The Project
Ohio Valley Creative Energy was founded to provide a heat intensive multi-arts facility for glass, clay, and metal artists that will be powered by methane, AKA landfill gas. With the assistance of Clark County, IN municipalities and the fuel produced naturally through waste decomposition at the Clark County Landfill this project will be brought into fruition.

Methane is a nasty greenhouse gas, 23x more potent then carbon dioxide. At most landfills this potential energy is wasted and burned off. We want to utilze this energy source to provide a working example of responsible, alternative fuel consumption.

Ohio Valley Creative Energy has over 30 member artists from all over the region and is supported by the Clark County, Indiana Government, The EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP), The Community Foundation of Southern Indiana, Stewardship Associates, Hoosier Energy, and the Clark County Rural Electric Membership Co-operative (REMC). The involvement of all of these organizations is critical for the successful implementation of this project.

OVCE, Hoosier Energy, and Clark County REMC have united to develop the first commercial-community Landfill-to-Gas (LFG) project in the U.S. Hoosier Energy will use a majority of the landfill's gas to power an electricity generation station that will feed into the Clark County REMC's power grid, providing 1,000's of Southern Indiana homes with "green" power. The excess gas, or flared gas will be donated by these companies to power the OVCE arts campus. This equals to be less than 10% of the total gas flow collected at the landfill.

Glass, Metal, and Clay studios all require an abundance of heat and energy to operate. Because of this, energy prices are reflected in studio costs for artists working in these heat intensive materials. Glass artists pay between $30-50/ an hour for studio time, so working artists can easily spend $5,000 a month just doing their job. This dilemma stifles artists creativity, forcing them to "make objects that sell" rather than art.

At the OVCE Arts Center artists will be able to explore their creativity through experimentation and collaboration, because we will be able to offer them a low cost studio to work from. Studio costs will vary, ranging from $100-300/ per month depending on the studio of choice. In addition to providing a studio space, artists are expected to engage themselves in professional development through OVCE's business incubator program. The goal of OVCE is to produce self-sustainable artists by the end of their 3 year term, leaving their experience with the necessary tools to succeed .

In addition to opening doors of opportunity for artists, community members will be encouraged to take part in low-cost studio classes and workshops, and other educational programs such as tours, lectures, and special events.


The OVCE arts campus will be located adjacent to the Clark County Landfill, the site is still negotiable, but ideally located across from the Knobstone Trailhead of Deam Lake Park, set back in a wooded area north of the landfill. This would provide artists and visitors from both sites to connect by trail, for an all-around earthy experience.

These facilities will utilize green building techniques, using recyclable materials and demonstrating the most efficient architectural designs that take the surrounding environment into careful consideration. The OVCE arts center will be designed by the University of Miami of Ohio Architecture students and faculty in the Spring 2007 semester.

You can expect the OVCE Arts Center to be completed in 2009. We will begin phasing in construction in 2007 in this order:

Phase I Glass Studio and Community Center (gallery & educational space)

Phase II Clay Studio & Multimedia Studio

Phase III Metal Studio