Ohio Valley Creative Energy
SoIn and KY Artists' Collective
SoIn and KY Artists' Collective
Ohio Valley Creative Energy or "OVCE" is a collective of Louisville and Southern Indiana artists, committed to building a contemporary studio arts facility that uses renewable resources to fuel the gas/electricity-dependent fire-arts while educating the public about the importance of sustainability through the creativity and design of art-making.
Since 2005, Ohio Valley Creative Energy’s artists have met bi-weekly, tabled events, offered educational opportunities, and organized art shows to bring this dream to life. Now, we are only a couple of steps from becoming the regional alternative to natural gas and electricity dependent art-making--from having a landmark landfill methane-fueled green arts facility for the fire-intensive medias: ceramics, glass, and metal. We wish to be a leader in environmental stewardship, and be the most economical option for creating these Art-forms in the area.
In partnership with the Clark-Floyd Landfill and Hoosier Energy, we are all set to receive an unending supply of landfill-produced methane gas, a natural by-product of organic decomposition in landfills (notably, a greenhouse gas 23 times more harmful to our atmosphere than carbon dioxide). Until recently, the gas was being burned off in a flare to prevent volatile emissions. But recognizing this wasted valuable resource, OVCE will begin piping the methane (we have received a grant to fund this) across the street into our nearby arts facility for use in our glass hot shop, ceramic kilns, and metal foundry. At the same time, by using this alternative energy source OVCE will be able to offer competitive pricing for studio rentals, classes, and educational outreach. We will strive for true sustainability in every aspect of this arts campus, providing a real model for the future
Here are some of the things that the artists and makers in our collective have been building.
Meet the folks who power the Ohio Valley Creative Energy Collective, a grassroots nonprofit focused on knowledge-sharing with our communities on how we can incorporate sustainability into Art, Making, agriculture and permacultural practices.
