The City of Fishers plans to apply to the Indiana Arts Commission and ask that the Nickel Plate District in Downtown Fishers be designated as a cultural district, and the city is working toward establishing The Fishers Arts and Cultural Commission.

Past and present officials of the local arts community packed into a City Hall conference room to support the arts proposals as members of the city council were briefed on the ideas by Deputy Mayor Leah McGrath and Mayor Scott Fadness.

Work has already started on applying for the Nickel Plate District’s designation by the state as a cultural district, described by McGrath as a “pretty rigorous process.”  The deadline to submit the application is September 5th.

The City Council Nonprofit Committee decides how to divide-up the city’s contributions to local organizations, and this proposal would ask the council committee to provide a specific sum of money to support local arts organizations, then have the Fishers Arts and Cultural Commission decide which organizations get the money, and how much each group will receive.

The new Fishers Arts and Cultural Commission would be established as part of the city’s Planning and Zoning Department.

“The point of the Arts Commission is to take the people that really do understand the soul and vibrancy of art, and meld that with the people that understand the land development and development process” Fadness told council members.  “Those two together should create a really unique environment where we have the synergistic vibe.”

City Council members appeared generally supportive of the plan to establish a Fishers Arts Commission and ask the state to designate the Nickel Plate District as a cultural district.