The new Ohio Valley Art League (OVAL) Executive Director and curator is Eric Smith. He’s the former Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Indiana.
“I'm in charge of the overall vision Strategic Plan Implementation of Ohio Valley Art League, as well as curating the two galleries that we have currently,” Smith said.
He has experience in the non-profit sector, but he said not much in curating.
“I have done work in digital photography before, but never actually curated a gallery exhibit,” he said. “Thankfully, we have some amazing volunteers here. Matter of fact it was my third day we had an exhibit switch. And so thanks to some amazing volunteers, that went pretty flawlessly.”
The exhibit space is modern and engaging, and very close to the Ohio River. The current gallery is "A River Runs Though It," a gallery or artwork depicting either the Green River, or the Ohio River.
Smith began on May 9th, and said he’s currently “getting his feet wet. “ This week he is leading the Kids’ Art Camp, a program created by his predecessor.
Smith is now in charge of curating the two downtown Henderson galleries, which he encourages everyone to visit.
“It's absolutely gorgeous work that's been done by local artists,” he said. “So these are people that might be neighbors, friends, family, people that you might know, that are doing these amazing things.”
One gallery is located at 101 North Water Street, and the other is within the Henderson County Library.
Smith is the only employee of OVAL.
“Before talking to you today, I was doing a cash deposit from one of our exhibits,” Smith said. “And you know, normally in a bigger organization, you would have a finance department that handles that for you. But in a small nonprofit, it's, again, one person doing multiple roles.”
Fortunately he said, there is also a dedicated 14 member-board and group of volunteers to help.
Another important job for him is “fund development” —seeking grants and other means of supporting the organization.
About OVAL
“The Ohio Valley Art League (OVAL) is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting and supporting the appreciation and creation of fine arts in the Ohio Valley region. Through exhibitions, community art events, educational programs, and collaboration with local artists, OVAL seeks to enrich the cultural fabric of the community.”