FRANKFORT, Ky. — The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), an independent federal agency, recently announced awards to five Kentucky organizations to fund arts education and arts programming. All five of the nonprofit arts organizations also receive operational support from the Kentucky Arts Council through the Kentucky Arts Partnership program.

Actors Theatre of Louisville will receive $80,000 to support the 36th Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays, a showcase of new theatrical work featuring American playwrights. Actors Theatre will fully produce seven full-length plays, multiple ten-minute plays and an anthology project written by multiple playwrights to be performed by its Acting Apprentice Company.

Appalshop, in Whitesburg, will receive two grants. A grant of $20,000 will support the Appalachian Media Institute, a documentary arts film and radio program for high school students. Professional independent filmmakers and media artists will teach students the history, ethics and practice of documentary media, resulting in the production of documentary films and radio programs. A grant of $30,000, proposed on behalf of WMMT-FM, will support Pick and Bow: Traditional Arts in Community, a series of afterschool programs that offer instruction in traditional music to students of Appalachia. In addition to instruction, the project will provide performance opportunities for students, as well as radio broadcasts of traditional music.

The Louisville Ballet will receive $20,000 to support the acquisition of “Lady of the Camellias,” by choreographer Val Caniparoli, as part of Louisville Ballet’s Repertoire Enhancement Project. “Lady of Camellias” is based on the 1848 novel by Alexandre Dumas and is choreographed to music by Chopin.

Sarabande Books, in Louisville, will receive $21,000 to support the publication and promotion of collections of short fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry. Scheduled authors include Rodney Jack, Michael J. Lee, Paula Bohince, T. Fleischmann, Steven Cramer and Elena Passarello.

Yeiser Art Center, in Paducah, will receive $10,000 to support an artist-in-residence program for visual artists to create and present new work. Artists selected from an open call for submissions will receive a stipend, housing, exhibition and outreach opportunities during their residencies.

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies and the philanthropic sector.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

- ### -