Valparaiso has been a city on the rise in Northwest Indiana for quite some time, and part of that rise is its dedicated community members who have an eye towards the future and an appreciation for their town's potential. That is where the Valparaiso Creative Council comes into the picture. The VCC is a group of local leaders who are seeking to advance the growth and development of the creative arts community in Valpo through the installment of new pieces of public art, creating a greater connection between Valparaiso University and downtown, more creative spaces, greater diversity of art programming, a centralized channel to unify local artists, online resources for local art news and events, and much, much more.
The main theme of this District is to invite the community to come together to create, explore, and celebrate arts culture and innovation together; something the VCC believes is vital to creating a thriving community, which is why the stated mission of the VCC is to, "enrich the community by promoting, developing, and advocating for and with local arts efforts, artists, and organizations by providing educational, programmatic, and marketing support."
How did this project come to be? The Valparaiso Creative Council was tasked with supporting city-wide arts programming as well as executing the Creative District Plan which was born out of the ValpoNEXT Citywide Vision Plan adopted in 2014. Hundreds of community members participated in this process which sought to adopt a wide range of goals for Valpo's future. Between all of the conversations had, as well as Valparaiso's participation in the 2015 quarter-finalist round of the America's Best Community Competition, the city was inspire to create a Creative District Plan to keep Valparaiso's image across the county vibrant and inclusive.
"There are so many amazing artistic things happening in Valpo that more people need to know about and participate in!" said Nicole Upton, President of the Board of Directors for the VCC. "The Valparaiso Creative Council is excited to have the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the work of our local artists and arts organizations. We truly believe that when people come together to create, explore, and celebrate art, culture and innovation, communities thrive. We look forward to developing strong relationships in the community to forward this vision together."
Some of the upcoming goals for the VCC this year include: Instituting strong arts-related communications with the Valparaiso University student body, introducing a Valparaiso Creative Portal, promoting full arts, culture, and creative offerings in all city-wide communication channels, as well as creating, maintaining, and publicizing a comprehensive arts, culture, and creativity assets inventory.
They are also planning to work in collaboration to support artist events with the Valparaiso Department of Art, Valpo School's Spring into the Arts Festival, and Valparaiso Events' Pop-Up.
Having achieved 501(c)3 status earlier this year, the Valparaiso Creative Council is getting to work on making the community of Valparaiso an even more beautiful place to live, work, and enjoy the sights of a thriving community more fully immersed in appreciation of the arts!
For more info on the VCC, click here.
Other board of directors members seeking to make Valpo a more artful community include: Nicole Upton of Ingenuity (President of VCC), Melissa Washburn an artist and organizer of CSA Valpo (VP of VCC), Eric Brant of the Chicago Street Theater (Secretary of VCC), Natalie Krivas of AM Stabilizers (Treasurer of VCC), Jesse Harper of JBH Productions, Inc., Scot MacDonald of Memorial Opera House, Aimee Tomasek of Valparaiso University, Eric Johnson of Valparaiso University, Dave Lee a business owner and artist, Tina St. Aubin of Valparaiso Events, Linda Eyermann an artist and community volunteer, and Kaye Frataccia of Memorial Opera House Foundation Board.