Arts Commission invests in Seymour Parks and Recreation to strengthen Seymour through Arts and Creativity

On July 6, the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) announced it has awarded $3,400 to Seymour Parks and Recreation through the Arts Project Support grant program.  

During its June 9 Quarterly Business Meeting, the Commission approved funding recommendations for the Arts Project Support and Arts Organization Support grant programs. Over 480 applications were reviewed by 146 panelists from around the state and country with expertise in the arts, community development, and nonprofit management. 

“The projects and organizations selected to receive funding are strengthening our state,” said Anne Penny Valentine, Chair of the Indiana Arts Commission. “The Commission is excited and honored to invest in Hoosier communities, supporting organizations that are doing exceptional creative work to make Indiana a great place to live, work, play, study, and stay.” 

Stacy Findley, Seymour parks director, said the Arts Project Support grant will pay for a mural to be painted on the east facing exterior wall of the Seymour Community Center in downtown Seymour. The theme of the mural will be organic nature.

Seymour High School art teacher Laurie Martin has been commissioned to paint the mural. She has worked with Seymour Parks and Recreation before on interactive murals at Shields and Gaiser parks. Martin has requested her payment for the mural be donated to the SHS Art Club to benefit her students.

Alan Dunham will repair and paint the wall next week to prepare it for Martin to get started. Dunham also did the site prep work for the Mellencamp mural in downtown Seymour. 

“We are so fortunate the Indiana Arts Commission has selected our project to receive this grant,” Findley said. “Murals and public art are so important to the vitality and creative spirit of our community.”

Seymour is home to several murals which attract visitors to the area.

“We know projects like this bring attention to communities by drawing people to see them,” she said. “It also gives residents a sense of pride in their community.” 

Findley thanked Mayor Matt Nicholson, the parks board, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana General Assembly for their support of projects that add beauty and interest to communities through art.

“Art and creativity strengthen the fabric of Indiana’s communities.  They promote connection and cohesion, foster the entrepreneurial spirit communities need to thrive, and create the kinds of communities where people want to live,” said Miah Michaelsen, Executive Director of the Indiana Arts Commission. “In every corner of our state, public funding for arts and creativity continually proves to be a high-return investment that improves the quality of life of Hoosiers and drives economic development within our state.” 

Funding for the Indiana Arts Commission and its programs is provided by the Indiana General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

View the full list of grants awarded.