Nativity scenes from around the world on display

B3 gallery will host “Nativities from Around the World” through Monday, Jan. 6. It includes artisan-made nativity scenes from Mexico, Haiti, Ireland, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Central America, Asia and more. Admission is free.

Pieces are for display only and are not being sold; however, locally made nativities are for sale in the gallery at 61 W. Main St., on the second floor of the Village Green Building.

Hoosier Artist Gallery welcomes new artist

Hoosier Artist Gallery has a new member, artist Geoff Keller.

Keller creates vase-shaped aspen wood sculptures adorned with drawings of birds and other animals. Keller uses archival ink and pencil, making thousands of tiny dots to create his drawings. Indiana’s famous bird artist, Bill Zimmerman, gave Keller lessons on bird morphology; Keller credits him with his inspiration.

Keller’s art is available for viewing and purchase at the gallery, 45 Jefferson St.

Local artists earn Arts in the Parks grants

The Indiana Arts Commission approved 72 projects for the 2020 Arts in the Parks and Historic Sites program totaling $208,071.59.

Brown County-related awards include:

• Anabel Hopkins, $3,000 for “Creative Participation in the Arts” at T.C. Steele State Historic Site.
• Charlene Marsh, $3,000 for “Plein Air Painting at the Beach” at Monroe Lake; Starve Hollow State Recreational Area and Forest.
• Patricia Rhoden Bartels, $3,000 for “A Painted Interpretation of Spring’s Foray of Colors” at Brown County State Park and T.C. Steele State Historic Site.
• Ingrid Skoog of Monroe County, $2,185 for “Echoing in the Winter Woods: Explorations in Sound, Movement and Textile Arts” at Brown County State Park.
• Ronen Chamber Ensemble of Marion County, $3,000 for programs at The House of the Singing Winds, T.C. Steele State Historic Site, January 2020.
• Sam Bartlett of Monroe County, $3,000 for “Crankies in the Park: Brown County” at Brown County State Park, September 2020.

Arts in the Parks and Historic Sites funds art activities that encourage visitors to create and experience art that celebrates the uniqueness of Indiana’s historic sites, parks, lakes and forests.

Call for artists to celebrate women’s suffrage

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, chaired by Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, has issued a call for proposals to Indiana-based artists or artist teams interested in designing and fabricating an original work of art to be displayed in the Indiana Statehouse to commemorate the ratification of the 19th Amendment and to remain a part of the State of Indiana’s permanent public art collection.

Proposals should embrace and celebrate the ideals, people and actions behind the movement for women’s suffrage and the ratification of the 19th Amendment in Indiana and in the United States.

Proposals will be reviewed by a selection panel convened by the Indiana Arts Commission, which will include artists working in public art, public art administrators and citizens. Three finalists will then be submitted to the Indiana Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, which will make the final selection. One proposal will be selected.

The budget for the artwork is $10,000, inclusive of all expenses including design, fabrication, travel, taxes and artist fees. The artwork may be two or three-dimensional and be realistic or abstract in design.

It is the Indiana Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission’s intention that the artwork “travel” within the statehouse, being sited in different public spaces within the building so that a wide array of visitors will be able to view the artwork; therefore the artwork should be able to be relocated readily by facility staff. No minimum dimensions are specified, but the artwork should be able to fit within a standard office doorway (80 inches tall, 32 inches wide).

The Call for Submissions is open to individual artists and/or artist teams over age 18 currently living or based in Indiana.

To read the rules, visit indianasuffrage100.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IWSC_2019-Call-for-Proposals.pdf.

Studio tour applications available now

The application for the October 2020 Back Roads of Brown County Studio Tour is available now. Artists whose studios are located in Brown County — but not within Nashville town limits — are eligible to apply to have their studios on the tour.

Artists who reside outside the county, but whose work is available for sale at a venue in Brown County, are eligible to apply to be guest artists in a participating artist’s studio. Applications can be found at browncountystudiotour.com. The deadline to apply is Jan. 15, 2020.

Musical acts invited to apply for concert series

BLOOMINGTON — The City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department is seeking musicians and bands to apply to participate in the 2020 Performing Arts Series, which takes place May through August in city parks throughout Bloomington.

Performers are selected by a jury based on type and quality of performance, availability, past performance record and cost.

Those interested in applying to perform next summer must submit an artist application online; the link to the application is available at bloomington.in.gov/concerts. Applicants must include within the application links to online music or mp3s, with at least three examples of original music and recent publicity for the individual or group.

Applications must be received by the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department no later than Jan. 10, 2020 at 5 p.m. to receive full consideration.

The schedule of performances includes:

• Peoples Park Thursday Concerts, May through August from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Peoples Park
• Music on the Monroe County Courthouse lawn in conjunction with the Strawberry Shortcake Festival. The performance is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 7.
• Sunday concert series at Bryan Park, July and August from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Crystal Ritter at 812-349-3725 or [email protected].

Shared art studio space available in town

B3 Gallery has created a space for artists and the community to come together.

S3, the Nashville “shared studio and maker space” is on the second floor of the gallery at 61 W. Main St. It is a meeting area for artists, craftspeople, inventors, clubs, seminars, classes or individuals.

S3 can provide painting and drawing easels; an alternative process darkroom; macro photography equipment; a digital projector; a glass annealing kiln and burnout kiln; PCB etching equipment and tanks; leaded glass tools; metal forming and casting tools; electronics and robotics fabrication tools; various computer numerical control tools; a scroll saw; band saw; drill press; centrifuge; bench grinder/polisher; laser cutter/engraver; air compressor; vacuum pumps; and chemistry vent hood.

The organizers seek “fun, energetic, enthusiastic and creative people to bring life to the space.”

Donations of under-utilized equipment or specialty tools also are being accepted.

For more information, call S3 at 812-369-6969, email [email protected], or visit meetup.com/preview/S3-the-Nashville-Shared-Studio-Maker-Space.

Gallery seeking artwork to display

B3 Gallery is expanding. The owners are seeking artists to display 2-D and 3-D work. Artists would have a co-op type arrangement but with no work requirements.

For more information, email [email protected] or call 812-988-6675.

State commission offering artist services programs

The Indiana Arts Commission is accepting applications for the On-Ramp Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator and the Individual Advancement artist programs.

The On-Ramp program gives artists ways to enhance business skills, like professional coaching in developing business plans or career goals, and connecting them with state supporters, partners or collaborators.

The application deadline for this program is Jan. 16 at 4:30 p.m. Applications can be submitted using the IAC’s application portal on its website.

The individual advancement program is designed to “support projects that have a positive impact on any phase of an artist’s career” while also directly benefiting the Indiana public or engages a local community, according to the release. Artists who specialize in visual arts, like crafts or photography, and artists who have disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Artists can request up to $2,000 to support their projects. The deadline for this grant is Feb. 6 at 4:30 p.m. and the application can also be submitted through the IAC’s application portal.