With dozens of restaurants that serve cuisine from around the world and markets that specialize in imported products, the International Marketplace neighborhood in northwest Indianapolis is one of the city’s major multicultural hubs.
At the neighborhood’s heart is Indy’s Global Village Museum, a 56,000-square foot facility that houses an event hall, gallery and a large permanent exhibit that showcases the origins of the city’s immigrant residents.
The exhibit is packed with cultural pieces donated by residents. If a country is represented at the museum, that means there’s an Indianapolis resident who comes from that country or has ties to it.
“We represent over 180 countries here. We have galleries that represent all inhabited continents,” said Mary Clark, the museum’s executive director.
Indy’s Global Village exhibits showcase art, clothing and other cultural objects from countries around the world. Click the photos to see details. Credit: Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy
The museum has worked to break down barriers between cultures and highlight Indianapolis’ immigrant communities. But the future of the institution is starting to look uncertain.
Higher utility costs have made the museum more expensive to operate. It now costs about $56,000 a month to run.
The museum has enough money to operate through the end of the year, but faces an uncertain future if they can’t find new sources of funding.
The museum is asking the community to open their pocketbooks to keep the museum thriving.
“If, God forbid, this goes away, it’s not going to just hurt the community. It’s gonna hurt the city. It’s gonna hurt the state,” Clark said.
Since 2021, the museum has worked to introduce Indianapolis residents to their neighbors by holding multicultural events, like Lunar New Year and European Heritage celebrations and cultural summits and events that mix cultures, like its World of Trees exhibit.
Indianapolis residents like architect K.P. Singh, a founding member and former president of The International Center, credit Indy’s Global Village Museum for spurring development in the area.
“The international community here has grown in size, and so has its involvement in opening Indiana to the world,” he said. “A facility like Indy’s Global Village contributes enormously to that. It has become a major anchor that has brought life to some other buildings and spaces around it. That’s a good thing for our community.”
Higher bills, less funding
Since Indy’s Global Village opened in 2021, it has relied on grants, like the Community Revitalization Enhancement District Tax Credit and thousands of dollars in donations from businesses like Walmart and Meijer.
But much of that funding has dried up. The museum received about $237,000 a year from the CRED, but it received its last allotment in 2025. According to the grant’s eligibility rules, the museum can’t receive the grant more than once.
Both Walmart and Meijer also stopped donating.
In response to questions from Mirror Indy, a spokesperson from Meijer’s Media Hotline said the stores receive hundreds of donation requests each year but can’t fund them all.
“This means that despite our best efforts, we’re unable to support every donation request each year, regardless of the type of great work they’re doing. We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to support the Global Village again in the future,” the company said in an emailed response.
Indy’s Global Village executive director Mary Clark reads comments left by museum visitors July 23, 2026. Credit: Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy
Walmart’s director of corporate communications Mark Rickel said the company’s donations vary from year to year based on community needs and grant applications.
Rising utility costs have only made their funding problems worse.
Clark said the museum’s monthly electric bill has risen by $1,000 over the last year.
Altogether, Clark believes the financial situation for the museum seems tougher now than it did during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when government-mandated shutdowns caused a financial recession.
“People are managing their money a lot tighter,” Clark said.
Helping residents learn about each other
Keeping the museum funded is important to Singh, a member of the Sikh community, as he believes it helps connect Hoosiers of different backgrounds.
Singh came to the U.S. from India in the 1960s, a time when overt racism and cultural insensitivity were much more common.
On his first day of work as a city planner, a reporter thought his presence in the building was so uncommon that it was worth putting in the paper.
In a blurb in the Oct. 2, 1967 edition of the Indianapolis News, the reporter wrote “Did you notice? Bearded, turban-topped man looking every bit like a maharaja, looking over an art display at 7:50 a.m., today in the City-County Building.”
“That was my first day. And my coworkers said, ‘You know, you already made the paper,’” Singh said. “They thought I would take offense, but I said, ‘No, I am the first kid on the block. They have not seen a turban before.’”
A turban is a symbol of faith for Sikhs and cannot be removed, but some residents would still ask him to do so.
“It was impossible at that time in some places to have a drink after work because they said you have to take your turban off, and I said ‘No, that can’t happen,’” he said.
But Singh said things have changed greatly over the years, and places like Indy’s Global Village Museum have helped the city’s residents learn more about each other.
“It’s a gathering place for community activity. It’s a place where things happen and people are welcomed and create new things,” Singh said. The museum closing “would be a huge loss for people that do not have their own community center or facility to use.”
How to help the museum
To help avoid additional financial trouble, Clark is encouraging people to check out the museum and attend upcoming events there.
“Other cities have a Chinatown or a Little Italy. We have the International Marketplace and Indy’s Global Village Museum,” she said.
Throughout August, Indy’s Global Village Museum will feature a European Heritage Exhibit that will showcase the stories, traditions and lasting impact of European communities in Indiana.
On Aug. 15, Indy’s Global Village Museum will host a European Heritage Celebration from noon to 4 p.m.
Clark said the museum is also launching a fundraising campaign. You can donate to the museum here.
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Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.
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