Research, Evaluation, and Consulting

One of the key elements of The Cultural Ecologies Project is developing new approaches to Research, Evaluation, and Consulting. As numerous studies have shown, current models for understanding arts and humanities practice in relation to community transformation are severely underdeveloped. Integrating social science and humanities methods into our research is critical to developing this knowledge. Identifying the complex needs of cultural stakeholders (artists, institutions, patrons, funders, community members, etc.) requires the ability to:

1. assess community needs and interests, taking care to understand the multiple and conflicting expectations of stakeholders

2. design and fund socially engaged arts and humanities projects that respond to these sometimes conflicting community needs and interests

3. understand how socially engaged cultural interventions participate in an ever-changing historical process that both transforms and is transformed by the communities in which they are embedded

4. create mechanisms for measuring the effects of the arts and humanities on Indianapolis' cultural ecology to provide feedback to stakeholders who intend to reshape future artistic practice and funding.

The Cultural Ecologies Project is aimed at creating new mechanisms for community based research and evaluation grounded in multidisciplinary expertise. 

If you would like to learn more about IAHI Research, Evaluation, and Consulting Services, please contact us at iahi@iupui.edu.

Arts for Learning: Third Space (2019-2022)

Funded by a Strengthening Indianapolis Through Arts and Cultural Innovation Grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., Arts for Learning is implementing "Third Space" in six Indianapolis public schools. “Third Space” is a program designed to temporarily transform the school environment through the installation of museum-quality works of art created by established local artists. Each school will host an artwork for one week that will serve as the basis of the curriculum. An Arts for Learning teaching artist will lead workshops at the school that reinforce the lessons gleaned from the artwork. Each “Third Space” project culminates in an open house event for families and the larger neighborhood community to share in the transformative learning experience. The IAHI is responsible for providing iterative assessment and evaluation for this project.

IUPUI Campus Art Collection Conservation Project (2019-2021)

With a grant from the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation, the IAHI leads the IUPUI Campus Art Collection Conservation Project, which supports the restoration and protection of public artworks currently on display on the IUPUI campus. The initial focus of this work is on IUPUI’s 47 outdoor sculptures—part of the over 12,000 objects that make up the Indiana University art collection. The sculptures at IUPUI are central elements to IU’s overall commitment to use art to broaden the academic scope of the university by giving students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members on all its campuses a stimulating visual environment in which to live, work, and learn.

Create Indy Study (2017-2020)

The IAHI provided consultation and to evaluation for Create Indy—a program of the The Indianapolis Mayor's Office to enrich and expand innovative and inclusive cultural engagement in Indianapolis. The program supports individuals and organizations in Marion County that focus on developing the city’s emerging culture in the following areas:

• design

• film and media

• music

• food and beverage

Art for Change: Developing a Vibrant Cultural Ecology in Indianapolis Neighborhoods (2018-2020)

Funded by an Our Town Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the IAHI worked with the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development to evaluate the impact of Indianapolis' Public Art for Neighborhoods Program. This project culminated with a report on the overall program as well as a series of case studies on Public Art for Neighborhoods funded projects.