The Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University’s own art school, is hosting an annual exhibition, the Allen Whitehill Clowes Collaborative. The exhibition is put on alongside Clowes Charitable Foundation and Hoosier Art Salon. This year's show began on March 7 and continued until April 4, 2026. The exhibit shows Indiana’s top Hoosier Art Salon awardees of the year and others as a part of the competition.
The Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation’s duty is to support and promote the arts and humanities, keeping them preserved. They are a local central Indianapolis organization that gives out grants to help fund the creative fields. There are many different types including for projects like construction, exhibitions or programs and building of essential organization planning and capacities.They also fund youth summer programs as well.
The Hoosier Art Salon originally began in Chicago with the work to do so by native Indiana women from Brown County Indiana in 1925. Their goal was to boost the Hoosier state's art in a larger city with a bigger art scene. The show continued annually there until 1942.
The Indiana State Museum has become a permanent home for the annual show. The awards for 2025 include Stephanie Spay’s “Instinct” oil in third place, J Anna Roberts’s “Just Be Kind, We Are All Pigeons” watercolor in second place, and Carol Strock Wasson’s “Blue Gray Winter Light” oil in first place. This was the 101st annual juried show that took place from Aug. 23 to Oct. 26 of 2025. In the 2025 competition show, 33 hoosier artists received $55,000 in prize money thanks to the organization's sponsors and donors.
The Hoosier art salon has moved its offices to the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center. This was done to save costs, but to also put the organization ‘at the heart of the arts.’
The Hoosier Art Salon does not just host one annual show a year, but has and is planning to host many exhibitions, ranging to monthly or even bi-monthly. The next scheduled one at the Phoenix Cultural Center is scheduled for April 18. This will be an exhibition running for a full month.
The Herron exhibition includes multiple and mediums including oil, gouache, watercolor, acrylic and collage. It also includes not just two-dimensional art, but three-dimensional as well, whether it be included in a painting giving it more depth or sculpture and pottery.
“We felt a connection with Herron, with young artists, with new artist styles and mediums.. Would be a great opportunity to bring The Salon into the 21st century,” said Micahel Quinn, Chief Development Officer for Hoosier Art Salon.
Quinn, who has been with the organization for the last few years, started as a volunteer before becoming president for the organization on a three year term. With a love of the arts, Quinn has worked with the organization to continue the legacy from over a century ago, bringing in artists for many shows the organization hosts a year.
Quinn has shared that they are pursuing future plans for a photography show as they have branched out into other styles from the traditional salon art of landscapes and portraits.
This year, the Clowes Charitable Foundation’s fourth exhibition showcase includes the three winners for the 2026 annual show. Artists from many areas of the state have entered their art for this year's competition. The winners for this year include “Sentiment, Asylum Series #1” by Suzanna Hendrix in third, “Chase with the Iron Horse” by David Tutwiler in second, and for best in show, “Playing In The Laundry” by India Cruse Griffin.
The Hoosier Art Salon hosting this exhibition at Herron comes with hopes for the future. Hosting an art exhibition in an art school brings the call to action that students will see first hand what options are out there for upcoming artists studying. The Salon continues to invite students and community artists and art lovers into their organization’s opportunities from shows, classes and meetings, hoping to continue to grow and keep the spirit of the fine arts alive. Students, staff and visitors can enjoy this exhibition until April 4 of 2026.
The Hoosier Art Salon hopes to continue to host exhibitions at Herron to inspire and connect students with their organization.
Quinn shares that the organization is planning an event with three hoosier artists who have been extremely successful with their work in museums and galleries, not just in Indiana or the United States, but in other parts of the world. The goal of this lecture event is to help teach young artists how they did it and what aspiring students in the field could do to do the same.
“One of the big reasons why we exist is to promote hoosier artists. It’s to help elevate hoosier artists beyond the state lines and beyond our countries borders,” said Quinn.
Devin Bates (they/he) is a journalism major at IU Indianapolis with an interest in writing and the arts. In their free time they can be found working on their project cars or writing, but he also enjoys crafts like cosplay and listening to music or gaming.
‘One Table, Many Traditions’: Interfaith iftar recap
By Cristina Bueno | March 13On March 10, an interfaith iftar brought unity amongst cultures, the goal of the event was bringing communities together and celebrating diversity through dinner, but also to educate the public about Ramadan and Lent. The event was organized by the Egyptian Student Association (ESA), Muslim Student Association (MSA), Middle Eastern Student Association (MESA) and Coptic Orthodox Jags.
IU Indianapolis student to release children’s book on Islamic prophets
By Melanie Contreras | March 12Since August, IU Indianapolis student Tamer Abdul Halim Alsalloum, a sophomore majoring in respiratory therapy, has been writing a book titled “In the Footsteps of the Prophets,” aimed at educating children about the 25 prophets in Islam. The book is set to release on April 1, 2026.
‘Shades of Us’: Campus Center Cultural Art Gallery showcases LGBTQ+ student artists
By Sophie Barker | March 6The Campus Center is a space where many IU Indianapolis students spend their free time between classes, studying and snack breaks, as well as a space for the Indianapolis community to discover different facets of the university. This is part of why Sophia DeWitt, the current Graduate Curatorial Fellow for the Campus Center Cultural Art Gallery, chose to utilize the space of the Campus Center Cultural Art Gallery to showcase artworks made by some of IU Indianapolis’ own LGBTQ+ students.
