FRANKFORT, Ky. – For the fourth year in a row, interior design students from the University of Kentucky (U.K.) College of Design will work with the Kentucky Arts Council to design room-like settings utilizing the creations of Kentucky artisans exhibiting at Kentucky Crafted: The Market. This award-winning show of traditional and contemporary art and craft, along with authentic folk art, Kentucky related books, musical recordings and specialty food products, will be at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, March 8-9, 2008.
Sarah McNabb, a professor in the School of Interior Design, is directing students in designing arrangements for the Showcase. Items provided by Market exhibitors will be displayed in an interior setting to demonstrate how Kentucky art, craft and other products can function as everyday furnishings and decorations. This partnership enables the U.K. students to work with professional artists and to see the depth and breadth of work available from Kentucky producers.
McNabb says, “We appreciate the opportunity to work with Kentucky Crafted: The Market Designer Showcase. It provides our students not only a ‘real world’ design experience, but also allows them to see that design centers around the same process, whether it is the design of an interior space or an artistic endeavor. At the Market, students get to meet the artists of Kentucky and they can gain an appreciation of the art Kentucky.”
As an expansion of the collaboration, sophomore students from the College had a new opportunity to team with three first-time Market exhibitors as clients, to develop design proposals for the artists’ exhibition spaces at Kentucky Crafted:The Market. The students worked over a three-month period in design teams with Mary Nehring, a fiber artist from Versailles; David Shadwick, a metalsmith from Wilmore; and Wendy Currier, a visual artist from Georgetown.
McNabb says, “This past semester, our involvement with the design of individual booth spaces for three artists was incredible. Having the opportunity to work with real clients proved to be an incomparable experience for the students. For the School of Interior Design at U.K., this collaboration is an exciting one and one that we look forward to continuing and expanding in the future.”
“These collaborations are part of the Kentucky Arts Council’s efforts to connect with a new generation of designers and artists through contact with universities and colleges. They are also opportunities to use the students’ interior design knowledge and planning,” said Arts Council Product Development Coordinator, Nancy Atcher.
Visitors to the Market can view the Designer Showcase and more than 300 exhibitors of traditional and contemporary art and craft along with authentic folk art, Kentucky related books, musical recordings and specialty food products. Musicians who are represented on the Kentucky Arts Council’s Performing Arts Directory can be heard on the Blue Moon Stage during the two-day retail event. Free activities for children will also be available.
For more information about Kentucky Crafted: The Market 2008 and to receive $1-off-admission coupons, go to www.kycraft.ky.gov or call toll-free 888-833-2787.
Kentucky Crafted: The Market 2008
Kentucky Exposition Center, South Wing B,
Louisville, Ky.
Trade Only Days (Registration for qualified buyers required)
Thursday, March 6, 2008 3:00-7:00 p.m. (EST)
Friday, March 7, 2008 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (EST)
Public Days
Saturday, March 8, 2008 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (EST)
Sunday, March 9, 2008 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (EST)
Adults $8 (Children 15 and under free), Parking $5
Kentucky Crafted:The Market is produced by the Kentucky Arts Council, a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet, that creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. 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.
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The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, invests in programs that develop vibrant communities, provide lifelong education in the arts and support arts participation. Every $1 invested in operating support grants by the Kentucky Arts Council leverages $24 in earned income and matching funds from individuals, philanthropic sources and other levels of government.