By Lucas Sweitzer, Local Editor
The success of an art gallery, according to Broad Ripple Hoosier Salon Gallery Manager Erin Hornbach, is not in the number of those that attend, but in the number of those that submit. And on that level, the Annual Art Exhibition for Hoosier Salons is a huge success.
"We got so many submissions this year," Hornbach said. "It just keeps climbing."
The Wabash Hoosier Salon is hosting its Annual Art Exhibition at the Charley Creek Inn in Wabash, Ind. through Dec. 1. According to Hornbach, the event is great for anyone wanting to support local artists.
"Art galleries just don't usually draw huge crowds," Hornbach said. "Not like sports or other entertainment things, you know. So events like this are really important because they're packed full of actual Indiana artists."
In total, 568 pieces were submitted to be in the show. Of those submissions, 117 were accepted to be split between the Hoosier Salon's three galleries in Indianapolis, New Harmony and Wabash.
There are 27 paintings included in the Wabash branch of the exhibition, all created by members of the Hoosier Salon.
"Well, the Wabash gallery is the smallest," Hornbach said. "So, initially all of the accepted pieces were shown in Indianapolis, and now different parts are touring to the other two, but of course the space the Wabash gallery has couldn't hold it all."
Two paintings in this year's exhibit are Merit Award winners: "Three Spaces" by Mary Grace Corpus and "Spring, Self Portrait" by Katie Whipple. According to Wabash Gallery Assistant Susan Ettley, these two pieces will be with the exhibition through November along with some other added pieces.
"Some kids, kindergarten to high school, submitted different drawings we've recently added," Ettley said. "They look really good - there's about 16 of them - and they'll be with the rest of the exhibit until it closes."
The show is themed "Where Art and History Converge," but according to Hornbach, artists had creative freedom to diverge from the show's overall theme.
"Ever since we first showed the exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair, we've been about supporting Indiana artists . . . ," Hornbach said. "We want to show the rest of the world that Indiana has great and talented artists."
The exhibit is free, and many of the paintings are on sale through November, when the gallery closes.
Ettley says the gallery is already prepping for its next show, titled "Winter Wonderland," to open in December.
