BAAC Art Walk

The Batesville Area Arts Council (BAAC) Art Walk is beautiful and inspiring!

On September 17, 2022, I took the opportunity to do the BAAC Art Walk from start to finish. Even though I had seen many of the pieces before it was an unforgettable experience to see them through a different lens. Grab a friend or family member and experience it for yourself!

Inspiration Park Andrea Grimsley, 2021 - the year 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the women’s suffrage movement. This space honors five women whose visions and tireless efforts created organizations that continue to impact on our community today. Two of my mentors and friends are honored with this sculpture. Jolene Rockwood for starting the Rural Alliance for the Arts which later became the Batesville Area Arts Council (BAAC) and Jane Yorn who conceived of Safe Passage, a domestic violence rescue and prevention organization, with friends around her kitchen table.

Explore 2 Learn Hanna Gundrum, 2022 - BAAC, Batesville Main Street, and Kids Discovery Factory collaborated with a Southern California muralist, Hanna Gundrum of Little House Ink, to create a fun and colorful mural that embraces the elements of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) learning. The mural was painted on seven large panels and installed in spring 2022. Local artist Donovan Freehand painted the extensions on the building.

Flower Girls Gary Lee Price, 2003 - Sculptor Gary Lee Price is based in Arizona and has invested his life into creating artworks that “lift the human spirit” and inspire. The Batesville Beautification League donated this piece to the city. This piece reminds me of my own two daughters with the joy and love it shows for the flowers and for life!

Braun Buffalo Mary K Cambron, Weberding’s Carving Shop, Enneking Auto Body, 2016 - In celebration of the state’s bicentennial in 2016, each Indiana county received at least one bison sculpture to display. A five-foot-tall fiberglass bison arrived in Batesville and was painted to portray a realistic representation of the animal. (A jumping bison is on the Indiana state seal.) The German word “braun” in the title means brown. This bison is just a couple of blocks from my home. I pass by it every day and enjoy its presence.

Art on Main BCSC Students, 2020 - The Batesville Community Education Foundation began a rotation of student art at this location in 2020. Art is printed on large vinyl panels and applied to the building. Each piece is displayed for three or four months and then is replaced by new artwork. In fact, since I took these pictures on my walk, there is a different artwork on display. I adore the colors in this mural!

Historical Society Mural BHS Students and Rebecca Davies, 2004 - This mural was painted by Batesville high school students under the direction of resident artist Rebecca Davies. It depicts icons that represent the people and places in the history of Batesville. This mural was installed on another building but when the Historical Society purchased its new home the mural was moved to a wall that surrounds the garden. I love the blues and yellows in this painting and love the blue sky in the background of my picture.

Growing Up Batesville BHS Students, Community Volunteers, Amy McCabe, Mary K Cambron; 2012 This beautiful mural involved hundreds of citizens, thousands of dollars, and donated materials, over 2500 hours of labor, and many community groups working alongside the Batesville High School students to produce a 36 x 36-foot mural. “Painting bees” were held all winter long for the community volunteers to come and paint a section of the mural. The project was managed by local artists Amy McCabe and Mary K Cambron.

A Tale of Our Town Yulia Avgustinovich, 2021 - Crafted in a collage style, this mural combines images of the area’s natural diversity intertwined with graphic black and white drawings connecting present and past. Highlighted in this work are milestones in Batesville’s history including farming, the railroad, and Batesville’s woodworking and furniture-making industries. Elements of Batesville architecture are also dispersed throughout. This mural was painted on 25 metal panels in the artist’s studio and shipped to Batesville. The artist spent a week in Batesville completing portions of the mural directly on the building. Interestingly, the train in this mural is in the exact location as the railroad used to run through downtown Batesville.

Batesville Butterflies Kelsey Montague, 2019 - World-renowned street artist Kelsey Montague created this mural as part of her #whatliftsyou movement that combines the power of art with social media to create an uplifting experience online. This mural depicts monarch butterflies and was featured in the August 2019 edition of Forbes magazine. Monarch butterflies were chosen because this mural is painted on the back of Baxter (formerly Hillrom), which makes the Monarch Airway Clearance System.

Mike Kruse Sculpture Bob Maple, 2018 - Bob Maple was commissioned to sculpt this piece in 2018 to honor the long-time director of the Batesville Memorial Public Library, Mike Kruse. Mike is a lover of live music, magic, history, astronomy, art, and sports, which are all reflected in this piece.

Batesville Memorial Public Library

• Moon Child Bob Maple - Bob Maple is a local metal fabricator and business owner. He has contributed many pieces of public art in the region. Housed in the library lobby, the artist donated this piece.

• Batesville and Oldenburg Wood Carvings Weberding Carving Shop, 2019 - Depicting scenes in and around both Batesville and Oldenburg, Weberding’s Carving Shop, a Batesville-based business created this archway into the children’s area as well as the colorful wood carvings behind it in 2019.

Journeys of the Imagination Gary Lee Price, 2002 - With this piece, Gary Lee Price wanted to say something about childhood and fascination with flight which represents rising above our problems and gaining perspective on life. This piece represents the freedom and the joy of life. It depicts a lot of library-based themes: reading, imagination, and kids. It was installed in 2002, a few months after the first Harry Potter movie was released, and many people asked if it was supposed to be Harry on the paper airplane.

Farm to Table Jakob Schnitker, 2021 - This mural was painted in the summer of 2021 on the back of The Galley, a commercial kitchen and meeting space that supports local food entrepreneurs and businesses. It shows the bounty of produce and prepared foods that you can find in the building at any given time and adds a vibrant mural to the highly visible spot in downtown Batesville.

Our Roots Start Here Kelsey Montague, 2019 - The Mayor’s Youth Council took the initiative to write a grant to bring world-renowned street artist Kelsey Montague to Batesville to create this interactive mural in 2019. Montague, of Colorado, has painted nearly 300 murals around the world, including London, Hong Kong, and Dubai. The mural contains some beloved symbols of Batesville. You can see both the Bulldog mascot and an iconic Batesville marquee.

Acoustic Alley BHS Students, Chaz Kaiser, Mary K Cambron, Kyle Hunteman, Andrea Grimsley, 2019 A vibrant alley in the heart of downtown Batesville includes a custom-made guitar bench and a colorful music-themed ground plane mural. This space was revitalized by a talented group of local artists and students in 2019 through the collaboration of the Batesville Main Street, Office of Community and Rural Affairs, the City of Batesville, and the Batesville Area Arts Council.

Candice Gary Lee Price, 2014 - The sculptures of Gary Lee Price are displayed in 15 galleries throughout the United States. This piece was donated to the city by the Batesville Beautification League and tells the story of gardening. To the artist, gardening represents a bigger picture; one of faith, nurturing, and results; the law of the harvest. Acting on faith and tremendous curiosity, this young lady plants her flower garden and waters it diligently.

Downtown Fountain Batesville Community Members & Organizations, 2002 - This fountain was planned by the City of Batesville for the city’s sesquicentennial. The pavers around the fountain tell some of the history of Batesville. It is set in a lovely small park and is a cool and pleasant place to rest on a sunny summer afternoon.

Children of Peace Gary Lee Price, 2014 - Mr. Price’s works are included in public and private collections throughout the world. The Batesville Beautification League purchased this piece. It depicts both genders - representing all of mankind in the same noble effort. The children are shown holding doves, olive branches, and roses (symbols of peace) which brought in the element of nature. In the sculpture, the children’s bodies form simple arches, beautiful forms that represent peace, harmony, and eternity.

Holzhacker Buam Chaz Kaiser & Andrea Grimsley, 2021 - This clocktower was inspired by European cuckoo clocks. The bezel incorporates leaves, acorns, and walnuts highlighting the native trees of southeastern Indiana. The two woodsmen saw a log at the top of each hour representing the lumber industry which helped found the community and ensure its future prosperity. Local metal artisan, Chaz Kaiser, fabricated the bezel. Andrea Grimsley designed and painted the pieces. The name “ Holzhacker buam” translates roughly to “the woodsman guys.”

Batesville Sky Impact Plan, 2021 - Batesville Sky hosts colorful installations including the Umbrella Sky Project, Color Rain, and Winter Wonder light display. Umbrella Sky and Color Rain come from Portugal and use everyday objects to provide color and patterns. Batesville is only the fifth city in the US to have the Umbrella Sky Project which held as many as 464 umbrellas. It has provided color to our downtown, as well as shade for walking, the Farmer’s Market, concerts, art classes, yoga, Zumba Fitness, and many community events. Umbrella Sky Project has been featured in many regional magazines, newspapers, television spots, and social media posts.