After months of planning, Peaceful Valley Heritage’s Art Week is under way.
The week began on May 10 with an event highlighting collaboration between PVH and Brown County Schools. A visual arts awards took place at the Brown County Art Gallery on May 10. The show will be on display at the gallery throughout Art Week.
On Wednesday, May 12, the Brown County Art Guild will honor the finalists for the essay contest awards. This event is at 7 p.m., also at the Brown County Art Gallery.
Anchoring this week will be the dedication of the new Indiana Historical Marker, “Art Colony of Brown County,” highlighting the county as an historical art community. The marker details the foundation of the area as an artist colony in the early 1900s, gaining Midwestern and then national renown.
The unveiling of the marker will be Thursday, May 13 at 3:30 p.m. at the northeast corner of the Village Green.
Many speakers will be present including Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Casey Pfeiffer from the Indiana Historical Bureau, James Glass from Historic Preservation and Heritage Consulting, Mark Dollase with Indiana Landmarks, Brown County Schools Superintendent Laura Hammack and Nashville Town Council President Jane Gore.
All are invited to attend and there will be plenty of space for social distancing.
A Kids Day will take place Saturday, May 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Village Green, with music from The Foster Twins, Angie Aumage, Allie Billie and Nate Tipton, magic from Briar Cox and a reptile show from Liz Marthaler.
Art stations will be set up and available to enjoy all day, with activities led by local artists. Local artist Anabel Hopkins will offer a free art session from 2 to 3 p.m. for children, teaching fluid acrylic painting.
Art Association of Brown County members will be on the Village Green each day doing plein air painting, weather permitting.
Storyteller Rick Kelly will lead a tour of Greenlawn Cemetery at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 15.
Local artists will be at the Brown County History Center, 90 E. Gould St., on May 15 as well. All are welcome to meet the artists, see them at work and purchase pieces.
Jim Schultz, with Peaceful Valley Heritage, said that the week began out of a local discussion about the arts and their role in the economic success of Brown County and Nashville.
"It’s an effort to focus on how we began," Schultz said. "If it wasn’t for the art colony, Nashville wouldn’t be what it is today."
Schultz began working in town in 1973 at the Old Hickory Inn, now Out of the Ordinary. He said at that time Nashville was a vibrant art community, with arts, fine crafts, woodworking, glass and more.
"The arts are just going to add value to that," he said. "Wherever you look right now — locally, in your neighborhood, state or the world — it’s about quality of life and place, not about personal belongings. We can ignore it or we can advantage ourselves."
