As co-founders, what personal experiences or inspirations have most significantly shaped your vision for GANGGANG?  What were some of the key challenges you faced while creating GANGGANG, and how did you overcome them?

• Hi, I’m Mali. Great to be here. Thanks to the Chamber and to all of you.
• As far as what shaped my vision, it’s been the world around me, the people around me. I noticed that my friends and family were artists right as we were graduating from college. There were creative people all around, and they’ve always been looking for jobs–myself included. I’ve been driven by the need for infrastructure to support the creative class. To find employment for artists and for them to be considered noble. To edit their brand. I’ve stayed committed to that mission – find jobs for artists.
• From a capacity perspective, it’s always been a challenge. GANGGANG is an engine of creative solutions for everything, addressing the world’s most significant challenges – we’re ready and confident. Our challenge is to have the capacity to do everything we need to do. Overcoming this is an ongoing process, but it generally means working smarter. We’ve learned to pace our ideas, to layer them within programs, and to evaluate opportunities more critically.

As key figures in Indy’s cultural and arts landscape, how do you see the arts influencing and defining a city’s identity? What part do you think the arts play in nurturing a sense of belonging and community here in Indianapolis?

• Thank you for seeing us that way. The arts have given so much to Indianapolis. Alongside our sports history, we are an arts city. The arts have been a consistent part of who this city is and what makes it so unique.
• The arts are a valued aspect of Indy, as shown in our memorials, which are second only to those in DC in terms of the number of memorials we have and are often artworks. The way our city is designed, along with some of our beautiful historic buildings, tells us that we have cared about design and architecture.
• Whether we admit it or not, we are a city of artists, and this city has thrived because of them. As Alan often says, much of the world’s favorite music from the ’90s came from Indiana artists. We win major sports bids not just for our infrastructure, but because of the vibrant culture our artists help create.”
• Indy recognizes the power of the arts and uses it as a tool to create a sense of belonging, add a wow factor, or enhance beauty, but not to truly honor it.

Given the current trends, such as climate change, equity, and health, why do you believe the arts are more important now than ever? How do you think the arts can help us build a shared narrative in an increasingly divided world?

• A core part of the GANGGANG ethos is recognizing that cities need artists more than artists need cities. The arts have always existed—and always will. They guide us, lead us, reflect our thoughts and behaviors, and give them rhythm and form. The arts are a constant.
• It’s our job to lean into its advantages to improve our cities. To build shared narratives and help us understand each other when we don’t or won’t talk anymore. So, the infrastructure, the vitality and protection of artists is critical and continues to be.
• Artworks and creative processes help shape shared narratives by expressing values and inspiring action. In Plainfield, we’re managing an art program on a downtown parking garage to foster a sense of place and reflect the community’s values. Through both the process and the final artwork, the message is clear: you are welcome here—and we want you to stay.

You are both key partners in helping to build the LEX 2025 strategy which has a focus on health as a core driver of economic prosperity and Advance317 cohort – to add a cultural, artistic, and innovative perspective to the learnings and takeaways of this city-immersion program. Can you discuss your perspective on the connections between art and health? 

• For many communities—especially mine—art is a form of health. It’s how we cope, how we grow, and how we stay connected to ourselves and each other. Art teaches us, nurtures us, and gives us the language to express what words often can’t. It’s woven into our daily lives as a source of strength, identity, and healing. Art is both preventative and restorative—it sustains our well-being, lifts us in moments of struggle, and plays a vital role in our emotional, mental, and even spiritual health. In times of wellness and in times of crisis, art is how we survive and how we thrive.
• Health and Hospital back in the day, and they were confident about what the arts could do for the new Eskenazi hospital. We placed poetry in patient rooms and created films with sounds and colors that contributed to the healing process. It wasn’t a question – it was proven – we know that access to the arts improves health outcomes, so that’s what we should be diving into.
• Examples include the arts reducing stress, contributing to cognitive function, acting as a coping strategy, promoting empathy, improving physical health, and enhancing performance, among other benefits.

In your recent State of the Culture address, you shared that GANGGANG has generated over $13 million in revenue and invested nearly $8 million into the creative economy over the past four years. Can you elaborate on the strategies that led to generating this revenue and investing this amount?

• It still feels surreal to say it out loud—we started GANGGANG just five years ago. Since then, we’ve brokered over $13 million in creative activity and directly impacted $8 million in financial flow. From the very beginning, our strategy has centered on economic development, with a firm commitment to economic justice. Our mission has always been to activate the creative economy, and at its heart is one core principle: paying artists. We believe in building systems where creativity is valued, where cultural contributions are compensated, and where artists thrive, not just survive.
• So, we immediately began discussing value and worth, and working to counter the notion that we should be okay with artists starving.
• From the start, we stood firm in our commitment to fair pay for artists—and we were confident enough in our work with partners to say it out loud: we pay artists, and we pay them fairly. That approach wasn’t just symbolic; it shifted the landscape. The strategy proved successful—not only for the artists who received just compensation, but also in setting a new standard for creative work across Indianapolis. As a result, we’ve seen increased rates and sparked a deeper, more sustainable value placed on the arts in our city.

The biggest event you have hosted has obviously been the BUTTER Fine Art Fair, which is now in its fifth year. Over the last five years, the fair has sold over $900,000 in art by local Black artists, and the event has attracted more than 32,000 attendees. Could you share more about the impact of the BUTTER Fine Arts Fair and what makes it stand out from other art events?

• BUTTER is what Indianapolis didn’t know it needed—a foundation and launchpad for the cultural destination our city is becoming once again. What makes BUTTER truly unique is its mission: it’s America’s no-commission art fair. That means artists receive 100% of their sales—no fees, no cuts, no commissions. At BUTTER, the artists are the heroes.
• This is something Indianapolis built together. In a convention city, we created and supported an art fair that belongs to all of us. Shout out to the sponsors in the room, including the Indy Chamber, for helping make it possible. We built the fair that brought The New York Times back to Indy for favorable arts coverage—and in doing so, we introduced a new, internationally recognized model.
• BUTTER is turning Indy into a true Labor Day weekend destination—boosting our hospitality industry, local restaurants, and the downtown economy. The event generates an estimated $800,000 in economic impact during that weekend alone. It’s not only helping financially; it’s also reshaping the city’s narrative.

A new initiative, implemented last year during the NBA All-Star game, was the ‘I Made Rock’n’ Roll Festival’, which debuted in 2025. What inspired the creation of the ‘I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll Festival’, and how has it been received by the community? With the return of the ‘I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll Festival’ planned for 2026, what new elements or changes can attendees expect?

• When IMRR landed, it was the first time we had seen so many visitors for a first-time event. Louisville, Cincinnati, Austin, and beyond – sharing their road trips to Indy to attend a rock festival with a mission. For GANGGANG, the real win was the opportunity to advocate on a significant platform. With I Made Rock and Roll, the message is right there in the name—we’re using the arts to elevate the value and visibility of Black artists and to assign greater worth to their contributions.
• For IMRR, there’s more to come—more shows, more stories, and deeper engagement. Audiences can look forward to discovering new artists, participating in youth workshops, and exploring the rich history and future of the genre. The festival returns in 2026, and sponsorship opportunities are now available.

How do you see GANGGANG’s role evolving in response to anti-DEI legislation, and what measures are you taking to ensure continued support for local arts initiatives?

• GANGGANG saw the decline of DEI coming as early as 2020—we even hosted two lectures at Ball State titled Is DEI Over? We recognized the shift, even though we know DEI efforts were working. But GANGGANG has always had a broader mission: building more equitable cities through the arts. We believe that equity should be a foundational value in every city, and we know that local arts initiatives are a powerful means of achieving this goal. So, whether DEI is trending or not, our commitment remains the same—we’re doing the work.
• We’re focused on tracking the data and clearly articulating the impact of our work. It’s critical to demonstrate what has happened and why our city is stronger because of it.
• The arts will always exist—with or without institutional support. But what we need to be asking is: what happens to a city when it stops supporting the arts? The real risk isn’t the survival of art—it’s what we lose as a community when we fail to invest in it.

In your State of the Culture address, you announced several collaborations with organizations, including the Madam Walker Legacy Center and the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Could you discuss the importance and key outcomes, and how will they contribute to equitable development in Indianapolis?

• Indianapolis is a collaborative city. When we work together, messages are amplified, and ideas go further. Our partnerships with The Children’s Museum and the Madam Walker Legacy Center are proof of that.
• It raises the question: what else can we pitch? Who else might come to Indy because of this cultural energy? What can we create together, and how can we amplify it? That’s the spirit we’re embracing—one of openness and discovery.
• The outcomes we’re striving for are continued learning, a stronger cultural narrative for Indianapolis, deeper collaboration in the arts, and more robust investment in creative work. For us, equitable development is a form of reparation. And while we may not always have the financial means, we’re advancing that work culturally through creativity, representation, and shared progress.

In a 2022 speech at Creative Mornings, you, Alan, explained, “Our jobs at GANGGANG are to make cities equitable by revealing their truth through creative advocacy and programming… The GANGGANG way has always been to center creatives; what, in your opinion, has this accomplished?  

• “A city is in a dangerous place when its creatives stop dreaming.” — Alan Bacon Jr.
  At one point, Indianapolis was losing its creative talent—but GANGGANG stepped in to change that. We activated the creative economy at scale, and the results are clear: more programming, more funding, and more artistic activity throughout the city. Indy’s creative pulse is stronger than ever.
• We’ve retained and attracted creative talent—and we can track that impact. There are more jobs in the arts in Indianapolis than before. We’ve created a new economic engine with Labor Day weekend, and Indy now has a strong cultural partner. This isn’t just GANGGANG—it’s all of us, working together, and it’s working. Our city is dreaming bigger, aiming higher, and building momentum. With this talent, we have a real chance to shape Indy’s future.

Where is Indy headed with all this? What do we need to do collectively as a community to further empower and integrate artists and their work into our places, our businesses, our events, and our ways of life? 

• When you truly center artists, everything shifts—our behaviors, our systems, even our city models. That’s what we’re proposing: putting the arts at the heart of how cities function. If we do that, we’ll begin to see legislation that supports artists—policies that address affordable housing, funding for bold creative ideas, and, critically, access to health insurance. Empowering artists means investing in the infrastructure that supports them, not just with applause, but with real resources. I hope that’s where Indy is headed. That’s how we create a city that’s not only creative but truly equitable.