AIA Indiana

Be Indypendent, the movement that encourages Indianapolis residents to buy art by local artists, is celebrating its first anniversary by forging an alliance with architects, creating an Art Swatch booklet to highlight local artists’ creations, and issuing new versions of its popular stickers.

The next phase of the campaign kicks off on July 4 during IDADA (Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association) First Friday. Several Indianapolis galleries – including Art Bank, AV Framing Gallery, Big Car Gallery, Wug Laku’s Studio & Garage, Myers Design: The Gallery and Ruschman Gallery – will be open from 6 to 9 p.m., ready to welcome visitors before evening fireworks begin.

Be Indypendent is a grassroots effort led by the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission in partnership with artists and galleries throughout Indianapolis. The Arts Council’s Web site features a database of more than 400 visual artists that’s a valuable resource for anyone looking for artwork.

A key component of the next chapter in the Be Indypendent story is the new relationship being forged with area architects and interior designers. As part of that alliance, Be Indypendent is creating materials designed to make it easier for architects to incorporate locally produced art into their projects. Particularly helpful will be the innovative Art Swatch booklet. Resembling paint swatch booklets showing different paint colors, the new Art Swatch features details from local artists’ works, complete with information about the artist and price ranges.

“As architects, we have an intrinsic interest in all things aesthetic,” said Brian Mader, a board member with the Indianapolis chapter of the AIA (American Institute of Architects). “As Indianapolis designers, we also promote and support the idea of buying local, whether that’s buying local art or hiring a local architect for a project.”

To continue to build on this relationship, Be Indypendent representatives will meet regularly with professionals from the AIA. Next week, local architecture and interior design firms will receive Art Swatch booklets and stickers and personal invitations to attend the July 4 and Aug. 1 First Fridays.

“By talking to interior designers and architects, we discovered that they want to use local artwork for projects but they didn’t know there is an extensive database of artists, much less how to use it,” said Shannon Linker, director of artist services for the Arts Council of Indianapolis. “So this alliance is a natural fit for architects and interior designers who regularly use artwork in their projects. We want them to know about the talented artists working here in Indy and that they don’t to rely on national databases or catalogs for their projects.”

Launched on July 4, 2007, Be Indypendent has changed the face of Indianapolis. The campaign’s iconic stickers now show up on car bumpers, office cubicles and bulletin boards all around town, more art by local artists hangs on the walls of local homes and businesses, and new relationships support the premise that when residents support local artists, the whole community benefits.

In addition, new versions of the popular Be Indypendent collateral will be issued and the program’s Web site (www.beindypendent.org ) will be updated. Five new square stickers will showcase the work of local artists Jerry Points, Colleen Lauter, Amy Falstrom, Marco Zehrung and Lydia Burris, and a new Be Indypendent.org sticker will offer a fresh take on the sticker that came to define the program.

“Study after study shows that when you have a creative city, you’ll also have a more vibrant city, a place where people want to live, work and spend time,” said Jenny Guimont, director of the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission. “We created Be Indypendent to encourage people to support and take pride in what is unique to Indy and to create their own definition of what it means to be ‘Indypendent’.”