Indiana Art and Culture Roundtable

Keira Amstutz is the president of the Indiana Humanities Council.

It’s an old lesson, one we’ve all been taught: You can’t demand respect; you have to earn it.

That truth has been a recurring theme in my mind over the past year as I’ve settled into my role as president of the Indiana Humanities Council.  In talks with other nonprofit, business and community leaders, and the Council’s constituents, I often hear the same question: How can we make people see the arts and humanities as relevant in today’s environment?

Personally, I think that’s the wrong question.  We shouldn’t worry about being seen as relevant.  We should worry about making ourselves relevant.

I know there is much about the arts and humanities that is timeless, but that does not mean that the arts and humanities should be unchanging.  On the contrary: The arts and humanities must be vital, challenging and compelling.  We must push the envelope, seek out new audiences and claim new roles.  And we must add to the community conversation, not only by drawing from timeless truths but also by asserting new truths.

The people, organizations, sectors and disciplines that will be seen as relevant in the days ahead are the ones that blaze new trails, take bigger risks and spark new conversations.  In other words, the ones that lead.  We’re trying to do that with our series of community workshops in which we’re facilitating conversations among citizens.  We’re planning new initiatives that will put attention on the needs and achievements of the people of Indiana.  And we’re striving to create new opportunities for the humanities to be put to work solving the problems of our communities.

I see similar work being done in other organizations.  All across Indiana, organizations of all sizes are staking their futures on daring attempts to offer new ideas, new truths and new leadership.

These are the organizations most likely to thrive in the future.  Rather than demanding to be respected, rather than asking to be noticed, and rather than simply lobbying for support, they’re making themselves relevant.