Over 25 international artists come together September 28 – October 1 in Bloomington, Indiana, for the 24th annual Lotus World Music & Arts Festival. The four-day festival packs nine downtown venues with internationally recognized artists representing over 20 countries, including Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Denmark, India, and beyond. The music is as diverse as the geography, showcasing notes of folk, parranda, Ethio-jazz, Latinx alt-rock, polyphonic vocals, French fusion, Appalachian African-American, big Balkan brass, and more.

As the flagship program of the non-profit Lotus Education & Arts Foundation, the Lotus World Music & Arts Festival is one of the oldest world music festivals in the U.S. and the only one of its kind in Indiana. Established in 1994, the Festival now attracts more than 12,000 people to downtown Bloomington each fall for 4-5 days of music and arts from around the globe. Through the Festival, Lotus creates – on a grand scale – the rare opportunity for audiences to experience places far removed from their everyday routines and to broaden their worldview through the arts. In doing so, the Lotus World Music & Arts Festival contributes to the Lotus Education & Arts Foundation mission: to create opportunities to experience, celebrate, and explore the diversity of the world’s cultures, through music and the arts.

Festival passes and one-day tickets will be available beginning August 1. Free activities, family fun, parades, and visual arts are also available on Festival weekend. Preview artist and event details at lotusfest.org.

Annual self-guided driving tour of working artists’ studios, including 17 studios and 24 artisans. Painting, pottery, gourds, jewelry, metal, wood, glass and much more. Meet artists. Watch them work. Buy local art from those that made it. All you need is a free map and guide, available at Bloomington and Nashville Visitor Centers or on website. Most studios open 10am – 5pm daily; some studio hours vary. See map for details.

Watercolorist Rena Brouwer (Delphi, IN) will be the featured artist at the Brown County Art Guild during the month of October. Join us Saturday, October 14 at 2 p.m. for a live music and painting collaboration with Rena & pianist Cheryl Kaldahl. Having created exceptional watercolors for more than 40 years, Rena Brouwer has taught watercolor at national art conventions, colleges, museums, state and nationwide community venues. In 2014, Rena collaborated with music conductor and director Nicholas Palmer and the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, closing their season with the Prelude Project by painting live onstage to the music of Debussy. We hope that our patrons will enjoy Rena & Cheryl’s collaboration as much as her other audiences have!

A reception for the artist will be held Saturday, October 14 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. Join us for an evening of light refreshments and fine art!

Located in the heart of Nashville, the Brown County Art Guild is open during the month of October Monday – Wednesday 11­5, Thursday- Saturday 11-6 and Sunday 12-­4. For more information, call 812.988.6185 or visit http://www.browncountyartguild.org

We are so excited to have textile artist Isabel Berglund at the shop. Join us to help work on her current project! Anyone and everyone is invited to this free community event.

Home Mask Relations: A Social Art Project is a work of art that explores the space of togetherness, relations and home. The artwork will consist of small pieces of hand-knitted patches that, when put together, create a whole. Each person will create their own personal handprint through the knitted surface. The patch will be knit in their favorite knit pattern in order to let each participant create their own personal handprint. They choose the size of the knitting needle and how they want the knit to be. Yarn will be provided at the workshops. Each participant will receive a sheet with information about the project, an example of how to knit a pattern, and a sketch of the finished work.

http://www.isabelberglund.dk/

Textile Artist Isabel Berglund Visits Bloomington
https://www.facebook.com/homemaskrelations/

Join a marine biologist to dive deeper into the science of our new coral reef. These 30 minute talks will feature hands-on elements, tours of our coral reef aquarium, insight from an expert, and time for questions. Each phase of the reef will have a different talk topic. These topics include fluorescence and bioluminescence, unique coral, and megafauna and microfauna.