Maura's Feature News Article for Scholastic News Press Corps Application

Brian Jones: Giving a Place for Art to Grow

By Maura

In 2012, Brian Jones, a theater professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, opened The Artist's Hand Gallery in Indiana, PA.

“The Artist's Hand gives Indiana a beautiful space to meet with friends over coffee, a place to find beautiful art for their friends and themselves, and it has become the place for organizations to hold meetings and fundraisers.  Our motto is, Where Artists and Patrons meet, 732 Philadelphia Street. I guess that's what we do, provide a special place for people to meet,”said Sandy Trimble, the Artist's Hand’s manager and local fiber artist.  

Most of all, the Artist’s Hand is a place for artists to create and display their work.  The gallery has works of art created by over fifty artists on its’ walls and shelves including Sandy Trimble`s scarfs, and Richard Moore`s paintings and wooden angels.  Recently, Bernie Wilke, the mural artist whose creation is going on the side of the Indiana Theatre building on Carpenter Avenue, painted a lot of the mural on "mural cloth" in the studio.  

“I found out that there were many, many good visual artists in the area that didn't have many people to see their work, and that they needed a gallery. Artists reflect our world.  They help us see it better, and that's a great benefit.  Artists also make the world and our experience in it more beautiful.”  explained Brian Jones.

         Jones’ mother and father strongly supported his idea of being an artist.  His mother studied interior design and his father was an amateur painter who never really had a gallery to paint for.  This building is not only important to their memory and artists everywhere, but also to Mr. Jones's job.  A professor at a University needs to accomplish things that have a regional and national significance in order get tenure.  

After being promoted to Full Professor, Jones considered opening the art gallery that Indiana county's artists needed to grow, but couldn't afford the costs.  Shortly after, Mr. Jones's father past away, and Brian inherited a modest amount of money.

“I thought I should do something for that legacy--the gallery that everyone needed!” said Jones.   Brian Jones used the money inherited from his father, and more that he was able to raise, to give a place for art to grow in Indiana, PA.