What would Brown County be like if the artists never came?

That’s a question that young Brown County residents will be asked to examine this spring, as Peaceful Valley Heritage organizes a series of events to celebrate our local art history.

Peaceful Valley Heritage Arts Week is scheduled for May 9-15.

So far, it’ll include the dedication of a new Indiana Historic Marker in downtown Nashville; an essay contest for high-schoolers with a $1,000 top prize, answering questions like the one above; and an art contest for younger students which also carries cash prizes.

PVH hopes to bring on more partners “to add events during this week in hopes of generating opportunities to engage with artists, art galleries, or any other event which can be tied back to Brown County’s art and craft history,” said PVH member Jim Schultz.

The purpose of the weeklong celebration is to “help bring ‘arts’ back into focus in the community,” he added.

Despite the existence of galleries on nearly every street downtown, the degree to which art is still a part of the Brown County experience has come into question in recent years — from visitors, from residents and from outside observers.

In a recent public meeting, Schultz quoted an application that PVH had been working on in an attempt to declare downtown Nashville a historic district. A comment on the application, from Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Paul Diebold, was “when did Nashville cease being about fine art and become a touristy destination?” Schultz said.

Brown County is not the only Indiana community to stake a claim as being rich in art culture, Schultz added. “Brown County has a head start, and this collective art brand and this effort is to reinforce that,” he said in an email last week.

Schools’ involvement

Brown County Schools is on board with two events, Superintendent Laura Hammack said last week.

All art educators are involved in the art creation competition, she said.

PVH will award prizes, funded by an anonymous donor, as follows:

• Kindergarten-fourth grade: Top prize of $250 with two honorable mentions of $100 each
• Fifth-eighth grade: Top prize of $500 with two honorable mentions of $100 each
• Ninth-12th grade: Top prize of $1,000 with two honorable mentions of $100 each

Teachers plan to have projects completed and turned in for judging by late April.

Brown County High School English teachers are working with students to submit entries in the essay competition along the same timeline as the visual art contest.

The essay contest will be open to all high school-age students in Brown County. The theme of the essay has three parts:

What would Brown County look like if the artists never came?

How did these artists influence the local culture and help create a vibrant art community?

What will Brown County look like if we were to focus on the arts when considering our collective path forward?

Top prize for the essay contest will be $1,000 with five honorable mentions of $100 each, Schultz said.

Both contests will be open to all county residents whether they attend Brown County schools or not. More information will be posted to Peaceful Valley Heritage’s Facebook page, or contact Schultz at [email protected].

Historic designations

PVH has been behind two of the three Indiana historical markers installed in the past five years in Brown County.

In 2016, one was installed outside the Bill Monroe Memorial Music Park in Bean Blossom, and in 2019, one went up outside the Nashville House in town to honor iconic Brown County photographer Frank Hohenberger.

The next one, to be installed Thursday, May 13, will mark the “Art Colony of Brown County.” A dedication ceremony is planned for 3:30 p.m. on the northeast quad of the Village Green (“four corners”) near the Candy Emporium.

The marker reads:

“Attracted by the area’s natural beauty and its residents’ rustic lifestyles, a group of professional artists began working in Brown County by 1908. The Brown County Art Colony gained renown as its members exhibited regularly, first in the Midwest, then nationally. Many of the artists worked to capture the character of the landscape in an American Impressionist style. The colony prospered during the American Regional Art Movement (1920s-1940s) and fueled economic development of the region. In response to increased demand for their work, the artists and local partners established the Brown County Art Gallery nearby in 1926. In 1954, several of the colony’s original artists founded an additional gallery, the Brown County Art Guild.”

Schultz believes Brown County is still rich in art culture, and one that’s wider than what some may have labeled as “art” before, like culinary arts.

“I would broaden the conversation to say that anything performed to the highest level of perfection is an art,” he said.

“I found online several sites where the ‘arts’ are being understood for what they provide for humankind. This following quote (by Kelly Pollock) is one of my favorites: ‘The true purpose of arts education is not necessarily to create more professional dancers or artists. (It’s) to create more complete human beings who are critical thinkers, who can lead productive lives.”

Past cultures left their records in art, he added.

“Seems history tells us what we were doing as we continued humankind’s path forward to now.”