The Butter Fine Art Fair put the spotlight on Black visual artists from Indiana and across the nation.
For the complete GangGang 2024 Annual Report, click here.
In the last two years (2023 and 2024), GangGang brokered more than $9 million of cultural innovation and economic impact in Indianapolis – just one of numerous achievements noted in GangGang’s 2024 Annual Report. That document noted, “This investment has sparked a sense of hope, affirmation and civic pride among the culture in Central Indiana.”
The actions of GangGang, self-described as a cultural development firm, include massive murals and public art commissions, but also creative direction for national brands, institutions, and sporting events.
“Each opportunity – sparked internally or with our external partners – works to make the creative economy equitable,” the Annual Report also noted. “Each year, we partner with more than 50 corporate, private, and public partners to fulfill our mission and deliver programs.
Brandi Davis Handy, president of AES Indiana and president of the GangGang Board of Directors, had this to say: “Never in my lifetime has the protection and preservation
of culture and equity been more crucial. In these unprecedented times, no organization is better suited to this mission than GangGang. I have a front-row seat to the impact this organization has made in Indiana in a very short amount of time.
“In 2024, GangGang managed to exceed and elevate the experience of the Butter Fine Art Fair, serve as a critical partner in the arts and culture programming for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, bring a first-of-its-kind musical experience to Indy via I Made Rock n Roll, and so much more. The I Made Rock and Roll festival featured six national acts, 3,500 attendees and 100 artists.
“If GangGang was able to do all of this in one year, imagine what more they can do for our city with additional donations and sponsorship dollars for capacity building. Imagine the impact on the lives of people, artists, and youth.”
Brad Beaubien, Visit Indy’s senior director of destination development and founding Board chair, said, “When GangGang emerged in 2020, it answered a critical question many were asking in that pivotal moment – how do we create lasting change beyond the immediate response? While necessary policy reforms and funding initiatives would inevitably ebb and flow with political tides, GangGang understood that cultural transformation – when properly supported and intentionally focused – would endure.
“What makes GangGang unique,” Beaubien continued, “is its profound understanding that
culture is the language of humanity, with the power to shape cities and our understanding of one another.”
Referring to organization founders Alan Bacon and Malina Bacon, Beaubien added, When Mali and Alan asked me to serve as the founding Board chair, we saw an opportunity for
Indy to do what Indy does best – unite behind a bold idea, take risks, and throw in some grit to create something unprecedented.”
GangGang’s cumulative impact over its first four years shows a $7.99 million investment into the creative economy, over 1,000 artists served, a total attendance of over 50,000, and over $900,000 sales from the Butter Fine Art Fair.
