The Indiana Arts Commission could be up for a new logo or a tweak that reflects an important part of Northwest Indiana.

After Executive Director Miah Michaelson’s presentation to the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission about the economic importance of the arts on Thursday, Portage Mayor Austin Bonta asked why the state agency’s logo didn’t include a notch in the upper corner of the Indiana outline to reflect Lake Michigan’s presence.

“We’re a Great Lakes state,” he pointed out.

“That’s such a great question to ask,” Michaelson said. The logo predates her tenure at the Indiana Arts Commission, and there has been talk at the agency about an update or a new logo.

In fact, the logo was gifted to the agency by the Indiana Gaming Commission years ago after a discussion about the two agencies sending a similar message about improving Hoosiers’ lives, she said.

Michaelson urged NIRPC members to not discount the importance of art in economic considerations.

Quality of life matters more for communities’ population growth than other measures of economic vitality, she said, citing a study of Midwestern communities by Ball State University economist Michael Hicks.

That includes recreational opportunities, cultural activities, community service, transportation options and quality of life indicators, she said.

“Quality of life matters in people’s decisions to move or stay someplace and drives how attached they feel to where they live,” she said.

“When they are more attached to their communities, they are more likely to stay there. They’re more likely to volunteer together for public benefit opportunities. They’re more civically engaged, and they run for office. They may be one of those people that shows up at your meetings during public comment,” Michaelson said.

When communities are trying to solve a problem, include artists in the group because they’re accustomed to creative thinking that can suggest solutions and approaches that might otherwise be missed, she said.

Michaelson offered numbers to illustrate her points about art.

“Youths who have access to arts opportunities consistently are two times more likely to graduate from college,” she said.

In addition, 68% of tourism is driven by arts, heritage and history, she said.

Visual arts can communicate messages well, she said, making the point that storm drain murals are better than pamphlets at making the point that anything poured into a storm drain affects rivers and lakes.

“Think about committing resources for things like arts,” she said, including green spaces for farmers markets. “An artist who sells something at your farmers market or at an art fair is a small business. Are you engaging them at all? Are you thinking about them as part of your small business development strategy?”

The Indiana Arts Commission is active in Northwest Indiana, partnering with the Northwest Indiana Forum and others on various projects.

“We have become more and more aware of the impact of arts on the economy,” NIRPC Executive Director Ty Warner said.

Newly elected NIRPC Chair Wendy Mis, who also serves as Munster’s clerk-treasurer, acknowledged her town’s commitment to the arts. “We are very much an arts/culture community.”

At its meeting Thursday, NIRPC gave Don Ensign, of Hebron, its Norman E. Tufford Award for excellence in public service. Tufford was NIRPC’s first executive director.

Ensign, a member of the Porter County Regional Development Commission, has been active in a number of boards and commissions, including NIRPC.

“I always tried to be a voice for south of U.S. 30 because sometimes we get forgotten,” he said.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.