The earliest center for artists in Indiana was the Art Association of Indianapolis, founded in 1883. It managed the John Herron Art Institute, consisting of a museum and art school (1906–08). Around 1900, art colonies sprang up in Richmond, Muncie, South Bend, and Nashville. Indianapolis remains the state's cultural center, especially after the opening in the late 1960s of the Lilly Pavilion of the Decorative Arts; the Krannert Pavilion, which houses the paintings originally in the Herron Museum; the Clowes Art Pavilion; and the Grace Showalter Pavilion of the Performing Arts (all collectively known as the Indianapolis Museum of Art). Since 1969, the Indiana Arts Commission has taken art—and artists—into many Indiana communities; the commission also sponsors biennial awards to artists in the state. Indiana has over 450 arts associations.
The state's first resident theater company established itself in Indianapolis in 1840, and the first theater building, the Metropolitan, was opened there in 1858. Ten years later, the Academy of Music was founded as the center for dramatic activities in Indianapolis. In 1875, the Grand Opera House opened there, and the following year it was joined by the English Opera House, where touring performers such as Sarah Bernhardt, Edwin Booth, and Ethel Barrymore held the stage. Amateur theater has been popular since the founding in 1915 of the nation's oldest amateur drama group, the Little Theater Society, which later became the Civic Theater of Indianapolis.
Music has flourished in Indiana. Connersville reportedly was the first American city to establish a high school band, while Richmond claims the first high school symphony orchestra. The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1930. There are 23 other symphony orchestras in the state. Indianapolis Opera was founded in 1975. The Arthur Jordan College of Music is part of Butler University in Indianapolis, and the music program at Indiana University's Bloomington campus has a national reputation, especially its string department, which has attracted some of the world's most renowned musicians to its faculty. The annual Indiana Fiddlers' Gathering, founded in 1973, is a three-day festival featuring the bluegrass, swing fiddle, string band, and Celtic and other ethnic music.
In 2003, the Indiana Arts Commission and other Indiana arts organizations received grants totaling $845,500 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Indiana Humanities Council sponsors programs that include Habits of the Heart, a youth volunteer leadership development program, and History Alive, an educational program featuring live portrayals of famous historical figures. In 2000, the National Endowment for the Humanities supported 61 programs in the state with grants totaling $1,512,452. Indiana's arts programs have a total audience of over 86 million people. The number of contributing artists is nearly 200,000.The Indiana Arts Commission also received funds from state and regional programs.