The Indiana Arts Commission has awarded $4,000 to the Gary Youth Poet Laureate Society for its 2025 Commencement Program Performance through the Arts Project Support grant program.
In June, the arts commission approved funding recommendations for the Arts Project Support and Arts Organization Support grant programs. Between the two grant programs, 338 organizations in 77 Indiana counties are receiving funding.
“Our organization is less than one year old, and we already have a lot to be proud of — Paij Rhymes is Gary’s first-ever Youth Poet Laureate and the Indiana Arts Commission has awarded us a $4,000 grant to make next year’s competition even better,” said Akilia McCain, founder and CEO of the Foundation.
“We are grateful to the Commission for this opportunity to amplify the voices of young artists and activists in our community,” McCain added.
“Each of the projects and organizations selected to receive funding are doing exceptional creative work in and for Hoosier communities,” said Anne Penny Valentine, chairwoman of the Indiana Arts Commission.
Funding for the Indiana Arts Commission and its programs is provided by the Indiana General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
McCain thanked state Sen. David Vinzant, D-Hobart, and Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, for backing the grant.