Tippecanoe Arts Federation gets new look, name, The Arts Federation
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Tippecanoe Arts Federation is officially rebranding and renaming to The Arts Federation.
TetiaLee, The Arts Federation's CEO, spoke with the Journal & Courier as to what is changing and why now is the time for the change.
"The logo, all of our stationary, our website and also some new linkage between each of the programs, events and activities that we do (are changing)," Lee said, "to kind of point back to the arts. The name change comes from our role as a regional arts organization. This change is to be more inclusive of the entirety of the region and community that we serve."
The Arts Federation is involved with 14 of Indiana's counties, providing "educational opportunities in the visual, performing, and literary arts, outreach programs for both underserved communities and youth, and funding for capital and operational expenses to fellow arts organizations region-wide," according to its website.
"In 1997, some of our other partners across the state changed their names to really reflect their new role from local to more regional," Lee said. "My understanding is, when that change occurred here, there was discussion (of changing the name), (but) many of the individuals that currently reside in Tippecanoe County really wanted us to keep 'Tippecanoe' because a large portion of our services at the time were focused primarily in Tippecanoe.
"Since that time, we've definitely broadened our reach, especially with our programs that have been put into place, since I've been the CEO of the organization. We also have a very diverse donor base now that is reflective of all 14 counties."
One of the programs put in place by TAF has been the Mural Art Initiative that has been "beautifying" community areas since 2008.
"(MIA) is extremely fulfilling," Lee said, "because I am in the field and I see the huge impact that these public pieces of art have on the communities that we're serving. It provides such a great amount of accessibility, especially to those underserved in rural areas that are included in our foot print."
Throughout 2022, more murals and additional school support will be incorporated to the counties that TAF is involved in.
"We have a whole roster (of murals that are being scheduled right now)," Lee said, "to occur between May and October. We're remaining nimble as COVID is still a thing, and we want to just make sure that everything is as safe as it can be. Especially when we're trying to provide additional support for our schools for arts accessibility."
Margaret Christopherson is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email her at mtroup@jconline.com and follow her on Twitter @MargaretJC2
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Tippecanoe Arts Federation gets new look, name
