TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — As Art Spaces, Inc. is close to completing its goal of honoring the Lost Creek Settlement with a sculpture, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority is offering to match the funds once donations reach $30,000.

“We have a goal of $30,000, and the IHCDA will provide a matching $30,000. So if we raise 30, we get 30 from them, which will push us over our fundraising goal so we’ll be fully funded for this project,” explained Art Spaces, Inc. Executive Director Ally Midgely. 

The IHCDA matching opportunity will run from April 12 – May 27th. Any funds that are donated during that time frame will contribute to the $30,000 needed for the matching funds. People can donate online, or through checks made out to Art Spaces, Inc. and sent to the Art Spaces, Inc. offices at 669 Ohio St. Terre Haute, Indiana 47807.

Art Spaces, Inc. has put in a request for artists and has narrowed down the selection to some finalists who have come to Terre Haute to visit the area and learn more about the community and the history of the city and the Lost Creek Settlement. The artist and design are expected to be chosen and settled sometime around this summer, while the sculpture project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. 

Midgely noted that the sculpture is proposed to go up in Deming Park and will be the fourth sculpture on the Cultural Trail.

“So we’re really, really excited, not only to finish this fundraising but also to be a part of telling such an important story as Lost Creek. It’s been really great just getting to know the story and getting to be a part of honoring and bringing awareness and celebrating the settlement,” Midgely said. “We’ve been working with Cultural Trail Committee members, other community members, and lost Creek descendants on this project, so I’m hopeful that it that this project inspires more people to learn about this history because it is important and it deserves that kind of recognition,” Midgely added.

In addition to the Lost Creek Settlement project, Art Spaces, Inc. has also been working on a community engagement feature for Herz-Rose Park, and the early stages of the Turn to the River phase II are in effect, with big things coming soon.