The center, founded in 1934 by the Works Project Administration during the Great Depression as the Indianapolis Art League, is located along the White River.

[2] Due to gas rationing during World War II, classes were located at various venues throughout Indianapolis, eventually settling at Public School 66.

Twelve to fifteen years later, the League sought new space, and in 1976 raised $300,000, with large gifts from the Indianapolis Foundation and Lilly Endowment.

With these successes, in 1976 the Art League hired its first executive director Joyce Sommers; she was a former student who had become a board member at the center.

[9][10] The Center features Grave's signature style: the building's entry portico has 32-foot (9.8 m) columns, large rectangular and round windows flank smaller counterparts throughout the facade, and the stucco is painted peach, red ochre and blue.

The west building is home to the Ruth Lilly Library, an octagonal two-story atrium with 12-foot (3.7 m)-diameter circular windows on all sides, and a fireplace with ceramic tiles fired in the center's own kiln.

The east half of the building consists of studios for woodworking, glassblowing, ceramics, metalsmithing, steel and stone sculpture and benchwork.

[5] The Marilyn K. Glick School of Art serves as the center's on-site educational facility, with programming including classes about glass making, woodworking, steel fabrication, ceramics, metalsmithing, textiles, painting, furniture refinishing, and photography.

[14] The Indianapolis Art Centers's exhibition programming began in 1937, featuring the work of artists from Indiana and the Midwest region.

[2] With its current home, three exhibition spaces anchor the Main Gallery in the center of the building, which stretches from the entrance to the rear exit.

"[15] In the summer of 2009 IAC played host to a retrospective exhibit on the kinetic sculptures, models and sketches of Indiana artist George Rickey.

[20] Founded in 2005, designed also by Michael Graves and located on IAC grounds, the ARTSPARK is a 12.5-acre (51,000 m2) sculpture garden connected to the Monon Trail and with access to the White River.

[20] Features of the ARTSPARK include the Nina Mason Pulliam Sensory Path, an amphitheater, a riverfront deck, and over 30 public artworks.

[8] Groundbreaking took place for the park the first weekend of June, during the celebration of the 70th birthday of the IAC, A special groundbreaking took place that Friday at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to celebrate an area of the ARTSPARK dedicated to the students, which would feature the artwork Circle created by artist Sadashi Inuzuka and students from the school.

[22] The park features artworks by Gary Freeman, Robert Stackhouse, Truman Lowe, Arnaldo Pomodoro, John Spaulding, among others.

Board members represent a variety of regional organizations including Indiana University, Eli Lilly and Company, Fifth Third Bank, IUPUI, KeyBank, as well as former chief executive Joyce Sommers.

The SMART program allows 14 young people and their mentors to attend 16 class sessions, three workshops and field trips in the summer.

[12] IAC's summer gala fundraiser is ArtSparkle, which hosts upwards of 400 people, benefiting the center's educational programming.

[26] Started in 1971, the first "art fair" was held in a private home, then the streets of Broad Ripple; the IAC directly benefits from the admission fee paid by guests.

[2][25][27] The festival features over 225 juried artists and craftspeople from the United States and Canada, live music, children's activities and food.

Through bringing people of different backgrounds together, the Art Center seeks to share the historical, artistic and cultural experiences of the holiday to the city.