She Helped Shape Art in Indianapolis | Joanna Taft, Harrison Center for the Arts

On today's show I sat down with Joanna Taft, executive director of the Harrison Center for the Arts and founder of Herron High School.

Taft describes turning a nearly vacant 65,000-square-foot historic church building into a thriving arts hub supporting 400+ artists and eight rotating galleries.

She shares how early First Friday openings grew from 100 to 1,000 attendees by leveraging "mavens," then how artists leaving led to her launching Herron High School in 2006, beginning with 99 students in the Harrison Center basement – built out by mostly female rocket scientist volunteers – and later expanding to additional campuses, including Riverside.

She discusses criticism around gentrification, learning about cultural gentrification, and creating "preenactments," Greatriarch portraits, and the Polklore Micro-Museum's artifact-based augmented-reality storytelling to preserve neighborhood histories while building inclusive, thriving communities.

If you like this episode and want to hear more Get IN. episodes where I interview Hoosiers making a difference, visit getindiana.com/podcast.

You are going to learn about: - The Harrison Center for the Arts - Founding and Expansion of Herron High School - The Polklore Micro-Museum

Thank you to our partners: Elements Financial

Check out these great clips from the show: 01:40 Guest Introduction: Joanna Taft, Harrison Center for the Arts 02:37 Finding The Harrison Center 05:31 Church History And Legacy 07:26 From DC To Arts Catalyst 08:49 First Artists And First Friday 15:27 Growing Crowds With Mavens 18:34 Artists Leaving Sparks A School 21:24 Pitching Herron High School 24:34 RFP Strategy And Recession Win 27:25 Fear Grit And Opening Day 32:05 Recruiting 99 Diverse Students 37:24 Balancing Two Full Time Jobs 38:36 Expanding To Riverside Campus 41:49 Grit Makes Deals Happen 43:05 Making Government Work 43:50 Growing the School Network 44:39 Mascots With Mythology 45:46 Gentrification Pushback 47:10 Building a Vacant Building 48:55 Cultural Gentrification Insight 50:23 Preenactment Vision 52:39 Walking Through Preenactment 55:34 Real World Impact Stories 58:12 Polk Stables Origin Story 01:00:18 Great Triarchs Explained 01:03:01 Polklore Micro-Museum AR 01:05:58 Indiana Rapid Fire 01:11:12 Community Building Advice

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