ROW announces this month the award of a $50,000 grant to Indy Convergence for a new White River arts project called A Rising Tide (A.R.T.) The unique and creative effort will bring art performances like live theater, comedy, dance and music, to the Near West community in partnership with some the city’s most celebrated organizations, such as Fonseca Theater Company, Eiteljorg Museum, Indy Shakes and Kenyetta Dance. A.R.T. will also serve as an economic engine to create destinations for arts and culture in an area of the city that could use the financial boost.
The grant for A.R.T. will transform the shores of the White River into a “pop-up theater and arts district” while creating a long-term economic benefit for Near West residents. The grant covers a floating 25’x20’ stage, an all-terrain mobile riverside stage, outdoor lighting package, sound equipment, tents and generators for use by grant recipient, Indy Convergence, and its artistic partners. These tools will help activate the White River as a community resource and asset for the Near West community through at least 25 performances over the next two years.
“This award represents an opportunity to highlight arts excellence and the beauty of Indianapolis’s waterways in novel and exciting ways,” said Robert Negron, Artistic Director for Indy Convergence. “It will reshape our city’s relationship to the White River while amplifying Near West resident voices as progenitors, stewards, and historians. Indy Convergence cannot thank ROW and our partners enough for their support as we embark on this new, thrilling initiative in 2019.”
ROW’s funding for this project comes from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust (NMPCT) White River Grant Fund, part of NMPCT’s over $5.5 million investment in bringing awareness around and improving the water quality in the White River.