At Indy’s Global Village, you can travel across the world in a few steps.
A six-foot tall statue of the Taiwanese Third Prince welcomes visitors to Asia, while a mannequin wearing a Vinok, a traditional Ukrainian flower crown, greets people entering Europe.
Just a few feet away, there’s a collage from the Central African Republic made of thousands of real butterfly wings, a Costa Rican painting of a seaside village, a wooden bust of Abraham Lincoln hand-carved by a Nicaraguan artist and thousands of other cultural pieces.
They are all part of permanent exhibits inside the multipurpose center on the northwest side. The space also serves as an unofficial museum that celebrates the city’s international population — especially in the area known as the International Marketplace.
“When people from a certain country see that they, too, are represented, you almost see a tear in their eyes,” said Mary Clark, executive director of the International Marketplace Coalition, the nonprofit that operates Global Village. “And they will always stop and point to the things that remind them, ‘Hey, we’re here, too.’”
A museum built by Indianapolis residents
Almost all pieces featured in the exhibits were donated by Indianapolis residents, businesses and cultural organizations. If a country is represented, that means there’s an Indianapolis resident who comes from that country or has ties to it.
The exhibit started in a 750-square foot house that served as headquarters for the International Marketplace Coalition, a nonprofit focused on economic development in the area.
People from various diasporas and nationalities continued to donate items, and the exhibit grew. Eventually, the collection became too big for the house. The organization moved several times to accommodate the collection.
The Polish Cultural Society of Indiana donated Polish dolls, traditional clothing and portraits of famous figures of Polish descent; the owner of the Abyssinia Ethiopian restaurant brought in a tea ceremony kit; the Guatemalan Consulate shared traditional clothing; a Costa Rican woman in the city called her artist son back home to send a painting; a South Korean woman asked her sister to send a traditional dress, called a hanbok; a volunteer at the Global Village from Benin provided a wooden statue from his homeland.
“I got a phone call from a man, and he says, ‘I’ve been in your different spaces, and you never have anything from my country. Can I bring you something,’” Clark said. “I’m like, ‘Sure!’ So he walks in with the Third Prince of Taiwan, which is taller than me, and I’m almost six feet tall.”
The coalition eventually acquired a 46,000-square foot facility and established Indy’s Global Village Welcome Center, now shortened to Indy’s Global Village.
A dragon at Indy’s Global Village Lunar New Year exhibit Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
Flags from more than 160 countries. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
A statue of the Third Prince of Taiwan welcomes visitors to the Asia exhibit at Indy’s Global Village on the northwest side on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
The entrance to Indy’s Global Village on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Credit: Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy / Mirror Indy 
A Lunar New Year decoration hangs from a blossoming tree. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
Statue of a laughing Buddha. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
A dragon and lanterns hang at a Lunar New Year exhibit. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
A mannequin wears traditional Guatemalan clothing. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
A mannequin wears a Ukrainian floral crown, called a vinok. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
A dragon and traditional clothing from various nations. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
Indianapolis residents donate items like this Costa Rican painting of a seaside village, seen on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
Indy Global Village receives items from different cultures for its exhibits, like this piece from its North America exhibit, seen on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
A wall-sized Mexican loteria card at Indy’s Global Village on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
Multicolored origami cranes. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
A mannequin wears traditional Polish clothing. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
A close-up of a Central African Republic collage made of butterfly wings. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
An Ethiopian tea kit. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
South Korean traditional clothing, called a hanbok, Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
Hand-carved wooden bust of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai . Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
Indian dolls on display. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
Polish dolls. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
International Marketplace Coalition Executive Director Mary Clark looks at a piece in the Asia exhibit Jan. 23, 2024. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy
The International Marketplace
The area known as the International Marketplace is a recent creation. The name came from a 2010 land use report for Lafayette Square.
The report encouraged a nonprofit organization in the area that focused on economic growth and development, then called the Lafayette Square Area Coalition, to embrace and highlight the ethnic businesses.
“This area is home to over 100 different languages in two and a half square miles,” Clark said.
The area was renamed the International Marketplace, and the group representing residents, business owners and other interests in the area was renamed the International Marketplace Coalition.
Clark said the International Marketplace has nearly two dozen plazas featuring restaurants and other businesses run by Indianapolis residents with international origins.
“In one plaza you can experience Yemen, Pakistan, Haiti, Nigeria and China,” Clark said. “If you cross the street, you can get Mexican, Ethiopian and Greek.”
Clark said the International Marketplace wasn’t limited to international food. There’s also a variety of other businesses, like a Togolese clothing store, a Nigerien furniture store, Mexican jewelers and many more.
But beyond places to spend money, the area is home to a rich diversity of culture.
The area’s large international population made the exhibitions at the Global Village possible.
A celebration of cultures
Besides being the home of ever-growing permanent cultural exhibits, the Global Village also holds classes and workshops throughout the year, focusing on teaching kids and adults how to play guitar, dance or speak another language.
The center also holds many cultural events and exhibitions. Its next event will be the Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, Jan. 27, from noon to 4 p.m.
Indy’s Global Village is located at 4233 Lafayette Road. More information is available on the Facebook page.
Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @heyEnriqueSaenz.
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