The Indianapolis Public Library Preserves More Than Two Decades of Indiana’s Arts Heritage with Arts Indiana Digitization Project

11/21/2025
The Indianapolis Public Library Preserves More Than Two Decades of Indiana’s Arts Heritage with Arts Indiana Digitization Project
The Indianapolis Public Library Preserves More Than Two Decades of Indiana’s Arts Heritage with Arts Indiana Digitization Project

The Indianapolis Public Library has unveiled a new digital collection celebrating more than 20 years of Indiana’s vibrant arts history. Through the Arts Indiana Digitization Project, the Library has preserved the complete legacy of Arts Indiana, a magazine that showcased the state’s creative voices and cultural evolution.

Originally launched in 1979 as Arts Insight and concluding publication in 2001 as Arts Indiana, the magazine celebrated and brought together the state’s literary, performing, and visual arts. The Library has digitized more than 200 issues of Arts Indiana and related arts publications, offering a rich snapshot of the state’s creative history.

“Any time you have a seamless 20-year continuum of information, particularly in the visual, literary, and performing arts, it creates an indispensable resource,” said Lee Alig, project initiator, project advisor, and Arts Indiana board member and contributing writer. “Just two years ago the digitization was just an idea. Being able to digitize the collection now with the guidance of The Indianapolis Public Library will insure its availability for generations.”

The newly digitized collection includes:

Cover of Arts Indiana Magazine February 1989, Vol. 11, No. 1, $3.50

“Everyone involved with Indiana Arts Insight, Arts Indiana, and its creative and engaging programs was essential,” stated Ann M. Stack, Arts Indiana Publisher Emerita. “We came together because the magazine—and then its programs—reflected the intelligence and diversity of Indiana’s creative community and we just knew the arts were essential to understanding the world in which we lived, lost, worked, and loved.”

Part of The Indianapolis Public Library, Digital Indy has digitized more than 100 collections, working with 60 partner organizations.

“It seems like everyone who was anyone in the arts community was involved with Arts Insight or Arts Indiana at some point,” said Natasha Hollenbach, digital projects manager at The Indianapolis Public Library. “The publication covered more than two decades of the arts across the state and remains an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Indiana’s arts organizations, creative communities, and individual artists. One of my favorite things about it is the intentional inclusivity—you can see the incredible diversity of media and voices represented.”

The Arts Indiana Collection is now available through Digital Indy, the Library’s free online archive featuring more than one million items chronicling the culture and history of Indianapolis. Digital Indy provides public access to historic images, publications, and other primary sources documenting the city’s people, places, and creative life.

These free resources—and the entire Digital Indy collection—are helpful to researchers, students, and those who love to learn about the local community and its history.

Explore the Arts Indiana Collection collection or visit Digital Indy to discover more of Indianapolis’ rich history.

The staff at The Indianapolis Public Library would like to thank The Indiana State Library, Newfields, and all individuals who loaned material for digitization, as well as those who contributed financially through The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation.