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BLOOMINGTON – ������Ƶ’s Bloomington campus will host its second annual Community Arts Awards and Arts Night Out on Friday, November 18 and tickets are on sale. The event will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the ������Ƶ John Waldron Arts Center, located at 122 S. Walnut St. Community Arts Award recipients will receive their awards, and guests will enjoy an entertaining night out with the arts.

Categories and recipients of Community Arts Awards 2016 are as follows: Arts Advocate, Ted Jones; Arts in Business, Monroe Convention Center Bloomington Indiana; Arts in Education, Rhino’s Youth Center; Regional Arts Service, Lawrence County Art Association/The Wiley Art Gallery; and Special Citation/Lifetime Achievement, Lee Williams. Winners were juried by an independent community group.

Ted Jones, former director of technical facilities at the IU Jacobs School of Music, has been a committed arts booster, volunteer and audience member for arts and cultural entities for nearly 60 years. Jones worked at the IU Jacobs School of Music for 38 years, creating welcoming environments for audiences to celebrate IU’s extraordinary talent. Jones has served on boards, commissions and committees for nearly every major arts and cultural entity in Bloomington and has taken key roles in the development and sustaining of Bloomington’s community cultural anchors. Jones is a significant financial supporter for arts and cultural organizations, most recently having provided a $100,000 gift that facilitated the acquisition of the Bloomington Playwright’s Project’s theater building.

Monroe Convention Center Bloomington Indiana is celebrating 25 years in 2016. The Center’s purpose is to bring visitors to Monroe County and demonstrate how integrating the arts into the goals of a business can result in community-changing partnerships. As part of its interior renovation in 2011, the Center established permanent areas for art, as well as a permanent collection. The Center works to add one piece to its collection, which now contains 20 pieces, every other year. The Center participates in First Friday Gallery Walks and hosts six exhibitions and opening-night artist receptions each year, averaging more than 150 patrons each opening. A variety of literary and musical arts events are held by the Center, including the Handmade Market, monthly Writer’s Guild readings, the B‐town Jazz Festival, and others. More than 100,000 people that attend Convention Center events annually.

Rhino’s Youth Center was founded in 1992 and is a place for teenagers and young adults to call their own, offering free after school creative programming in videography, screen-printing, mural arts, writing, youth radio, theatre, music, and much more. Rhino’s youth publish their writing and art in their own publication, The Antagonist. Rhino’s “Make a Band!” program allows youth to form bands and practice together with loaned instruments. Solarium Productions is a youth run theatre group founded by teens that rehearses at Rhino’s, and hosts a weekly improvisation group at Rhino’s on Mondays as well. Rhino’s is currently home to Indiana’s only youth‐run LGBTQ radio program and also houses the only trans youth free clothing store in Monroe County. Rhino’s is a member of the Monroe County United Way and serves over 1,200 teens every month.

The Lawrence County Art Association (LCAA) / The Wiley Art Gallery has worked to further the arts in southern Indiana for 50 years. In 2008, Bedford Revitalization, Inc. donated a historic building to LCAA: The childhood home of nationally known artist William T. Wiley.  Volunteers from LCAA and BRI remodeled the home, creating The Wiley Art Gallery, the only art gallery in Bedford. The gallery is kept open by volunteers three days per week and each Thursday afternoon, artists gather there for a painting session that is open to everyone. An old time music group and other organizations also use the gallery each month. Goals for The Wiley Art Gallery and LCAA include furthering the arts in Lawrence County, working with other groups, providing classes and workshops in the arts, and helping artists improve and market their work. The group welcomes visitors and new members.

Lee Williams has shaped and defined the music culture of Bloomington. Lee co-founded and booked a nightclub called Second Story that was a home for local, national and sometimes international artists, some of which included Gabriel Yacoub, Richard and Linda Thompson. In his early days as a music booker, Williams introduced independent artists to Bloomington and helped establish its reputation as a “music town.” Working in partnership with a group of other strong leaders, Williams founded the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation and started the Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, which established Bloomington as a place for world-renowned festivals. Williams was instrumental in founding the Buskirk-Chumley’s BCT Management, Inc., and his advocacy was invaluable to its success. The fact that people in Bloomington wish each other a “Happy Lotus!” on Lotus Festival weekend every year indicates the level of integration the event has in the community.

In addition to the Community Arts Awards ceremony, guests are invited to take part in art workshops to learn the art of ceramic tile making, theatrical wound makeup, paper book making, and more. ������Ƶ Student Productions will also perform an excerpt from their sold-out production of Sweeney Todd. A beer and wine bar and refreshments will be available. Event and workshop details can be found online at .

Tickets for the Community Arts Awards and Arts Night Out are $25 each and can be purchased online at .

About ������Ƶ John Waldron Arts Center

The ������Ƶ John Waldron Arts Center houses a unique blend of artists, performers, and educators. Visitors can take art classes, enjoy performances, or browse six gallery spaces. For more information, visit . Art classes are offered through ������Ƶ’s Center for Lifelong Learning at  or through ������Ƶ’s Associate of Fine Arts degree program.