Lake Chapala met all of Joe and Jenny Smith’s criteria for retirement. Not only were the climate and cost of living better than Indiana, the culture-focused couple were drawn to lakeside by the scope of the local arts scene.
“The only problem,” said Jenny Smith, “was that there was no one spot where I could find all I wanted to know about local artists or a convenient place with information about all of the upcoming arts events.”
The former director of the Arts Council for Southwest Indiana, Jenny eventually found that the best solution to her dilemma was to build and launch a new website where everyone preparing cultural or arts-based events could load their own information into the easy-to-use calendar.
Working with husband, Joe, a ceramics sculptor and potter who retired last year from his position as head of the art department at Indiana’s Oakland City University, Jenny now has artechapatlan.com up and running. The site is cleverly designed so that visitors can easily browse the comprehensive site by the sections devoted to music and dance, theater, poetry, written art, visual art and more.
There’s even a section devoted to the “Extraordinary Stories – Unlikely people. This month the Smiths are relating in that section the story of 17 women in Veracruz who struggle to provide food every day for migrants passing through their area on the north-bound train.
“I was a humanitarian aid worker for 20 years,” said Jenny. “Art, in its many forms, is what kept me sane in some very terrible situations. Those experiences are why I was driven to create a place that is focused on all forms of local art. People don’t realize how important the arts are. Art isn’t a luxury, it’s vital. In my case, the arts saved me.”
According to Joe Smith, the new site is really just a resource for local residents. “Jenny says she is doing this site just for fun,” he said. “She loves going to all sorts of events – from visiting restaurants with live music to writers groups to art auctions and exhibits of the work of local artists. It is a handy source of information. We find that even though we’ve built it to focus attention on all of the events, to make it easy for others, we’re referring to our own site and calendar almost every day to check dates and times of the things we want to attend.”
The name of this site is a good indication as to how immersed the Smiths have become in lakeside culture in just their first year here. “Joe loves pottery, he’s even been experimenting with digging and using local clay,” said Jenny Smith. “ArteChapatlan simply means ‘art in the land of small pots’. How perfect is that?
“Soon after we arrived we learned of the small sacrifice pots the original residents of this area put into the lake as part of their ceremonies. Now, Joe is making pots, sometimes with the very same clay. He recently invited a bunch of the kids from our neighborhood to come learn to make rustic pots much as their ancestors did.”
Visit ArteChapatlan.com and browse through some of the sections to explore your favorite forms of the arts. Then take a good look at the monthly calendar for events you want to attend.
There are a number of links on the site for visitors to contact the Smiths with questions, or information about upcoming events, or suggestions for additions to the site.
Those with information to share but who are a little intimidated by all things computer driven can email Jenny Smith directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Facebook fans can also link to information about the local arts scene by visiting the ArteChapatlan page. Just type ArteChapatlan into the Facebook search bar to visit the page and while you are there click “Like.”