In the middle of 2022, Nickel Plate Arts and the Hamilton County Artists Association started working on increased collaboration between the two nonprofits. Nickel Plate Arts now fulfills administrative and project management roles for HCAA.
The goal of the collaboration is for the organizations to support and amplify what each does without overlapping duties, said Executive Director of Nickel Plate Arts Ailithir McGill.
HCAA has been around for more than 70 years and Nickel Plate Arts was created in 2012, both with headquarters in Noblesville.
“Over the last 11 years, so much has shifted in this community and in the expectation for both arts and nonprofit organizations,” McGill said. “That put pressure on both of us to come together and do something more spectacular together.”
McGill said Nickel Plate Arts has no intention of taking over or collapsing HCAA, but rather hopes to help HCAA and allow it to keep its unique identity.
Leslie Ober, member at-large on the HCAA Board of Directors, said HCAA members had the opportunity to vote on the proposed merger with Nickel Plate Arts, and the overwhelming majority were in favor of the partnership. When Ober was president of HCAA, she said she reached out to McGill after determining HCAA needed additional support.
“This longstanding organization (HCAA) seemed as though it was not thriving as it once did,” Ober said, “and Aili(thir) stepped in to develop an outstanding proposal that would assist the HCAA in substantial ways.”
Nickel Plate Arts provided an operations coordinator, Stephanie Spay, listed as Nickel Plate Arts’ liaison on HCAA’s website, to assist with operations at HCAA. Nickel Plate Arts also helps run HCAA board meetings and offers assistance on important events and programs and oversight and direction for HCAA, Ober said.
“I am most excited about helping HCAA reclaim its incredible reputation in this community, and then explore what that reputation means in the community we live in now,” McGill said.
McGill said Nickel Plate Arts’ strength is strategy and its connections to other organizations. She said Nickel Plate Arts is the first step in the arts for anyone, while HCAA focuses on professional artists. For Nickel Plate Arts to work, she said, HCAA also has to be there. McGill referred to HCAA as “the anchor.”
She said Nickel Plate Arts focused on scheduling more strategic HCAA projects, which meant paring back on activities while still meeting HCAA’s financial needs. Nickel Plate Arts is also looking at how to monetize resources to keep the HCAA building, McGill said, and reviewing the HCAA membership structure.
McGill said some members have stepped back from HCAA since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“HCAA came to Nickel Plate Arts in a time of desperate need following the pandemic,” Ober said. “Our desire has been to allow our artist members to be free to create art and alleviate much of the workload associated with running a successful nonprofit organization. We felt that this partnership would help the arts community here in Hamilton County be even stronger and have more impact to fulfill their missions.”
UPCOMING NPA AND HCAA PROGRAMS
Day of the Day event — The event is 3-7 p.m. Nov. 1 at Nickel Plate Arts (107 S. 8th St.). The event is free, has no reservations and is family-friendly.
Open Studio Figure Drawing — The event is 6-9 p.m. Thursdays in October and November at the Hamilton County Artists Association in The Birdie Gallery (195 S. 5th St.). There is a $10 fee that goes to the model who is posing for the drawing session. For more information, call 317-640-4774.
Juried Artist at NobleMade — The Hamilton County Artists Association will be featuring a Juried Artist member at the NobleMade Gift Shop at the Noblesville Visitor’s Center, 839 Conner St, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays.
Fall Fluid Art Classes — Nickel Plate Arts is holding six workshops taught by Barbara Howrey from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays until Dec. 5. It is $45 per workshop. Contact [email protected] or call 317-452-3690 for more information. Participants must be at least 14 years old.
