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Gov. Beshear Announces 2024 Governor’s Awards in the Arts Honorees

Editor’s note: Click here to view images from the event.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 21, 2024) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear joined tourism and arts leaders to honor the nine recipients of the commonwealth’s most prestigious arts awards in recognition of their dedication to sharing Kentucky’s rich arts history.

“I am honored to recognize the remarkable achievements of this year’s award recipients, whose passion for the arts continues to enrich the culture of our new Kentucky home,” said Gov. Beshear. “I want to thank all of our honorees for their inspiring work and deep commitment to building a thriving arts industry across the commonwealth.”

The Governor’s Awards in the Arts celebrate, in nine distinct categories, the extraordinary and significant contributions of Kentuckians and Kentucky organizations to the state’s arts heritage.

“These individual artists create and perform in the commonwealth and across the globe,” said Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Lindy Casebier. “They exemplify what it means to be an artist in Kentucky. Meanwhile, the organizations enrich the lives of our residents and inspire future artists.”

The 2024 Governor’s Awards in the Arts recipients are as follows:

National Award recipient Tyler Childers, an acclaimed country music artist, expressed his pride in representing the rich culture of Kentucky through his music: “In my life, I have been given the opportunity to share my music with the world, and through my music, my stream of consciousness narrative, of a road dog raised in East Kentucky. Of the many titles I’ve picked up along the way, one of the titles I’m most proud of is being a Kentucky artist.”

L. Sue Popplewell, administrator for the Carl M. Brashear Radcliff Veterans Center, emphasized how the arts provide the center’s residents with educational, entertainment and musical opportunities: “It is an astounding privilege to be nominated for this Governor’s Award. To be in the class of individuals or entities that have previously been awarded this distinction we are honored to be added to the list of such great representatives. This honorary recognition of the arts for our veterans who participate in music, painting and songwriting project recognize their desire to continue to receive events they once were involved before having to come to his/her new home at the Veterans Center. It allows our veterans normalcy when it comes to performing arts and being a part of building that program. It allows the veteran, by personal choice, to be afforded the opportunity to receive community partners within these walls and provide the veterans a platform of learning, entertainment and music.”

Gregory Turay, the recipient of this year’s Artist Award and the executive director of ComposeArts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting women in the arts, highlighted his dedication to providing platforms that honor the contributions of women artists: “As the executive director, my role is to elevate underrepresented voices and foster artistic expression throughout Kentucky. Through programming, performances and educational outreach, I am committed to creating platforms that celebrate the contributions of women artists and bring the arts into communities across the state. I have traveled across the state and witnessed firsthand the diverse artistic landscape that flourishes here. From Bluegrass and opera to jazz, poetry, sculpture, symphony, big band and ballet, Kentucky truly offers it all – celebrating creativity both for those who call it home and for those who come to visit.”

Jeffery Reed, recipient of the Community Arts Award, expressed gratitude for being recognized for his life’s work and his team’s achievements: “It’s an honor to be recognized for my life’s work. This year is the 25th anniversary of Orchestra Kentucky, which I founded with a close friend. One of the reasons we started the orchestra was to help make our home a better place to live. Now I have the privilege of leading a performing arts center with three resident companies: Orchestra Kentucky, Ramsey Theatre Company and BG OnStage. I am proud of what my team has accomplished in Bowling Green. The award is affirmation of what we’ve done here.”

Each year, the Arts Council commissions a Kentucky artist to create custom works of art to serve as the award for recipients. The artist creates 10 awards – nine for the recipients and one for the Kentucky Arts Council’s permanent collection. This year, the awards were created by Yoko Nogami, an interdisciplinary artist originally from Tokyo, Japan. Now residing in Letcher County, Kentucky, she is a prominent advocate for arts education and accessibility.

Kentucky’s arts industry contributes to the commonwealth’s $13.8 billion tourism industry, which has built on recent economic momentum.

To capitalize on Kentucky’s historic economic momentum and record-breaking tourism success, Gov. Beshear recently announced New Kentucky Home, a strategic initiative to further drive economic investment, attract and retain talent and increase tourism across the commonwealth.

Earlier this year, the Governor announced that 2023 was the best year on record for tourism, with $13.8 billion in economic impact and 95,222 jobs. This followed a record-breaking 2022, when he announced that tourism had generated more than $12.9 billion in economic impact and secured 91,668 jobs in Kentucky that year.

Kentucky’s impressive economic success over the last four years is a direct reflection of the Beshear administration's continued investments in the tourism industry.

In November 2023, Gov. Beshear announced that the commonwealth broke an all-time record with nine new tourism development projects set to generate an estimated $292.1 million in economic investment. These projects also are expected to create 550 jobs once operational. Through October 2024, nine tourism development projects have an estimated investment of $251.5 million. The projects will provide 352 full-time jobs and 1,326 part-time jobs once operational.

The state’s bourbon and spirits industry recorded its best year for growth in 2022, with over $2.1 billion in new investments and approximately 700 new jobs for Kentucky residents. The sector followed with a strong 2023, including $713.8 million in new investments and 229 full-time jobs. Since the start of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced roughly 100 new location and expansion projects within the bourbon and spirits sector, contributing to over $4.2 billion in new investments and more than 1,800 full-time jobs for Kentuckians.

In 2022, Gov. Beshear announced $75 million in ARPA funding to boost the state’s tourism industry and economy. Previously, the Governor dedicated $5.3 million in federal funding to 103 tourism and destination marketing organizations in 88 Kentucky counties.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,000 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling nearly $34 billion in announced investments, creating roughly 57,500 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth's history.

The Kentucky Arts Council solicits nominations and coordinates award presentations on behalf of the Governor of Kentucky. The Kentucky Arts Council Governor’s Awards in the Arts nominations committee, which recommends honorees to the Governor, accepts awards nominations annually. Nominations for the 2025 Governor’s Awards in the Arts will open in January 2025.

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For official news and updates from the Beshear/Coleman administration, visit governor.ky.gov/news.