IHA Exhibition and Sale 2024

“Woodson Brothers” by Phillip Erbaugh Jay Carter Memorial Directors’ Purchase Award 2023.

~by Paige Langenderfer

Indiana Heritage Arts will host its 46th annual art exhibition and sale June 8 through July 13.

The annual art exhibition has grown to become one of the largest juried art competitions in the Midwest. The competition is open to artists from Indiana or with a connection to Indiana. Prize money given out now surpasses $30,000.

IHA is a non-profit organization founded in 1979 by a group of Brown County artists who wanted a local exhibit featuring the style of art practiced by the artists of the early art colony, like T.C. Steele.

“Steele was a prominent impressionist style painter who found Brown County to be an ideal place to work. It had exceptional natural beauty, was an inexpensive place to live, but did have access to larger markets thanks to the arrival of the train,” said Lyn Letsinger-Miller, IHA Board vice president.

“Steele’s presence attracted many other highly trained artists who eventually came to live here and founded the Brown County Art Gallery in 1926. Nashville’s original gallery remains a thriving art center today and has a permanent collection of early Indiana art.”

Although the majority of the pieces submitted to the annual exhibition are made with oils, there are also pieces done with pastel, acrylic, and watercolor.

Unlike other exhibitions which use photographic images for judging, IHA requires the actual art to be brought to the Brown County Art Gallery for judging. Each artist can enter three paintings or prints. Each year, more than 300 pieces are entered into the competition. Every entry must be listed for sale.

Judges come from across the country and must have a strong resume. This year’s judge is Eric Jacobsen, a plein air painter from New England.

Of the hundreds of entries, the judge selects about 100 pieces that will go into the show, of which only a handful are selected as prize winners.

“Just making the show is a major achievement for an artist whether they win a prize or not,” Miller said.

As part of the annual exhibition and sale, IHA partners with the T.C. Steele Site for an event called Painting Selma’s Garden. IHA artists are invited to the grounds and gardens on June 15 to paint while visitors watch them work with free admission to the site. A ticketed evening reception includes food, wine and a sale of the day’s work.

Miller said she looks forward to the exhibition and the events surrounding it all year.

“It is so nice to see visitors streaming into the gallery to view and buy the work of Indiana’s top professional artists and to enjoy all of the other displays the gallery has to offer,” she said. “The IHA annual exhibition and sale is widely known. Its mission is to support the legacy of representational (Heritage) style art that has deep roots across all of Indiana.”

IHA uses commissions from the sales to provide free year-round exhibit space for IHA member artists, to support other art organizations, and to support various educational programs and student art competitions.

Admission to the gallery is free. It is open daily, from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every other day.

IHA Show and SaleWhen: June 8 to July 13Where: Brown County Art GalleryCost: Free admissionInformation: indianaheritagearts.org

Opening reception: June 7.$20 food, wine, awards presentation

Painting Selma’s GardenWhen: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 15Where: T.C. Steele State Historic SiteReception: 5:30 to 8 p.m. $45 prepaid reservations required by calling Brown County Art Gallery, 812-988-4609