A new downtown New Albany gallery is a collaboration.

The first joint exhibit begins tomorrow; visit the Facebook events page.

Local gallery owners collaborate to form Bourne-Schweitzer Gallery, by Brooke McAfee ('Bune Picayune)

NEW ALBANY — A new collaboration is bringing several changes to New Albany's downtown art scene.

Julie Schweitzer, local artist and owner of ArtSeed in New Albany, is partnering with the James Bourne Gallery, located downtown at 137 E. Main St., to form the Bourne-Schweitzer Gallery. They plan to show Southern Indiana artists and new contemporary artists, she said. The first exhibit under the new partnership opens Friday and runs until Feb. 28, and it features the work of Shawna Khalily, a Louisville artist and printmaker who uses intricate woodcuts she carves herself ...

Schweitzer and the Spriglers enable ArtSeed, a grassroots arts collaborative.

It's always refreshing to follow up on an old story and learn it has a proper ending.

May 17, 2017: What, is Gahan annexing the Arts Council, too? Schweitzer out as Executive Director.

So help me, if Dugout Duggins becomes head of the Arts Council, it's time to start mixing those Molotov cocktails.

Kudos to the Spriglers. The usual suspects in New Albany generally suppress grassroots thinking, and because of this, it makes fruition even more delightful.

New art collaborative ArtSeed taking root in New Albany, by Aprile Rickert (Bill Likes Jeff)

NEW ALBANY — Minutes after learning that Julie Schweitzer had left her position as executive director of the Arts Council of Southern Indiana, Jim and Tabitha Sprigler were ready to help with a new opportunity.

Three months later, Schweitzer, who left the Arts Council after nearly years when the board voted mid-May to not renew her contract, is working with local artists and supporters on a new collaboration.

ArtSeed Gallery, of which Schweitzer is executive director, sprung up in the aftermath of her departure from the Arts Council. Schweitzer said the business — which allows artists to work together on decisions to create a grassroots endeavor everyone takes ownership in — is something the area hasn’t seen before, through collaboration with local artists and neighboring galleries, schools and businesses.

Though its base is in an historic home at 1931 Spring St. in New Albany, which the Spriglers have donated, Schweitzer said she feels its reach will go far.

What, is Gahan annexing the Arts Council, too? Schweitzer out as Executive Director.

So help me, if Dugout Duggins becomes head of the Arts Council, it's time to start mixing those Molotov cocktails.

The Arts Council of Southern Indiana would like to update you on some recent developments here at the Council. Our organization is making some changes and entering into an exciting period of growth. We will be sharing more details in the coming months, but we are excited about expanding our reach to surrounding counties, updating our facilities and fostering new partnerships.

Along with any organizational growth comes change. To ensure our mission and vision continue to evolve, we are making some leadership changes at ACSI.

Effective immediately, Julie Schweitzer will be leaving the organization. We appreciate her contributions to the Council as Executive Director over the past several years and her support of our mission in Southern Indiana. We wish Julie well in her future endeavors.

Over the course of the next several weeks, the ACSI Board of Directors will begin our search for a new individual to lead the Council into our next chapter of exciting growth and opportunity. In the interim, we will continue to operate uninterrupted and have identified an interim staff to support the organization.

Thanks again for all your support and look forward to the exciting future.

More on the New Albany Bicentennial Public Art Project.

Following is a note from Julie Schweitzer, director of the New Albany Bicentennial Public Art Project. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make the breakfast, but NABC's Bank Street Brewhouse remains on board with our end of the project's first round this year, described as:

"An interactive sculpture that represents the history or bars and taverns in New Albany."

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Dear Supporters,

The New Albany Public Art Project Breakfast was a fabulous success! There was also another excellent article about the project in the Tribune on Sunday morning, please take a look.

Multi-phase art project builds awareness to city’s history; 20 sculptures to be completed by 2013, by Farrah Johnson

We would like to thank our hosts and project partners Sally Newkirk and Karen Gillenwater at the Carnegie Center for Art and History, and Mike Ladd, Director of New Albany Urban Enterprise Association.

We would also like to thank our benefactor Jerry Finn of the Horseshoe Foundation of Southern Indiana, and sponsors Steve Kozarovich, Publisher and Executive Editor, for their continued support of the project. Steve has committed to printing and distributing a color project catalogue for all four years of the project. Special thanks to Professor Richard Kopp at Purdue University College of Technology in New Albany , along with faculty and students for creating our exhibit signage and developing a collaborative project with our artists. This enthusiasm is what makes all the difference in the success of this project. I am sure that good things will continue to materialize from the relationships formed and nurtured by your participation.

Below are the themes for the 2010/11 Public Art Project. Please let us know if you would like to sponsor a work of art or be more involved in the project. You can view our donor levels and associated benefits on our website.

2010 – 2011 Industry and Agriculture

• Automotive – Manufacture and Sales

• Newspaper – Publishing and Printing

• Metal – Foundries, Blacksmiths and Decorative arts

• Tanneries and Textiles

• Farming, Markets, and Grain Mills -

• Boxes, Baskets, and Clay - sponsor Noelle and Mike Gohmann

• Banking -

I would be happy to discuss opportunities for you to become a part of the project, and welcome your ideas as well. This project promises to gain national attention and will highlight New Albany as a cutting edge cultural attraction for visitors to our community. We appreciate your continued support of this project.

The New Albany Bicentennial Public Art Project: Outdoor sculpture interpreting the city's history and heritage.

The overall theme of the art project is "The River" (Bruce Springsteen, anyone?), and sub-themes include early settlement, glass/industry, steamboats/ferries/bridges, underground railroad, floods, markets downtown, and taverns/breweries.

Schweitzer brings art for the city’s sake, by Dale Moss (Courier-Journal).

(Julie) Schweitzer directs the New Albany Bicentennial Public Art project, an effort to spread story-telling sculpture through downtown. Proposals are being accepted for five pieces to be put up before the end of April.

However, the columnist Moss fails to note that one proposal already has been rejected: