Brown County art, tourism to expand with future plan

NASHVILLE, IND. -- A newly established commission hopes to advance the arts in Brown County, already highly regarded as a regional haven for artists and tourists who come to buy their works.\nThe effort draws on the rural, hilly county's heritage dating to the late 19th century, when renowned Indiana painter T.C. Steele founded a local artists' colony.\n"This could be a revitalization of that ... it could re-establish the area as the 'Arts Colony of the Midwest," said Wayne Waldron, a founder of the Brown County Arts and Cultural Commission.\nThe commission was formed in September 2002 to help arts organizations collaborate to better promote the county's artistic significance as well as pursue major arts initiatives, Waldron said.\nBy spring, the commission plans to open a centralized arts information center in downtown Nashville, about 60 miles south of Indianapolis.\nThe center would become a clearinghouse of information about specific artists, art-related events and activities, and will likely keep a year-round events calendar and location map of all the area's artists, Waldron said.\nThe commission also has a larger, long-term plan to construct a regional arts and cultural center that would offer workshops, classes and studio space.\nThe nonprofit commission plans to apply for grant funds and seek other financial assistance, but will also likely begin a major fund-raising campaign, said Patricia Rhoden Bartels, a commission member and an artist.