The City of Indianapolis recently announced the Garfield Park neighborhood as a Cultural District. This came as a direct result of the application we at Big Collaborative submitted to the City in August. Our application included letters of support from City Councilman Frank Mascari, the Garfield Park Neighbors Association (GPNA), Friends of Garfield Park, and Chreece. 

In a recent follow-up meeting between Big Car staff and the City, we discussed next steps that include working out a plan with our community leaders for how to approach and benefit from the new designation by the City. 

Read the City’s announcement here.

Read news coverage in the Urban Times here.

Who Made the Garfield Park Cultural District? 

This designation is made possible by cultural leaders and neighbors working for many decades with anchors like the Garfield Park Art Center (which opened in 2006) and the McAllister Center operated by Indy Parks, the Garfield Park  and us at Big Car Collaborative leading efforts to boost the neighborhood through public art and cultural events since 2011. 

Big Car has also brought many additional art experiences — including First Fridays — to the neighborhood starting with the opening of Tube Factory in 2016. Likewise, Big Car has invested in long-term affordable housing for artists with 18 homes on the block surrounding Tube Factory. By 2026, the block surrounding Tube Factory will have seen a total investment of $13 million. 

Our neighborhood has a strong history of working together, including with Big Car serving as a convening organization. Leaders from Big Car, for instance, helped form the neighborhood association as one for both south sides of the park that became a nonprofit organization, officially, in 2017. 

Big Car did the same as the convening organization for the South Indianapolis Quality of Life Plan for five years (2017 to 2021). Big Car worked with the SoIndy board that provided guidance and oversight. And we helped oversee SoIndy’s finances and provided support for its staff. 

Since SoIndy ceased to exist as a separate organization, GPNA and Big Car have continued to collaborate to keep our neighborhood moving forward in a positive direction. The formation of the Garfield Park Cultural District will be a major step forward. 

How CAMi Factors into this Designation  

A significant emerging opportunity within the district is the opening of Big Car’s new contemporary art museum within a renovated former industrial building located on our campus east of Shelby Street between Cruft Street and Nelson Avenue. 

Opening in spring of 2026, visitors will experience five exhibition spaces for contemporary art — including an expansive main gallery for large-scale, immersive installations; 18 studios for artists; a large commercial kitchen offering culinary training and serving the on-site cafe and bar; five storefronts for creative small businesses; two audio recording studios (including the new home for WQRT); and a performing arts and event space that can accommodate 500 people standing and 300 seated. 

This publicly accessible art museum and community space will significantly boost cultural development in Garfield Park. Featuring high-quality, commissioned exhibitions by notable local, regional, national, and international artists, the new contemporary art museum will offer educational and interactive elements for visitors of all ages. 

Our $7 million expansion will serve as a hub for community development. With our campus, we’re reimagining the role of a museum as a place to improve social health, foster dialogue, and ensure long-term stability for artists and other creative workers. 

Exhibitions will address timely, relevant topics that encourage meaningful conversations among visitors. Classes and programs will bring people together in a collaborative, creative environment. Just as importantly, the physical environment will be designed to feel welcoming with comfortable seating, lots of natural light and warm lighting, and a peaceful atmosphere that invites all community members to gather and connect.

This expansion will also be a catalyst for economic development. A central part of this impact will come from the five small business storefronts, which will support local creative entrepreneurs. These businesses will benefit from the steady foot traffic of museum visitors while paying affordable rent — reducing barriers to stability and growth. 

As a cultural destination, the museum will attract both local residents and visitors. Arts and entertainment tourism is a growing sector in Indianapolis, and our expanded campus will complement this trend while boosting nearby businesses. 

More About our History in Garfield Park

Big Car began working in Garfield Park when two of our co-founders moved here in 2011. From the start, we began utilizing our tools, experience, and network to collaborate with and support the neighborhood through the tools of art and design. Some of that early work included:

• Identity and wayfinding signage for the neighborhood (these include a community gateway mural, the logo used by the neighborhood and other murals).
• Safety and economic development and connectivity on Shelby Street (we co-led two Better Blocks and other events at what’s now the Garfield Brewery) and temporary safety improvements after the Red Line opened.
• Overall planning as a co-leader convening organization on the South Indy Quality of Life Plan
• Cultural and community programming and hosting neighborhood meetings at our Tube Factory campus.

We first moved into a physical space in 2015 after purchasing the Listen Hear space on Shelby Street. We opened Tube Factory in 2016 after doing much of the renovations ourselves. Both the Tube Factory and Listen Hear were supported by Community Development Block Grants through the City of Indianapolis, DMD. We then began to buy and renovate vacant and abandoned houses on the same block in partnership with INHP and Riley Area Development. 

After receiving a $3 million grant from Lilly Endowment in late 2018, we began work on our expansion into the large building on our block — a brownfield site that has presented many challenges. This project is a $7 million investment in the arts, our community, and our neighborhood.

At Big Car, we’re proud of our deep connection to the Garfield Park neighborhood. We work tirelessly — as neighbors ourselves — to support this place we call home. And, with the long-term help of so many neighbors, artists and partners, we’re excited about so much more to come.

We’re proud to play a major role in the continued success and revitalization of our neighborhood. Through our work, we’ve helped establish Garfield Park’s lasting artistic identity and bright future. And, with our expansion complete in spring, the neighborhood is poised to solidify its place as one of the city’s premier cultural districts.