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IHA Exhibition & Sale
June 7 through July 12, 2025
~by Julia Pearson
The 47th Annual Exhibition and Sale of Indiana Heritage Arts, Inc. will take place June 7 through July 12, 2025 at the Brown County Art Gallery in Nashville. The IHA is a nonprofit first organized by a group of Brown County artists who painted in the tradition of the Brown County Art Colony which flourished in the early 1900s.
Fueled by determination to continue the fine arts tradition of these Impressionists, the first show was two weeks long and took place in a bowling alley north of Nashville on State Route 135, where the Quaff On! Brewing Company is now located. The annual exhibition moved to various venues in its early days.
An agreement with the Brown County Art Gallery was eventually reached to provide a home for the annual show and sale, as well as a year-round exhibit space. And when the gallery expanded in 2015, a gift from George and Peggy Rapp allowed for a permanent exhibition space in the new addition.
Today, the Indiana Heritage Arts Show is one of the largest juried competitions of fine arts in the Midwest, with prize money of $30,000 and sales of artwork for $90,000. Selections for the show are judged on-site at the Brown County Art Gallery (not submitted electronically) by an independent judge.
The judge for this year’s show is Lori Putnam, who is known in more than 30 different countries where she has painted, taught, and exhibited. Artists eligible for submitting pieces must be at least 18 years old and a current or former resident of Indiana.
Each artist can submit up to three pieces. Artwork can be done in oils, acrylics, alkyd, watercolor, casein and egg tempera, pastels, drawing, printmaking, and mixed media, and must reflect the legacy of the Brown County Art Colony. If not executed on canvas, pieces must be under glass or plexiglass. Artwork must be framed and available for sale.
Of the 300-400 pieces submitted, 100 are juried into the show. Judging will take place on May 19. The awards reception takes place on June 6. The exhibition and sale opens to the public on the following day.
Since 2006, selected artwork from the show is purchased by the IHA to build the Permanent Collection, which is hung at the Brown County Art Gallery next to the works of the early Brown County Art Colony. Sponsored primarily by the Indiana Heritage Arts, the Brown County Art Gallery, as well as the T. C. Steele State Historical Site,
support is also provided by the Brown County Community Foundation.
Beginning three years ago, the IHA partnered with the T.C. Steele Historic Site to put on the event “Painting Selma’s Garden” at the site. This year, on June 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and free of charge on this day in observance of Juneteenth, visitors can watch the artists at work. Throughout the day, paintings can be purchased, with part of the proceeds benefiting the IHA and the T.C. Steele site.
Lyn Letsinger-Miller, IHA board member and author of the book The Artists of Brown County, describes the paint out: “Painting Selma’s Garden is a beautiful event in a glorious location. I often think how pleased Selma and Theodore would be to see all the artists painting in this sanctuary for art and beauty that they created.”
Selma designed and cultivated the beautiful landscapes around the Steele home, known as the House of the Singing Winds. The gardens include heritage varieties of roses, peonies, and botanical descendants of daffodil and iris bulbs planted by Selma. The historic buildings contain original furnishings, collections, and paintings.
The Selma N. Steele Nature Preserve offers five trails on 92 acres with a variety of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and wildlife to view. You might want to bring sketchbooks or cameras to capture the beauty of a hike in the woods.
A reception featuring wine, food, and tours of the Steele home, studio and gardens culminates this special event from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with a cost of $45 per person.
There will be a panel discussion at the visitors center regarding a three-year artistic project by two of Indiana’s top artists, C.W. Mundy and Rita Spalding called “House of the Singing Winds, En Homage.”
Mundy and Spalding have been painting on the grounds and in the house for a special exhibit that opens this fall at the Brown County Art Gallery. This will be kicking off the centennial of Steele’s passing and the establishment of the Brown County Art Gallery.
The Indiana Heritage Arts Exhibition and Sale provides the inspiration to paint, sketch, photograph, daydream, or pause to write. Author and theologian, Thomas Merton, shared: “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
