Pillar Arts History

Pillar Arts identifies at least one active member, and/or Artists on Display program participant in eighteen different Indiana counties, or 20% of the state.

Bloomington Watercolor Society mounts its first full month-long show in the new Spotlight Gallery, IU Jacobs School of Music's student led Overtuned Fest packs the performance space with standing room only, and Pillar Arts partners with IU Center for Rural Engagement and Indiana Arts Commission to operate the 2027 South-Central Indiana On Ramp creative entrepreneur accelerator workshop.

Pillar Arts sponsors Godzilla In Bloomington for a second year in a row, and for the first time ever sponsors the Bloomington Indiana Independent Film Festival.

The Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington rebrands to Pillar Arts. Unifying and solidifying it's enduring role in the regional arts and culture economy of South-Central Indiana. Rebrand work done by Fields and Co. and Outside Studio, Pillar Arts is a name that speaks to providing artists platform, stability, and durability in a changing economy without losing the mission driven heart and soul of the last 15 years.

Pillar Arts acquires By Hand Gallery (est. 1979) in Fountain Square from it's founding membership, and sustains the oldest contemporary commercial art gallery in Monroe County as a second prestigious neighborhood gallery location. This also marks the return of AAGB/Pillar Arts to Gallery Walk Bloomington as By Hand joins under Pillar Arts management.

The first cohort of the Pilot Lights creative artists incubator program launches with a 9 participant cohort. This marks Pillar Arts first significant step toward providing structured support for emerging artists and small creative ventures on a professional, small-business/small-studio growth journey.

In March the last member meeting held under the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington name "Gala-Round the Table" draws over 100 guests to the public unveiling of the new brand, kicking off a months long rollout across signage, member communications, gallery operations, and partner relationships.

After nearly four years, Arts Alliance Center closes its doors again to make way for a larger space in College Mall. Now at 8,500 square feet, the new Arts Alliance Center boasts itself the largest contemporary commercial art gallery in Monroe County, and only rentable performance venue in Eastside Bloomington.

Pillar Arts sponsors the first ever Godzilla in Bloomington Godzilla Weekend film festival. Combined gallery annual artists sales totals exceed six figures for the first time ever.

Programming volume at the Arts Alliance Center reaches an all time high. Bloomington Watercolor Society, IU Jacobs School of Music, IU Horn Club, Upland Plein Air, The Portrait Group, Artists For Climate Awareness, The Hundredth Hill all activate and collaborate with the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington.

In December the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington hires its first Executive Director. A structural shift toward sustained working staff alongside an active board and community artist volunteers.

Arts Forward formally merges with Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington bringing advocacy deeper into the organization mission. The Community Arts and Culture Events calendar launches, groups all across South Central Indiana begin submitting their events.

Indiana Arts Commission awards The Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington an Arts Project Support grant funding ten community workshops with paid honoraria for 12 Indiana artists. Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington supported city-wide Paint Bloomington draws more than 100 participants and produces a group gallery exhibition.

Community collaborations and partnerships grow to include Bloomington Watercolor Society, Upland Plein Air, The Portrait Group, and Artists for Climate Awareness.

Annual Artists sales totals exceed $37,000 for the year.

The Advisory Council expands to more than 20 distinguished members of the aera arts and culture community and local entertainment and venues small business community.

Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington representatives speak at the local Save Our Arts Venues rally urging The City of Bloomington to again invest in the John Waldron Arts Center and historic Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

AAGB representatives also serve on the Waldron Arts Center Task Force consortium alongside Arts Forward Bloomington, the Bloomington Academy for Film and Theater (BAFT), Bloomington Playwrights Project (BPP), Cardinal Stage Company, and BCT Management Inc.

ArtBeat rebrands to Arts Alliance Center and relaunches in a new College Mall suite, and it's first paid staff. The performance FlexSpace venue comes to life, the Artists on Display program begins, The Holiday Arts and Crafts fair is launched, and eight local artists paint a mural collage at the quiet end of College Mall depicting 14 Bloomington arts and cultural destinations.

Arts Alliance Center acquires a grand piano, and IU Jacobs School of Music students begin performing regularly on weekends.

ArtBeat launches and closes responsibly in the same year because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. In it's brief tenure it represented over 35 artists, held weekly dance classes, drop in art workshops, and held stage performances. ART BEAT continues on WFHB.

The Indiana Arts Commission and the Federal CARES Act together provides AAGB nearly $8,000 in rescue grants. The first in organization history. These cover pandemic period expenses and fund professionally produced video profiles of area artists.

The Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington wins The City of Bloomington's 4th of July Parade float contest. 1st place, Best Overall for the second time, creates ART BEAT a weekly radio segment on WFHB, produces 33 artist interviews in its first year.

In November the Board of Directors votes to sign it's first ever tenant lease in College Mall, and duplicates the ArtBeat name for a new gallery space giving local artists, makers, and craft vendors a storefront in Eastside Bloomington.

Arts Forward is established the same year with Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington representatives in the planning committee. Big Gay Debutante Ball becomes an Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington fiscal sponsor recipient.

Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington and Thomas Gallery expands exhibits to 12, during the summer AAGB wins The City of Bloomington's 4th of July Parade float contest. 1st place, Best Overall.

Genre representation on the Board of Directors expands to seven categories.

The first Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington Arts Advisory Council establishes with resounding "Yes!" from all approached. Notable area arts patron Ted Jones personally facilitates several key introductions. Gallery space is offered at 107. N College Ave in Bloomington, IN for member art shows and performances.

Via the new Thomas Gallery AAGB joins Gallery Walk Bloomington for the first time, and weekly programming at the gallery includes free artist demos, poetry readings, and dance parties.

Now an annual member meeting, in March the membership votes to ratify bylaw revisions renaming the Steering Committee to the Board of Directors, and the Chair to President thus aligning operational governance language with Indiana Statute.

This meeting also marks the first time organizational instance of self-reflection upon it's growing structure, identity, and purpose.

The Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington attends Arts Day at the Indiana Statehouse to advocate for Indiana artists at the legislative level for the first time, and AAGB also provides fiscal sponsorship for the Bloomington Open Studios Tour, serving as community arts support infrastructure for another arts program for the first time.

501(3)(c) Non-Profit status is conferred to the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington by the IRS, unlocking tax deductible giving, and grant eligibility. AAGB presents ten Marketing Information Exchange meetings for visual artists and convenes four significant seasonal member meetings.

The Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington begins advocating for its member artists at city and county levels, joins Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District (BEAD) and becomes a familiar face in Bloomington Arts Commission (BAC) conversations.

The bank balance reaches $900 for the first time.

Members elect the first official Steering Committee in January, with seats reserved for each arts genre plus at-large positions. Genre representatives include Visual Arts, Music, Writers, Theater, Dance, Arts Advocates, and Venues/Festivals/Producers.

Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington launches its first regular member program Artists After Hours, and the online Artists Directory with artist representation across genres, and five Indiana counties.

Newly formed Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington was incorporates as an Indiana non-profit on October 11th. An inaugural public meeting is held in The City of Bloomington, City Hall Chambers two weeks later.

The Writers Guild of Bloomington, Bloomington Open Studios Tour, and Dance Network Alliance activate and spin out of AAGB networking events.

In the collapse of BAAC, The City of Bloomington intervenes to save one of the downtown areas most iconic buildings. The John Waldron Arts Center (JWAC); it's purchased for $150,000, thus formally ending the Bloomington Area Arts Council's stewardship of an arts space it had been operating since 1990. Ivy Tech Community College assumes ownership the following month.

A community of practicing artists continues to utilize JWAC and forms the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington (AAGB).

The founding model gives equal voice to four distinct artistic categories and is built from the ground up by artists, for artists.

Three years later BAAC is suspended by the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) as the regional arts partner for South-Central Indiana after years of ineffective top-down management, staff turnover, and financial strain.

The Strategic Plan fails, the region is left without a functioning independent arts organization.

The Bloomington Area Arts Council (BAAC) finalizes its 2006–2011 Strategic Plan, organizing arts development across Brown, Greene, Lawrence, Monroe, and Owen counties.

Among other details, the plan names BloomingtonArts.info as the regional arts hub website and calls for stronger partnerships with the City of Bloomington, the Indiana Arts Commission, and Indiana University.