BROWN COUNTY ART AND ARTISTS

ABOUT BCAA

“Let’s make a movie about our Permanent Collection!”

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? The year was 2019. The location was a board of directors meeting for Indiana Heritage Arts. Now, three years later, that simple wish is almost a reality.

The always growing Collection, now 24 paintings, is owned by Indiana Heritage Arts (IHA), a non-profit art organization based in Nashville, IN. The Collection’s artworks feature Hoosier artists whose award-winning paintings were chosen from annual IHA exhibitions. The pictures hang in three public locations. A former IHA board member and a filmmaker teamed up to make “Brown County Art and Artists,” a documentary featuring three Collection artists. BCAA’s mission is to share the Collection, preserve Indiana art for future generations and encourage appreciation for art created by the first artist pioneers and today’s art makers.

Founded in 1979, Indiana Heritage Arts produces an annual exhibition and sale which is now one of the largest shows in Indiana. Some $20,000 in prize money was presented to 23 artists in 2022’s show. The board of directors began to purchase paintings 16 years ago to honor an outstanding artist in the exhibition and to encourage Brown County’s rich art heritage. Brown County Art and Artists is independent financially but offered encouragement by the board. 

Goals and future projects include filming more artists whose work is in the Collection, creating an education project using the films, providing educational materials and a teacher’s guide for use in the classroom, and creating a multi-county arts-centered database with an interactive website for cultural events and art seekers.

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