The Kentucky Arts Council recently awarded $800,088 to 14 Kentucky arts organizations in the Challenge Grant category. The grants support operational funding for arts organizations whose primary purpose is to provide arts programs and services to benefit the public. These funds are granted for FY2008, which is July 1, 2007 thru June 30, 2008.
“The Challenge Grant Program along with the General Operating Support Grant Programs work as a partnership between arts organizations and the Arts Council to bring the arts to Kentuckians,” says Lori Meadows, Executive Director of the Kentucky Arts Council. “Arts organizations in the Challenge Grant Program are rewarded for successful private fundraising efforts, as well as their efforts to provide public value to their communities through the arts
The Arts Council’s grant match is based on an organization’s ability to leverage unrestricted contributed revenues for general operating purposes from individuals, businesses, united arts funds, foundations and local governments. Additional expectations of the Challenge Grant Program are that grantees will increase arts participation, promote diverse arts and culture and help build an efficient arts delivery system across the state. Many of the grantees use these funds exclusively to advance educational programming.
In the next granting cycle (FY2009), the Kentucky Arts Council’s Challenge Grant Program along with the General Operating Support Programs will be combined into a new arts organization grant program, the Kentucky Arts Partnership Program that is designed to enhance the arts delivery system across the commonwealth. For more information about the Kentucky Arts Council’s operational support programs, contact Dan Strauss, Arts Program Branch Manager, at (502) 564-8110 ext. 474 or Dan.Strauss@ky.gov.
Funding for the Kentucky Arts Council is provided by the Kentucky State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
NOTE TO EDITORS: FY2008 Challenge Grants recipients are listed below.
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The Kentucky Arts Council is a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet that creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Every $1 in grant funds awarded by the Kentucky Arts Council helps grantees secure $15 in earned income and matching funds from individuals, philanthropic sources and other levels of government.
Challenge Grants
Fayette
LexArts $48,372
LexArts is greater Lexington’s premier cultural development, advocacy and fundraising organization, which hosts year-round activities including: five to six visual art exhibitions, five to six art/urban design exhibitions, LexArts for Kids, five Gallery Hops, the Arts Showcase Weekend, and the Best of the Blue Grass Festival. Last year LexArts hosted 632 events at its two locations (ArtsPlace and the Downtown Arts Center) that nearly 60,000 individuals attended. It promotes high quality arts experiences for the benefit of the people through funding, advocacy, technical assistance, communication, and programming initiatives.
Contact: James M. Clark, President & CEO
jclark@lexarts.org
859-255-2951
Jefferson
Actors Theatre of Louisville $162,066
Actors Theatre of Louisville’s principal activities include a seven-play Mainstage Series, a four-play Discover Series, the Humana Festival of New American Plays, three seasonal single-ticket productions and five free Apprentice productions. From mid-August to mid-May, it produces a total of 520 performances of 26 productions including 10-12 world premieres, striving to provide insight into the human experience through live theatre that invigorates minds and emotions, performing new plays and re-imagining the classics. Actors Theatre continues to cultivate its education and outreach programs as well as to increase the number of teaching artists and the Playwriting in the Schools program.
Contact: Jennifer Bielstein, Managing Director
mbrooks@actorstheatre.org
(502)584-1265
Fund for the Arts $88,310
The Greater Louisville Fund for the Arts, as a central fundraising source, provides a focal point for the arts in the community. In the last 58 years, the Fund has raised over $130 million including $7.9 million this past year, allocating those funds to 24 member groups and programs to nearly 200 community organizations. It strives to increase revenues for the arts, to enable the community to become the preeminent regional arts center in the United States and to maximize the impact of the arts on overall economic development, education of children and the enjoyment of living in the community.
Contact: Allan Cowen, CEO & President
acowen@fundforthearts.com
502)582-0100
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft $29,558
The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft demonstrates how art and craft has evolved from traditional to contemporary forms and the diversity of media embraced by international, national and Kentucky craft artists through exhibits, services to artists and education programs. It promotes excellence in the art and craft heritage of Kentucky through a unique collaboration with artists and through public programming and exhibits. Each year over 600 Kentucky artists are engaged in the Gallery Shop, exhibits, education programs and professional development programs.
Contact: Kevin O’Brien, Executive Director
kevinobrien@kentuckyarts.org
(502)589-0102
Kentucky Opera Association $81,148
The Kentucky Opera Association is focused on being a quality leader among regional opera companies and a national leader in developing opera programs for younger audiences. Its mission is to entertain and educate a diverse audience by offering opera of the highest quality. Each year, the Kentucky Opera engages over 360 local and international artists and produces three mainstage productions at the Kentucky Center in Louisville reaching audiences in a six-state region. Along with the productions, the Kentucky Opera hosts OperaWorks (a statewide tour), Opera Puppet Theatre, VISIONS!, Young Artists Program and other educational productions. The Kentucky Opera is nationally recognized as leader in developing unique opera programming for young audiences.
Contact: David Roth, General Director
David_Roth@kyopera.org
502-584-4500
Kentucky Shakespeare Festival $13,185
The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival is a year-round theatre organization providing free summer performances and fee-based education outreach programs. As the oldest, professional, independently operated Shakespearean festival in North America, it enhances Kentucky’s community life by providing accessible, classical theatre and quality educational outreach programs. The Festival’s free summer performances boast the most racially and demographically diverse participation of any professional arts organization in Kentucky, covering all racial, ethnic, social, economic, education and age levels, with an average attendance of 337 (5,389 people overall). Other programs such as Shakespeare Behind Bars, Shakespeare’s Studio, and Shakespeare Alive! continually broaden, deepen, and diversify participation in the arts.
Contact: Curt L. Tofteland, Producing Artistic Director
info@kyshakes.org
(502)637-4933
Louisville Bach Society $3,048
The Louisville Bach Society is a 70-voice volunteer chorus and union instrumentalists that have been performing choral/orchestral literature for the past 42 years, reaching out to the community through Subscription Series concerts and outreach events for school-age children and Louisville’s African-American community. The literature performed spans four centuries, including their annual performance of Handel’s “Messiah”, and they also have performed with the Louisville Orchestra as a core choral group.
Contact: Brench L. Boden, Manager
blboden@iglou.com
502-893-7954
Louisville Ballet $66,438
The Louisville Ballet, in its 55 years, has a vast repertoire of over 160 ballets, including works by Balanchine, Tudor, Aston, Taylor, Tharp, Prokovsky and Stevenson, as well as 62 commissioned works. It strives to present the finest in classical and contemporary works and the best dance education to all, growing the community’s understanding of the value and beauty of dance through educational outreach programs for all ages. Consisting of three wings, the professional company (performing from August to April), the Louisville Ballet School (consisting of over 300 students) and the educational programming (reaching 18 elementary schools), the Louisville Ballet not only brings the joy of dance to thousands, but also moves people to think differently about the world in which they reside.
Contact: Jack R. Lemmon, Executive Director
jlemmon@louisvilleballet.org
502-583-3150
Louisville Orchestra $179,835
The Louisville Orchestra has been instrumental to the development of the music of our time through its extensive commissioning, performing and recording of new music. A full-time 71 member ensemble offers a wide variety of concert series to the community, including classical programs featuring world renown guest artists, lighter classical and pops performances as well as education and family performances. As a musical resource for the entire community, the Louisville Orchestra’s services extend to free public concerts, programs strengthening school curriculum and serves as the resident performing group for the Kentucky Opera and the Louisville Ballet.
Contact: Christopher Miller, Chief Development
cmiller@louisvilleorchestra.org
502-587-8681
Louisville Visual Art Association $11,107
The Louisville Visual Art Association, throughout its 98-year history, has been a leader in the visual arts in Louisville through exhibitions, advocacy on behalf of artists and the visual arts community, arts education and community outreach. Chief programs are Children’s Free Art Classes (for talented children ages 9 through high school), Open Doors (brings the studio experience to community centers and senior citizen centers serving diverse populations with little access to the visual arts), exhibitions, artist advocacy and community forums. The Louisville Visual Art Association encourages an inclusive definition of visual art and supports the idea that the practice of an art creates value both to an individual and to the community.
Contact: Sarah Yates
sarah@louisvillevisualart.org
502-896-2146
Louisville Youth Orchestra $5,735
The Louisville Youth Orchestra enables students to premiere new compositions, perform with guest artists and explore the musical heritage of their region. It provides its 440 young musicians members with a high quality musical experience in such areas as artistic expression, technical achievement, self-discipline, cooperative effort and community involvement.
Contact: Melody Welsh-Buchholz
info@lyo.org
502-896-1851
Stage One: The Louisville Children’s Theatre $26,471
Stage One: The Louisville Children’s Theatre, Inc. dedicates itself to the development and entertainment of youth through providing high quality, professional theatre for young audiences, supporting a learning environment, and building strong family bonds. It has two distinct but related areas of function: live theatre productions (123 student matinee performances and 11 public performances) and educational services. Its in-service training for teachers, classroom workshops and residences, and the Teacher Resource Guide connect drama and the arts to the classroom. Stage One brings personal enrichment, community enhancement and economic benefits to Louisville and the surrounding area.
Contact: Stephen Klein, President Kentucky Center
stageone@stageone.org
(502)562-0171
The Speed Art Museum $81,261
The Speed Art Museum holds a permanent collection of over 13,000 works of art (over 800 objects added in the last year), spanning 6,000 years of world civilization, providing excellent opportunities for participants to learn about art, humanities, history, and different cultures. Along with its permanent collection, the Speed hosts special traveling exhibitions, educational programs, the Art Learning Center, a semi-annual newsletter, and a Family Orientation Area. It strives to discover, together with its communities, the joy and power of great art, becoming an innovative museum nationally recognized for working with its communities to bring great art and people together in a spirit of joy, understanding, and constant discovery.
Contact: Peter Morrin, Director and CEO
pmorrin@speedmuseum.org
(502)634-2700
Pulaski
Lake Cumberland Performing Arts $3,554
Lake Cumberland Performing Arts enriches the lives of the people of the region by offering a wide array of cultural and theatrical programs to bring growth and diversity to the southern and eastern Kentucky regions. It provides year-round activities including the presentation of three categories of professional productions: CenterStage, School Time Theatre, and Children’s Prime Time Theatre. The CenterStage performing arts series presents 10-12 performances per season including musical tributes, classical concerts, musical theatre, dance drama and variety shows. School Time Theatre provides greater access to the arts for area school children through performances based on children’s literature and historic characters with an emphasis on positive values and the introduction of unfamiliar art forms. Children’s Prime Time brings the popular School Time Theatre productions to families during the evening hours.
Contact: Dianna Winstead, Arts Manager, Center for Rural Development
dwinstead@centertech.com
606-677-6000
TOTAL $800,088