What's next for GANGGANG

Axios

13-02-2025

GANGGANG's impact is poised to expand in 2025.
Why it matters: The creative advocacy agency has grown into an undeniable force in Indianapolis. GANGGANG says it has generated nearly $8 million for the local creative economy since 2020 through equitable art fairs, real estate initiatives, youth outreach programs, Black rock festivals and more.
The big picture: GANGGANG has become the city's go-to collaborator to promote and protect Hoosier creators of color while welcoming tens of thousands of tourists during major moments like the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Driving the news: GANGGANG co-founders, spouses and business partners Mali and Alan Bacon, outlined their plans for the organization's next chapter at a recent State of the Culture event at Kan-Kan Cinema & Restaurant.
Zoom in: They're working with Westfield on a project to share the city's racial history, installing public artwork on a parking garage in Plainfield and curating Echo Hollow Nature Park in Hendricks County.
They're also working with the Professional Volleyball Federation to provide creative direction for PVF's first all star-match at Fishers Event Center on Feb. 22.
And the I Made Rock 'N' Roll Festival will return in May 2026 after a 14-month effort to make it more than an annual event.
Flashback: Mali Bacon said GANGGANG was built in 2020 amid calls for equity and social justice with a sense of urgency to answer a critical question: "How do we create something that will stick beyond this moment?"
Knowing that policy reform and funding initiatives in support of equity would ebb and flow based on who holds social and political power, GANGGANG wanted to be something stable that would persist until cities are "equitable by nature."
What they're saying:"So here we are, persisting through what has been an incredible rollercoaster that has made careers (and) shifted narratives about a city and a people," she said. "You know artists that you didn't know before, and you know how to support them more than you did before. You know the value of the culture and who manifests the arts more than you did before."
"GANGGANG's plan worked."
By the numbers: Their events have attracted more than 50,000 attendees.
BUTTER has sold more than $903,000 in artwork, with BUTTER 2025 expected to cross $1 million.
State of play: Alan Bacon said while there is plenty to celebrate, the dismantling of DEI infrastructure across the U.S. renews their focus.
"DEI opened the door," he said. "Culture is enabling us to walk through the door and understand who we are, so much so that our cultural remembrance and search for identity is under a grievous attack."
The bottom line: Expect to see a more intentional GANGGANG in 2025.
"We do not do cool things for the sake of coolness," Mali Bacon said. "We are here to remind places and people of who they are. That's the savior of cities."
Go deeper: Read GANGGANG's inaugural annual report.