As I write this post, several thousand Indianapolis arts and culture supporters converged earlier today at a downtown rally.  It was cold and rainy, bone-chilling weather typical of the wild and woolly Hoosier spring.  Many of those brave souls are probably still dialing down the shivers.

So while it may be counter intuitive that now is a good time to start a new arts magazine focusing on Central Indiana, Clair Weidman, editor and publisher of the new Indy Arts Magazine, can take heart that even on a lousy day, throngs of arts and culture fans are willing to rally in Indianapolis.  Maybe printed magazines are an endangered species in this digital world, but Indy Arts is going for it.  And their debut issue, released earlier this month at the First Friday gallery tours, is a great start.

The 30 page first issue includes a cover story on veteran landscape artist and photographer John Domont, a feature on abstract painter Susan Hodgin and a special section on Phil O’Malley’s paintings.

Since the demise of Arts Indiana early in the decade, Indianapolis has not had a printed arts magazine.  With the emergence of IDADA (Indianapolis Downtown Artsts and Dealers Association) and its sponsorship of First Friday, the arts scene has been on a good path of late.  With the addition of Indy Arts Magazine, it should get better still.

Key point:  the quarterly magazine is so far being distributed free and is therefore, 100% advertising supported.  So if you’re interested in reaching the arts community, consider putting Indy Arts into the mix.

“Rubicon Salon” airs Friday mornings at 9:30 a.m. on WICR-FM 88.7 in Indianapolis.  Rick Wilkerson is host Ingrid Cummings’  guest this Thursday, April 9, from 930 to 10am.  Ingrid Cummings is the author of “The Vigorous Mind”; she is also a contributing editor at Indianapolis Monthly and an associate professor at Indiana University.

From the Rubicon website :

“The program is a conversational radio ’salon’ featuring a wide variety of well-known or uniquely accomplished individuals revealing the defining moments of their lives – the how’s and why’s of their personal or professional turning points.  Listeners learn how these people were changed, for better or worse, and what they’d do differently if they could.”

We will talk about social media, marketing challenges in early 2009, and other relevant topics.  Hope you enjoy it and, as always,  please let us know your thoughts.