FRANKFORT, Ky. ─Those who can’t wait to shop at this year’s Kentucky Crafted: The Market have a chance to preview some of the items available for sale in A Sampling of the 2008 Kentucky Crafted: The Market, a free exhibit which opened on February 11 and will run through May 20 in the main lobby of The Kentucky Center, 501 West Main Street in downtown Louisville. Sponsored by the Kentucky Arts Council, this show features 22 works (all available for purchase) by selected Kentucky artists participating in the 2008 Market.
“I am honored to have my work at The Kentucky Center. It is great to be a part of this exhibit, especially one with such a talented group of artists,” said Linda Fugate-Blumer, a three-year exhibitor in the show.
Each year The Kentucky Center exhibit provides artists with an opportunity to show their work to new audiences and to demonstrate the excellent products available at Kentucky Crafted: The Market. “I had customers searching for me at the Market because they had seen my work displayed at The Kentucky Center,” said Patricia Brock, who has participated in the exhibit for two years.
Jana John, a two-year exhibitor in the show, said, “Being in The Kentucky Center exhibit is a fantastic opportunity to promote the Market and my own work. Last year a man from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who was at The Kentucky Center to see a performance, bought the mask I had in the exhibit. So not only did a lot of local people see my work in the exhibit, but people from outside the Louisville area did too, which widens my exposure.”
The Kentucky Center will host an opening reception for A Sampling of the 2008 Kentucky Crafted: The Market on Friday, March 7 and another reception on Friday, April 4 as part of the First Friday Gallery Hop, held on the first Friday of every month in the downtown arts district.
Now in its 26th year, Kentucky Crafted: The Market is an award-winning retail and wholesale trade show featuring over 300 exhibitors offering the finest crafts, two-dimensional visual art, food products, books and music, along with children’s educational craft activities and cultural entertainment. The 2008 Market will be open to the public on March 8-9 at the Kentucky Exposition Center, South Wing B in Louisville.
For further 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.
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. (EDT)
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.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Participating artists are listed below.
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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.
Participating Artists:
Carlos Fish
Louisville, KY
Sandra Charles
Louisville
Bruce Frank
Georgetown
Eugene & Linda McMahan
Campbellsville
Patricia Brock
Louisville
Carol Reesor
Buffalo
Christopher Hill
Louisville
CJ Fletcher
Louisville
Deborah Stratford
Louisville
Eugene Thomas
Louisville
Christine Kuhn
Lexington
Rebecca Cathleen Hill
Louisville
Judy Rosati
Louisville
Kathleen O’Brien
Harrodsburg
David Toczko
Elizabethtown
Marianna McDonald
Lexington
Michael McCardwell
Shelbyville
Linda Fugate-Blumer
Lexington
PJ Campbell
Catlettsburg
Jana John
Louisville
Wendy Currier
Georgetown