What is CELA?
The Creative Economy Leadership Alliance (CELA) is Indiana’s statewide trade association for the creative economy.
CELA represents creative sectors across design, media, music, film, fashion, architecture, digital content, and other creative industries that drive jobs, innovation, and place competitiveness. Its role is to do for creative industries what other trade associations and industry groups do for manufacturing, tech, life sciences, agriculture, and sports.
CELA exists to align sector priorities, and advocate for policies, incentives, and investments that support the growth, sustainability, and competitiveness of Indiana’s creative economy.
In practice, CELA focuses on two core functions: coordinating voices across creative sectors, and lobbying on behalf of creative industries at the state and regional level.
Why this matters
Indiana has long invested in industries it can clearly define, measure, and advocate for. Manufacturing, agriculture, life sciences, sports, and technology all benefit from dedicated trade associations, reliable data, and consistent representation in policy and economic development conversations.
Creative industries have not had that same support.
At the same time, the nature of work itself is changing. Advances in automation and artificial intelligence are reshaping how value is created, shifting demand away from routine tasks and toward skills rooted in creativity, problem-solving, storytelling, design, and human judgment. As technology accelerates productivity, creative capacity increasingly becomes a core workforce asset rather than a secondary one.
Despite employing large numbers of Hoosiers and contributing significantly to the state’s economy, creative sectors have often been treated as supplemental rather than as essential economic drivers. The absence of shared definitions, standardized data, and unified advocacy has made it difficult for policymakers, funders, and economic development leaders to fully understand their scale, impact, and relevance in a rapidly evolving economy.
By organizing creative sectors under a single trade association, working to track and communicate data, and advocating for policies and incentives that reflect the realities of creative work, CELA helps ensure that creative industries receive the same strategic attention and infrastructure support as Indiana’s other priority industries.
This matters because creative industries sit at the intersection of human talent and technological change. They shape how workers adapt, how businesses innovate, and how communities remain competitive as AI reshapes productivity across sectors. Treating creativity as a serious industry is not cultural advocacy. It is economic strategy for a future-ready workforce.
CELA exists to make that shift visible, measurable, and actionable.
The Power of the Creative Economy
In the United States, the creative economy is defined as industries that produce goods and services rooted in intellectual property, including arts, design, media, film, music, publishing, software, advertising, and digital content. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2022 arts and cultural production alone generated over $1 trillion in economic activity, accounting for roughly 4 percent of U.S. GDP and supporting more than 5 million jobs nationwide. When broader creative industries such as design, software publishing, advertising, and digital media are included, the creative economy’s total economic impact is significantly larger.
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INDUSTRY COUNCILS
CELA councils are industry-led working groups that represent specific creative sectors. Each council brings together practitioners, business leaders, and stakeholders to surface real-world challenges, identify policy priorities, and inform CELA’s advocacy and data agenda. Councils ensure that CELA’s work reflects lived industry reality, not abstract assumptions.
MUSIC COUNCIL
The Music Council represents Indiana’s music ecosystem, including artists, venues, producers, promoters, and supporting businesses. It focuses on the economic sustainability of the music industry, addressing issues such as workforce development, infrastructure, policy barriers, and growth opportunities. The council helps elevate music as both a cultural asset and a viable economic sector across the state.
FILM COUNCIL
The Film Council represents Indiana’s film, television, and media production sector. It focuses on strengthening the conditions needed to attract, produce, and retain film and media projects in the state. The council advises on policy, incentives, workforce needs, and infrastructure, and works to ensure Indiana can compete with peer states for production activity and related economic impact.
