assets, and investing in initiatives that enhance the quality of life in Muncie and Delaware County. With an endowment of over $93 million, the Foundation has distributed nearly $68 million in grants and scholarships to date.
About Artspace
Artspace is the nation’s leading nonprofit developer of affordable spaces for artists and arts organizations. For more than 40 years, Artspace has supported community revitalization efforts through real estate development and consulting, creating sustainable spaces that foster creativity and community engagement. For more information, visit www.artspace.org.
