Arts Council
National Endowment for the Arts awards grants to eight Kentucky organizations

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), an independent federal agency, recently announced awards to eight Kentucky organizations for arts education and arts programming. The Kentucky Arts Council also received a State Partnership grant.

Roadside Theater, Whitesburg, will receive $35,000 to support its Thousand Kites community residencies. This nationwide program will combine live theater with new media to encourage learning and the development and performance of new plays.

Appalshop, Whitesburg, will receive $38,000 to support the Appalachian Media Institute, a documentary film and radio program for high school students. Professional independent filmmakers and media artists will teach students the history, aesthetics, ethics and practice of documentary media, resulting in the production of documentary films and radio programs.

The Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, will receive $50,000 to support programming that documents and presents the state’s diverse folk cultures.

The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, will receive $35,000 to support Building Connections through Craft Art along with related public programming. The project will draw on craft traditions from Caribbean, Cuban, Haitian and Latin American cultures and will feature exhibits, lectures and art-making workshops.

LexArts, Lexington, will receive $25,000 to support a public art commission for downtown Lexington. The work will be selected from one of five finalists identified through a jury selection process that includes local community involvement.

The Louisville Orchestra, Louisville, will receive $20,000 to support education and community outreach programs, including the Heuser Hearing and Language Academy Residency for preschoolers with learning impairments, the MakingMUSIC Partnership for fourth- and fifth-grade students, and a High School Residency Partnership with an area high school.

The Lexington Children’s Theatre, Lexington, will receive $10,000 to support Shooting Stars Youtheatre’s Arts Programming. Funding will assist in the dissemination of arts curriculum, workshop, in-school residencies and productions by the Shooting Stars Youtheatre.

Pioneer Playhouse, Danville, will receive $15,000 to support the Northpoint Performance and Workshop Project. The project will take place at Northpoint Education Center, a minimum security prison. Theater professionals who have been trained to work with the incarcerated will stage a production of Moliere’s “Tartuffe,” moderate discussion sessions and conduct one-on-one workshops to build communication and life skills.

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.

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