Hamilton County Artists' Association History
The Association was started in 1950 by approximately nine artists from the area; most having ties to Noblesville, such as Amanda Kirby, Elizabeth Kaiser, and Malcom Black. Shortly thereafter, Floyd Hopper joined the group. The members had their first art exhibit in Hare Chevrolet's former showroom at 10th St. and Conner St. Since 1950, this tradition of an art show has continued each year. Currently, the exhibit is held in one of the county libraries in the fall. A percentage of the sale of each artwork is donated back to the Association to help fund the art scholarship which the Association awards each spring to a Hamilton County high school senior who will be majoring in fine art.
Twelve monthly meetings are held per year. Approximately half of the meetings are open to the public with educational presentations on art. The other meetings cover Association business, such as membership inductions and determination of the annual high school scholarship recipient. Today our group consists of approximately sixty artist members, thirteen honorary members and twenty associate members.
Past volunteer activities of the Association include demonstrations at local schools, donations of artwork for various charitable auctions, participation in charitable "paint outs," face painting at charitable fundraisers, and special exhibits held at various schools. For twenty-four years the Association created a historic calendar with black and white sketches of various historic buildings around Hamilton County. To commemorate the Association's twenty-fifth issue, the artists' non-historic creations were printed in full color, courtesy of Rowland Printing. Some of these prints from the twenty-fifth issue were distributed during the Association's Grand Opening Weekend, April 27-28, 2007 for the new Art Center.
HCAA now has a place to call home, it's first since 1950. The Association was officially granted use of the historic building of the First Baptist Church, located at the corner of Fifth and Cherry Streets, on May 23, 2006, by the City of Noblesville. The City granted the HCAA 10% ownership and the Association invested an amount equal to the purchase price, fixing up the building with generous grants from the Legacy Fund and the Efroymson Fund (both affiliated with the Central Indiana Community Foundation), The Birdie Fund, and The Noblesville Cultural Arts Commission. Other sizeable donations were labor & material from Burtner Electric, Tec Roofing of Fortville, material from Heartland Industries (our mini-barn), roofing materials; discounts from Beaver Materials, Lowe's, Home Depot; and a new kitchen from an anonymous donor. In addition, there were countless hours of volunteer labor provided by the Association members, spouses and friends, coordinated by Rodney Reveal, who was the construction contractor. The building was restored and renovated with much zeal and loving care.
The Association is proud to call this historic building its home. HCAA welcomes you to the gallery and cultural arts center.
We are a 501-C-3 not-for-profit organization.