FRANKFORT, Ky. —The Kentucky Arts Council, with funding from the Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, has awarded nearly $70,000 in Lincoln Project Grants for community arts projects to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth in Kentucky. Through this grant program, communities and organizations collaborate with artists to develop projects that honor Lincoln’s contributions and his connections to Kentucky. Over the next two years, a wide assortment of Lincoln-themed art work, plays, musical performances, and educational workshops will offer thousands of Kentuckians the chance to participate in the arts as well as increase their knowledge and understanding of Lincoln.
On February 12, Kentuckians can be a part of history during the official kick-off ceremonies for the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville. This event is free and open to the public. The inaugural program begins at 10:30 a.m. EST, but the site will be open to the public beginning at 7 a.m. Bus transportation will be provided and public parking is available.
Featured guests are First Lady Laura Bush, Governor Steven L. Beshear, Pulitzer-Prize-winner Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Sam Waterston, best known for his television role as an attorney on Law and Order, and Kentucky Arts Council Performing Arts Directory artists, American Spiritual Ensemble and Saxton's Cornet Band will provide music.
Kentucky's Abraham Lincoln, the KHS HistoryMobile exhibit, will debut at the event before traveling across the state. Representatives from Kentucky's Lincoln sites and Lincoln-related merchandise and art will also be available.
The following is a listing of organizations that have received Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Project Grants by county along with scheduling and contact information for public performances:
COUNTY ORGANIZATION AMOUNT
Allen Allen County-Scottsville Arts Council $2,500
The Allen County-Scottsville Arts Council will produce and present an original theatrical production about Abraham Lincoln’s childhood. The play, written by Kentucky playwright Katie Fraser Carpenter and directed by Liz Bussey Fentress, will emphasize the foundations and principles that Lincoln learned as a child in Kentucky and that he would later use as president. It will be presented to area schools, the public and the Center for Courageous Kids, a local camp for children with life-threatening illnesses.
Upcoming Events: Public Performances
Fall 2008
Elliot Isonville Elementary School $750
Honestly Abe! is a play that will focus on the highlights of Lincoln’s life. Students will work with local artists to create not only the play, but also the costumes, scenery, etc. This will help commemorate the highlights of Lincoln’s life, celebrate his achievements, and tell the critical role that Kentucky and Kentuckians played in his life.
Upcoming Events: Public Performance
Adkins-Caudill Performing Arts Center, Elliot County High School, Sandy Hook, KY
Late April or early May 2008
For more information, contact Sharon Boggs at sharon.sloas@elliott.kyschools.us or call Isonville Elementary School at (606)738-8152.
Fayette The Lexington Opera Society $7,500
The Lexington Opera Society will create an original opera composition and libretto, River of Time: Abraham Lincoln, The Formative Years, through a two-part project. The first phase will present two spring workshops that will show the work in progress. The second will be the presentation of the full-scale opera at the Lexington Opera House.
Upcoming Events: Preview of River of Time during the Our Lincoln Celebration Event
Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington, KY
Sunday, February 10, 2008
7:00 p.m. $25 Adult
$20 Seniors/UK Alumni/Faculty/Staff
$12 Student/Child
For more information, visit www.ourlincoln.org or call (859) 257-4929.
Fayette The Lexington Philharmonic Society, Inc. $3,750
This series of concerts, with the theme of “Lincoln: the Man, the Music, and the Legacy”, will feature a variety of musical pieces related to President Lincoln, including Overture to La Forza del Destino, an opera that he saw 19 times during his Presidency, and the Lincoln Portrait, composed by Aaron Copland and inspired by the President. In collaboration with scholar Nikos Pappas, along with members of the Lexington Vintage Dance Society in period costume, the Lexington Philharmonic will reconstruct and perform Kentucky music from the time of Lincoln.
Upcoming Events: Discovery Series concert
Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington, KY
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
10:00 a.m. $5/seat
11.30 a.m. $4/seat
For more information, visit www.lexphil.org or call (859) 233-4226.
Fayette The Lexington Philharmonic Society, Inc. $7, 500
The Lexington Philharmonic, in partnership with the Lexington Vintage Dance Society, will create and perform Kentucky Music and the Lincoln Family. This 45-minute reenactment will provide an opportunity for citizens around Kentucky to experience music written and performed in the commonwealth for Lincoln and his family, connecting them visually and audibly to the era of our 16th President.
Upcoming Events: Peanut Butter & Jelly Series performance
ArtsPlace, Lexington, KY
Saturday, February 9, 2008
11:30 a.m. FREE
10:00 a.m. FREE
For more information, visit www.lexphil.org or call (859) 233-4226.
Franklin The Kentucky Alliance for Arts Education $3,050
Kentucky smART!, a statewide conference for K-12 teachers held on June 12, 2008, will focus on the life and times of Lincoln and will highlight connections between the social and political events and the culture of the times, exploring the influence of European culture on 19th Century America and the contributions of African culture during that period. Participating teachers will be eligible for a mini-grant in June, 2009 to support a Lincoln-focused, arts-infused classroom unit developed using resources from this conference, culminating in a public event to which the community will be invited.
Upcoming Events: The 2008 Kentucky smART! Pre-conference
Marriott East Hotel, Louisville, KY
Thursday, June 12, 2008
8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
For more information and to view registration prices, visit http://www.kyartsed.org/ or call (502) 875-4266.
Hardin Hardin County History Museum $5, 507.50
The Hardin County History Museum will create a highly realistic, faux-bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln as a boy. Housed in the Hardin County History Museum, it will give visitors an engaging opportunity to “meet” the young Lincoln face to face and learn his story.
Jefferson The Louisville Orchestra $5,000
The Louisville Orchestra has commissioned a new piece for the Lincoln Bicentennial entitled Lincoln at Ease, from American composer, Peter Schickele, for the opening celebration of the National Lincoln Bicentennial in Louisville on February 11, 2008. This piece will be featured in concerts by the Louisville Orchestra throughout the Bicentennial.
Upcoming Events: Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration
The Kentucky Center, Whitney Hall, Louisville, KY
Monday, February 11, 2008
7:30 p.m. (audience must be seated by 7:15 p.m.) $50
For more information, visit www.kentuckycenter.org/ or call (502) 562-0122.
Jefferson Squallis Puppeteers $3,750
Squallis Puppeteers will create and perform an entertaining and interesting puppet show for elementary school children that puts a complex moment in history – leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation – into an understandable format, while delving into Lincoln’s character. It focuses on a young student who, to better understand the Emancipation Proclamation, conjures Lincoln in her imagination and then is able to ask him directly what happened.
Upcoming Events: Summer Reading Program
Main Library, Louisville Free Public Library, Louisville, KY
Summer 2008
For more information, visit www.squallispuppeteers.com/ or call (502) 540-4977.
Jefferson Stage One: Louisville’s Children’s Theatre $3,750
Stage One will develop a new Lincoln play by Deborah Lynn Frockt. The Lincoln Project will use details of a biography and Lincoln’s considerable output of speeches, debates and correspondence, as well as the words of contemporary observers in letters, newspapers, and remarks from friends and foes, to consider race, poverty, literacy and law as defining issues of his day and ours.
Upcoming Events: Public Performances
Bomhard Theatre, The Kentucky Center, Louisville, KY
February-April 2009
For more information, visit www.stageone.org/ or call (800) 775-7777.
Jessamine The Jessamine County Fiscal Court $1,500
Voices of Hall is a production of a docu-drama based on actual accounts of events which occurred at Camp Nelson, depicting the tumultuous lives of family members of the African American soldiers enlisted there. This play will highlight the national significance of Camp Nelson, as an African American enlistment/training center and refugee camp.
Upcoming Events: Public Performances
Camp Nelson, Nicholasville, KY; On tour across Kentucky
Late 2008
For more information contact Mary Kozak at marykoz@aol.com or call (859) 492-3115.
Madison The Folk Circle Association $3,750
The Folk Circle Association, including the Berea Festival Dancers, their director Theresa Lowder and performing artist Jennifer Rose, will present performances and workshops, featuring the costumes and music in Kentucky during Lincoln’s life. These events will take place at a variety of sites, including community venues, state parks, Kentucky schools and Lincoln historic sites.
Upcoming Events: Public Performances
Redbud Folklife Festival, London, KY
Thursday, May 8-Saturday, May 10, 2008
For more information contact Theresa Lowder, Director of the Berea Festival Dancers at
theresa_lowder@berea.edu or call (859) 985-3314.
For more information about the Redbud Folklife Festival, visit http://www.orgsites.com/ky/redbudfolklifefestival/ or call (606) 843-7783.
Mercer Ragged Edge Community Theatre $1,750
The Ragged Edge Community Theatre will develop a Lincoln playwriting competition for children in elementary, middle, and high schools. School matinees, as well as evening performances, will be produced from the winning plays. A call for submissions will begin in Fall, 2008, with playwriting workshops offered for any school that requests guidance within the eligible counties of.Mercer, Anderson, Washington, Boyle, Garrard, Jessamine, Woodford and Franklin.
Upcoming Events: Playwriting Workshop
Ragged Edge Community Theatre, Harrodsburg, KY
Friday, August 1, 2008
Public Performances of Winning Plays
Ragged Edge Community Theatre, Harrodsburg, KY
Wednesday, March 18-Sunday, March 22, 2009
For more information, visit www.raggededgetheatre.org or call (859) 734-2389.
Nelson The Stephen Foster Drama Association, Inc. $3,750
The Stephen Foster Drama Association, Inc. will present The Civil War, a play drawn on letters, diaries and correspondence of Civil War soldiers and their families as well as the words and writings of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and Walt Whitman. It will be offered from July through August 2008 as a historical, educational and musical theatre performance to students and the citizens of Kentucky.
Upcoming Events: Stephen Foster Productions, Bardstown, KY
Monday, August 18-Saturday, August 23, 2008
8:00 p.m. $23 Adults Preferred Seating
$18 Adults Standard Reserved Seating
$10 Children (ages 6-12)
FREE (ages 5 and under)
For more information, visit www.stephenfoster.com/ or call (502) 348-5971.
Perry The Greater Hazard Area Arts Council (GHAAC) $7,500
GHAAC presents the concert, Lincoln’s Legacy: A Musical Tribute on February 15, 2008 by the Lexington Philharmonic, featuring Civil War-era pieces and works inspired by Lincoln. This week-long series includes educational programs and lectures.
Upcoming Events: The Forum, Hal Rogers Center, Hazard, KY
Friday, February 15, 2008
7:00 p.m. $20 Prime Orchestra Center Seats
$15 Adults
$8 Students (ages 6-18)
FREE (ages 5 and under)
For more information, visit www.hazardpas.com/ or call (606) 436-2848.
Pulaski The Center for Rural Development $2, 875
The Center for Rural Development will host “Lincoln Week”, a week of artistic performances related to and about Abraham Lincoln during the week of February 9-13, 2009, across the Center’s 42-county service region in southern and eastern Kentucky. This will include Kentucky Chautauqua performers, study guides for participating schools, and handouts for all attendees. The culmination of the week will be a two-day event in Somerset, with workshops, an art exhibition and performances of the Kentucky Repertory Theatre’s With Malice Towards None.
Upcoming Events: Lincoln Week
The Center for Rural Development, Somerset, KY; various locations across the Center’s service region
Monday, February 9-Friday, February 13, 2009
For more information, visit www.centertech.com/ or call (606) 677-6000.
Warren Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra $3,750
Pam Thurman and Glen Rice’s new play, Lincoln: A Man for All Time, is being adapted for a Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra performance, with children being an integral part of the play. It will be performed for approximately 2,300 school children in free performances across Kentucky. This children’s musical celebrates the extraordinary impact Abraham Lincoln had on our commonwealth and nation.
Upcoming Events: School Performances
Living Hope Baptist Church, Bowling Green, KY
Monday, February 9, 2009
For more information, visit www.bgco.com/ or call (270) 846-2426.
Washington The Washington County Fiscal Court $1,250
The Washington County Fiscal Court is commissioning an oil painting, depicting the murder of President Lincoln’s grandfather (Captain Abraham Lincoln), and the subsequent saving of President Lincoln’s father (Thomas), from being kidnapped. The painting, by artist Mark Selter, will hang in the Lincoln Ancestral Museum for all to see, with a public unveiling ceremony to be held at the Washington County Courthouse.
Upcoming Events: Public Unveiling Ceremony
Washington County Courthouse, Springfield, KY
June, 2008
For more information, visit www.springfieldky.org/ or call 1 (800) 430-5505.
The Lincoln Project grants are matching grants of up to $7,500 to fund projects taking place between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. The next opportunity for organizations to apply for a Lincoln Bicentennial Project grant is April 15, 2008, with an “Intent to Apply” form due on March 15, 2008. Applications, along with guidelines and instructions, can be found on the Kentucky Arts Council’s website at http://artscouncil.ky.gov/guide/prog9/LincolnProject_gdl.htm. For further information about the program, contact Lincoln Bicentennial Project Coordinator Rachel Rasnick at 502-564-3757 ext. 492 or Rachel.Rasnick@ky.gov.
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. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
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The Kentucky Arts Council invests in programs that develop vibrant communities, provide lifelong education in the arts and support arts participation. 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.