Ed Lawrence

Public Information Officer

(502) 564-9746

The Kentucky Arts Council recently awarded the 2005 Al Smith Fellowships for writers, choreographers and composers to twelve professional Kentucky artists, to recognize and encourage artistic excellence in Kentucky.  The $7,500 awards named for Al Smith, journalist and former Arts Council chair (1977-1980), alternate between two discipline groupings: writers, composers, choreographers, and interdisciplinary artists in one year and visual and media artists in the other. In addition, 29 Kentucky artists have been awarded $1000 Professional Assistance Awards for continued development of their work.

            Jim Tomlinson, a writer of fiction who received an Award said he was “stunned at first, then almost immediately, incredibly elated.  With so many accomplished writers applying for the Al Smith Fellowship, you can’t actually expect to win one.” The Berea author of Prologue, a novella in Seven Days in December, went on to say that the Fellowship Award was a validation of his work, “but in the long run, the Award’s real value is what happens next, where I go from here, both artistically and commercially. And I’ll tell everyone who’ll listen; since moving to the Commonwealth almost ten years ago, I’ve been amazed by how strongly Kentucky supports its artists and how it nurtures the arts community.”

A panel of out-of-state artists and arts professionals reviews the anonymous applications and selects the artists who will receive Fellowships and Professional Assistance awards based primarily upon the artistic excellence.  Lesser criteria include the artists’ professional achievements and the potential for the award to enhance the work of the artist.

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The Kentucky Arts Council is a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet.  Working in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the 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.

NOTE TO EDITORS: See listing below for Al Smith Fellowship Award and Professional Assistance Award winners by discipline and county of residence.

GRANT AWARDS 2004

AL SMITH FELLOWSHIP AWARDS

             County               Name          Amount

                        Choreography

     JEFFERSON   Mehrunnisa Hassan     $7,500

                                    Fiction

         FAYETTE   Deborah Reed               $7,500

         MADISON   Jim Tomlinson              $7,500

          MERCER   Heather Henson            $7,500

                                   Musical Composition

     JEFFERSON      Steve Rouse              $7,500

                             Non-fiction

         FAYETTE  Todd Campbell                $7,500

     JEFFERSON Graham Shelby               $7,500

                            Playwriting

     JEFFERSON   Liz Fentress                  $7,500

     JEFFERSON   Vin  Morreale, Jr             $7,500

                                    Poetry

         FAYETTE     Anthony Brusate          $7,500

         FAYETTE     Young Smith                $7,500

             FLOYD     Leatha Kendrick           $7,500

PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE AWARDS

             County               Name             Amount

                        Choreography

      CALLOWAY    Ivan Pulinkala             $1,000

     JEFFERSON    Anna Sapozhnikov      $1,000

                                    Fiction

         FAYETTE            Barbara Hausman $1,000

         FAYETTE            Keith Hubbard       $1,000

         FAYETTE            Steve Lyon           $1,000

          FLEMING           Garry Barker         $1,000

     JEFFERSON           Lorraine  Brown     $1,000

     JEFFERSON           Vince Tweddell      $1,000

     JEFFERSON           Julia Youngblood   $1,000

            MARTIN            Mary Stepp          $1,000

                                   Musical Composition

     JEFFERSON          Jonathan Shippey      $1,000

     JEFFERSON          Craig Wagner            $1,000

         WARREN           Michael Kallstrom      $1,000

         WARREN           Charles Smith           $1,000

                               Non-fiction

         FAYETTE     Susan Brown             $1,000

     JEFFERSON   Michael Feigin             $1,000

     JEFFERSON    Irene Mosvold             $1,000

     JEFFERSON         Terry Tapp             $1,000

           KENTON           Ron Ellis             $1,000

                            Playwriting

         FAYETTE   Natacha Feola             $1,000

        FRANKLIN   Mary Hamilton             $1,000

     JEFFERSON       Marty Pollio            $1,000

     JEFFERSON Patricia Ramsey            $1,000

                                    Poetry

         FAYETTE Rebecca Howell             $1,000

         FAYETTE        Jeff Worley             $1,000

        GARRARD   Christina Lovin             $1,000

        GREENUP     Stephen Holt             $1,000

     JEFFERSON    William Smith            $1,000

           ROWAN  George Eklund              $1,000

                        Total                          $119,000