About Us

Equity Statement

Because jazz is rooted in the African American community, it allows the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation (IJF) the honor of celebrating an art form that is a foremost American contribution to world culture; it invites opportunities for employment of people of color; it demands the responsibility to curate a genre of music that reflects expression of the socially unjust experience of Black men and women in America; and it requires sharing the richness of the Black culture. Indianapolis' jazz roots can be traced from the late 19th century to the mid-twentieth century when the city's Indiana Avenue rivaled Chicago, New Orleans, Kansas City, and New York as one of the hottest jazz scenes in the country. Over the last several decades urban development has caused detrimental changes to traditionally black neighborhoods, scattering their populations, closing their businesses, closeting their significant history, and undermining their cultural and social institutions. Additionally, artists of color, both past and present have been notoriously undervalued. Indianapolis Jazz Foundation works to reverse these detrimental effects by advancing artists of color and female artists, educating the community about the legacy of both yesterday’s and today’s artists, and perpetuating the art form through performance and commissioned works.