Art Gallery aimed at attracting even more art lovers

NASHVILLE, Ind. (AP) - It's not unusual for Brown County to be a busy place in the fall, but at the Brown County Art Gallery, the energy was frenetic.

On Saturday, the gallery hosted its grand re-opening after months of renovations. And although it is celebrating, there is still a long road ahead before all the work is done.

Lyn Letsinger-Miller, president of the gallery's board of directors, couldn't hide her excitement about the renovated space.

"This was really a big focus of our fund drive," she said of the newly created art education studio.

Letsinger-Miller said the art education studio will serve multiple purposes. It will give the gallery a place for artists to teach classes, especially with young and old alike often looking for ways to creatively express themselves.

But the studio is just one of the many new features that will be unveiled over the next year. Letsinger-Miller said the idea of expanding the gallery had been discussed for years. She said it was 2008 when the project began to take shape.

"At that point, we thought we could do something on the north end of the building," she said.

But Bob Stevens pushed the gallery to do more. Stevens, who is a board member, campaign chairman and one of three project managers, had bigger dreams. Letsinger-Miller said there had been positive changes in the local art community, and there seemed to be a demand that wasn't being met. So maybe doing more with the gallery would help meet those needs.

"Bob was the key person that picked it up and ran with it," she said.

It would cost about $2 million to make the space an ideal gallery. Fundraising began in earnest with an anonymous family trust that matched donations dollar for dollar. But money came from other sources, too. The CEO of Eli Lilly donated $50,000. The Bartholomew County Community Foundation gave $10,000 - the first time that entity donated to a cause outside of its county. There's been a final push to raise the $2 million.

"We still could use another $200,000," Letsinger-Miller said.

The new space also has state-of-the-art features including high-definition televisions that will advertise area businesses and upcoming events. Other televisions will feature videos produced by the gallery that feature artists who have lived and created in the area.

The gallery has attempted to stay open during most of the construction. Letsinger-Miller said people thought she was crazy when the gallery was open to the possibility of theft with no doors on the new spaces from March until just two weeks ago. With the high school nearby, she said people were constantly warning her that the place would become a party zone or target for vandals. But Letsinger-Miller said there was no vandalism or theft of art or tools while the space remained vulnerable.

"I thought, 'Now that's not going to happen,' and it didn't," she said.

Now, though, the place is protected. Eighteen new security cameras have been installed that are good enough to see if someone in the gallery has a freckle on their nose, she said.

The gallery also leases space to the Brown County Art Association and the Indiana Heritage Arts. Those galleries are currently exhibiting art, although there is still some work to finish.

"We ordered 300 light fixtures. We got 80," Letsinger-Miller said. "There are dark pools everywhere."

Letsinger-Miller said she didn't realize that ordering lights meant they would have to wait for the fixtures to be manufactured. She's managed to use what lights they have to illuminate the art, but some areas will have to wait until the order is filled.

On Wednesday, workers were quickly finishing their tasks. New flooring arrived that morning and there were efforts to coordinate jobs so that the floor workers could start at one end and work their way across the space.

When a hook was needed to help with some of the ongoing construction work, Letsinger-Miller tried to find a box of hooks before devising a quicker plan.

"Well, here. I'll give you a hook. You need one or two?" she asked before taking down a painting in the education studio for the workers.

On Saturday, there was a grand opening celebration of the art gallery's expansion. Letsinger-Miller knew the space wouldn't be finished, but she was hoping visitors would at least get a taste of what's to come although she was hoping to at least have the lobby ready for visitors.

For example, in the Gustave Baumann gallery, the finished space will include two pieces donated to Brown County by the artist's estate. Baumann was a member of the Brown County Art Colony in the early 1900s. He eventually left Indiana and headed to the Southwest where he became known for his New Mexico portfolio of work.

"We wanted to focus on the Indiana part," Letsinger-Miller said. The Baumann gallery will be dedicated in August 2016.

Another room will be dedicated to William Zimmerman and will feature a recreation of his art studio. Zimmerman is known for his commitment to the environment and his bird paintings. On Wednesday, a visitor came in asking about Zimmerman and was curious to know more about the gallery's plans for showcasing the artist's work.

Letsinger-Miller said the new space will give the gallery the opportunity to expand its partnerships with area organizations. Previous events have paired the gallery with the local humane society, the annual Chocolate Walk event and artists interested in teaching classes. They've even partnered with Bloomington-based chef Daniel Orr, showcasing photos he'd taken that were used in his first cookbook. The gallery used Orr's photos along with artwork in its collection featuring farms and food-related images.

"We're always looking for opportunities to try and pull groups in," she said.

Next year, the gallery will celebrate its 90th anniversary. So as 2016 progresses, the gallery will continue to evolve and finish its new galleries. Organizers will also be partnering with various artists for exhibits. For example, in March 2016, the gallery will feature the work of sign maker Gary Anderson.

"He has created imaginary signs for places that don't exist," Letsinger-Miller said. "We're calling the exhibit "Gary Anderson, sign maker. He's Been Telling Us Where to Go for Years."

The gallery will also continue with many of its annual traditions. For the past 30 years, the gallery has hosted a Victorian tea that has drawn more than 130 people each year. Letsinger-Miller said the event is very popular and draws visitors from across the U.S. It also attracts vendors who sell their items to attendees.

While it is great to see art find a home in Brown County, the small community will hopefully also see a boost in tourists. Letsinger-Miller said she is working with a national arts group that may bring its national convention and exhibit to Brown County in 2017. If that plan comes to fruition, Letsinger-Miller said, it could help bring other national conventions to Nashville.

Nashville has a great reputation among artists, as not only a place to buy and sell good art, but as a place to create as well.

While Letsinger-Miller talked about the gallery's expansion, painter J. Rodney Reveal was working on a painting in the education studio. As an artist, he's traveled around the country and has been amazed at the large art centers he has seen in small towns.

"I think that it will be a place that people will come from all over to see," he said of the new gallery. "I think it will spur the economy in this area."

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Source: The (Bloomington) Herald-Times, http://bit.ly/1O5OHBF

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Information from: The Herald Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com