By Muncie Arts and Culture Council—
MUNCIE, IN—Some things are difficult to measure, but easy to feel.
You know it when you walk through a downtown filled with activity. You hear it during live performances and community festivals. You see it in murals, galleries, public spaces, local businesses, and the energy created when people gather together to experience something meaningful.
A vibrant arts and culture scene changes how a community feels. So, how do we measure this vibrancy? How can you capture a feeling?
Measuring Arts Vibrancy
Researchers have developed ways to measure that vibrancy. One of the most widely recognized tools is the Arts Vibrancy Index, developed by Southern Methodist University’s DataArts program. The index compares communities across the country using data related to arts organizations, artists, arts funding, public support, employment, and cultural activity. It tells communities how they stack up among their peers, their region, and nationally.
While no single metric can fully capture the creative spirit of a community, the index offers a valuable snapshot of the strength of a local arts ecosystem.
By many measures, Delaware County is performing remarkably well.
In previous rankings, Delaware County scored in the 84th percentile nationally, meaning it performed better than 84% of counties across the United States. Even with changes in methodology and reporting, Delaware County continues to rank in the top third nationally among more than 3,100 counties evaluated.
That is not something that happens accidentally – and it’s something to be celebrated.
“When people are choosing where to live, work, and invest, they are drawn to places with energy, creativity, and a strong sense of identity,” explained Caitlin Hancock, President and CEO of Forge ECI. “Arts and culture help create that kind of community, and that is something worth celebrating.”
Strong arts vibrancy reflects years of investment, partnership, creativity, and community participation. It represents the work of artists, educators, nonprofit organizations, local leaders, volunteers, audiences, and supporters who collectively contribute to the cultural life of a region. It tells us that our investments in the arts are being realized and having an impact on residents.
Creative Communities Are Built Over Time
The Arts Vibrancy Index attempts to measure many of the systems that support arts and culture in a community. In addition to looking at the number of arts organizations and artists, the index also considers arts-related employment, nonprofit revenues, grants, and government support for arts and cultural activity.
That broader view is important because arts vibrancy is about more than entertainment.
It reflects whether creativity is embedded into the daily life of a community. It speaks to whether a region values gathering spaces, public experiences, collaboration, education, storytelling, music, design, performance, and opportunities for creative expression. It reflects whether people and institutions are willing to invest in the cultural identity of a place.
In Delaware County, that investment can be seen in many forms.
It can be seen in organizations creating programming and public events. It can be seen in the partnerships forming around Muncie’s emerging Creative Corridor. It can be seen in public art, arts education, local performances, neighborhood initiatives, and collaborative efforts to strengthen quality of life through culture and creativity.
It can also be seen in the growing recognition that arts and culture are not separate from community development – they are part of it. It is in our very DNA as Hoosiers and Muncie/Delaware County residents. We stand for the arts.
“I experienced Muncie as a child, later as a college student, and again as a professional, calling this community home for more than 20 years. I continue to choose Muncie because of the people, the relationships, and the growing power of arts and culture to create positive change,” observed Tania Said, Executive Director of the Muncie Arts and Culture Council (MuncieArts). “At MuncieArts, we see every day how arts and culture strengthen our community. Through public art, artist support, partnerships, and shared experiences, we help create the connections that make people want to come to Muncie, stay in Muncie, and invest in its future.”
Looking Ahead
Arts and culture influence how communities attract talent, retain residents, support local businesses, activate downtown spaces, and create opportunities for connection. Communities with strong creative ecosystems become places where people attach themselves – they want to live, work, play, and invest in that community long-term.
At the same time, it is important to recognize that no ranking system is perfect. Even the Arts Vibrancy Index acknowledges the complexity of measuring creative life. Some portions of the formula place significant weight on public funding and financial investment, while other aspects attempt to measure the number of organizations, artists, and creative workers within a community.
Perhaps the most valuable part of the conversation is not the score itself. The real value lies in what the data encourages our community to ask:
- What kind of place are we building?
- How do we support creativity and connection?
- How do we continue creating opportunities for artists, organizations, and residents to thrive together?
Vibrancy is not created overnight. It grows through long-term investment in people, partnerships, infrastructure, and spaces where creativity can flourish. It grows when communities choose to support artists and cultural organizations not as extras, but as essential contributors to civic life. It grows when we look ahead to the future.
The encouraging news is that Delaware County already has a strong foundation to build upon.
“The work of MuncieArts is about more than programs or projects—it is about building a community where creativity is valued, where people feel a sense of belonging, and where arts and culture contribute to a stronger quality of life for everyone,” Said explained. “That is the kind of vibrancy that cannot always be measured by data alone, but it is something our community experiences and feels every day.”
The data tells part of that story. But anyone who has attended a local performance, participated in a community arts event, explored Muncie, or experienced the creativity woven throughout Delaware County already understands something the numbers alone cannot fully explain:
A vibrant community is ultimately measured not only by statistics, but by the sense of connection, identity, and possibility that people experience together.
