ArtMix

ArtMix is an Indianapolis-based not-for-profit organization that works to transform the lives of people with and without disabilities through the creation of art. The organization started as an annual arts festival in 1980, during a time when adaptive arts programs for people with disabilities were rare in Indiana. Since then, the organization has evolved to provide five core programs: Artists in Residence, Community Classes, the Lolly Project, Entrepreneur Artisans, and Urban Artisans. With these programs and additional special projects, ArtMix provides arts education and vocational arts employment to more than 7,000 people annually.  

The Junior League of Indianapolis, in collaboration with The Children’s Museum, the Indiana Department of Education, and several local arts organizations spearheaded the forerunner of ArtMix, a three-day adaptive arts festival called Arts Unlimiting. The Children’s Museum hosted the event in August 1980. 

In 1982, Arts Unlimiting became Very Special Arts of Indiana (VSAI), the Indiana affiliate for the Very Special Arts national program. In early 2015, VSAI rebranded as ArtMix while maintaining the same mission as its precursor. 

As of 2025, ArtMix provided arts education at the Harrison Center and other Indianapolis locations. Teaching artists specialize and instruct in an array of art mediums, using hands-on training, adaptable tools, and accessible art equipment.  

The Artist in Residence program pairs artists with local schoolteachers who receive tools and lesson plans for students with or without disabilities. Professional teaching artists instruct the Community Classes for people of all skill levels and abilities. The Lolly Project brings art projects to children receiving treatment at Central Indiana children’s hospitals. Teaching artists work with adult artists in the Entrepreneur Artisans studio program.  

Teaching artists Linda Wisler and Emily Compton created ArtMix’s most recognized program, Urban Artisans, in 2001. This paid vocational program helps students with disabilities between the ages of 15 and 22 transition from school to the workplace by teaching them how to produce marketable products, which are then sold at the ArtMix gallery and shops throughout Indianapolis. In 2015, the program received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.  

As of 2025, ArtMix continued its longtime mission of transforming lives through the arts. The organization also, by hosting an annual outdoor festival titled the Arts for All Fest, continues the tradition from which it initially emerged.