Arts Council
Kentucky Crafted:The Market Features What’s Hot for 2008

FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Kentucky Arts Council is preparing for the best market ever in the 26-year history of Kentucky Crafted:The Market.  As the nation’s first state-sponsored wholesale/retail trade show in fine craft, the show has expanded to include some of the hottest handmade merchandise available on the market.

“Kentucky Crafted:The Market gives Kentucky artists and craftspeople a venue to market to buyers from stores across the nation without having to leave the state. It also boosts the Kentucky economy with one to two million dollars in sales each year,” said Lori Meadows, executive director of the Kentucky Arts Council.  An added bonus for local shoppers and collectors are the public days on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2008.  Visitors have the opportunity to buy newly created items directly from artisans before the merchandise arrives in retail venues and galleries.

Highlights for the 2008 Market include “Made to be Played: Traditional Art of Kentucky Luthiers,” a museum-quality exhibition celebrating 16 master craftspeople who make stringed instruments; the “Designer Showcase” with Kentucky-made products for the home in a home setting designed by University of Kentucky, College of Design students; and the “Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Product Showcase,” featuring handmade items commemorating Lincoln and reproductions of authentic crafts of the Lincoln era.

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 Fair and Exposition Center, South Wing B, Louisville, Ky.

Trade Only Days (Registration 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 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.