Indiana Arts & Media

Indiana's Literary Heritage

Indiana has produced a remarkable number of important American writers — far more than a state its size would suggest. From the "Hoosier Poet" James Whitcomb Riley, whose dialect verse defined 19th-century Indiana, to Kurt Vonnegut's darkly brilliant novels that defined 20th-century American literature, Indiana's literary output has shaped how America tells stories about itself. Booth Tarkington won two Pulitzer Prizes. Theodore Dreiser pioneered literary naturalism. And John Green set his generation-defining novels in Indianapolis.

Music Heritage

Indiana Avenue in Indianapolis was one of the most important jazz corridors in America during the 1930s–1960s. Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, J.J. Johnson, and David Baker all came out of the avenue's clubs and jam sessions. The legacy is preserved at the Indiana Avenue Cultural District.

Artist	Genre	Indiana Connection
Cole Porter	Broadway/Film	Born in Peru, Indiana. One of the greatest American songwriters.
Hoagy Carmichael	Jazz/Standards	Born in Bloomington. Composed "Stardust," one of the most recorded songs in history.
John Mellencamp	Rock	Born in Seymour. His music defines small-town Midwest Americana.
Michael Jackson	Pop	Born in Gary. The Jackson 5 started performing in Gary venues.
Janet Jackson	Pop/R&B	Born in Gary.
Axl Rose	Rock	Born in Lafayette. Led Guns N' Roses.
Wes Montgomery	Jazz	Indianapolis native. Revolutionary jazz guitarist who influenced generations.
J.J. Johnson	Jazz	Born in Indianapolis. Pioneered bebop trombone.
Babyface (Kenneth Edmonds)	R&B	Born in Indianapolis. Grammy-winning songwriter and producer.
David Lee Roth	Rock	Born in Bloomington. Led Van Halen.
Freddie Hubbard	Jazz	Born in Indianapolis. Legendary jazz trumpeter.
Joshua Bell	Classical	Born in Bloomington. One of the world's leading violinists.

The Hoosier Art Tradition

The Hoosier Group — T.C. Steele, William Forsyth, Otto Stark, Richard Gruelle, and J. Ottis Adams — were Indiana's most important painters, known for their Impressionist landscapes of the state's rolling countryside.

T.C. Steele (1847–1926) was the leading figure of the Hoosier Group, a school of Indiana Impressionist painters. His home and studio near Nashville is now a state historic site.

Nashville and Brown County have been an artist colony since the early 1900s, when painters like T.C. Steele were drawn to the area's rolling hills and autumn light. Today, the town has over 80 galleries, studios, and craft shops — one of the largest concentrations of art galleries in the Midwest.

Performing Arts Venues

Venue	Location	Type	Note
Hilbert Circle Theatre	Indianapolis	Concert Hall	Home of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra since 1984
Clowes Memorial Hall	Indianapolis	Performing Arts	Major touring Broadway shows and concerts; 2,200 seats
Indiana Repertory Theatre	Indianapolis	Theater	Professional resident theater company since 1972
The Vogue	Indianapolis	Music Venue	Iconic Broad Ripple venue for live music since 1938
Hi-Fi	Indianapolis	Music Venue	Premier indie and mid-size concert venue in Fountain Square
Old National Centre	Indianapolis	Performing Arts	Historic 2,600-seat venue in a restored 1909 Masonic temple
Brown County Playhouse	Nashville	Theater	Seasonal theater in the artist colony of Brown County
Morris Performing Arts Center	South Bend	Performing Arts	Historic 2,566-seat venue built in 1922
Honeywell Center	Wabash	Performing Arts	Community arts center in the first electrically lighted city
Embassy Theatre	Fort Wayne	Historic Theater	Restored 1928 movie palace with 2,471 seats

Public Art

Indiana in Film & Television

Indiana has served as the setting for some of the most beloved films and TV shows in American pop culture — from the fictional small towns of Pawnee and Hawkins to real-life stories set in Indianapolis and northwest Indiana.

Title	Year	Type	Indiana Connection
Close Encounters of the Third Kind	1977	Film	The protagonist Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) lives in Muncie, Indiana.
A Christmas Story	1983	Film	Set in a fictionalized version of Hammond in northwest Indiana (author Jean Shepherd grew up there).
Parks and Recreation	2009–2015	TV Series	Set in fictional Pawnee, Indiana — a loving satire of small-town Midwestern government and culture.
Stranger Things	2016–2025	TV Series	Set in fictional Hawkins, Indiana — depicted as a typical small Hoosier town in the 1980s.
Hard Rain	1998	Film	Filmed in Huntingburg, Indiana. The town was intentionally flooded for production.
Public Enemies	2009	Film	John Dillinger biopic. Key scenes at the Crown Point jail, where Dillinger made his famous escape.
The Middle	2009–2018	TV Series	Set in fictional Orson, Indiana — a middle-class family comedy in the heart of the Midwest.
The Fault in Our Stars	2014	Film	Set and partially filmed in Indianapolis. Based on John Green's novel.
Gone Girl	2014	Film	The fictional town of North Carthage is based on small-town Indiana/Missouri border culture.
Anatomy of a Murder	1959	Film	Directed by Indianapolis native Otto Preminger (though set in Michigan).