Against the backdrop of celebration and cheer associated with the holiday season, we are saddened by the losses resulting from the recent tornado that tore through parts of western Kentucky. Our hearts are with the people of that region, especially in Mayfield and other hard hit areas. We know that Ice House Gallery in Mayfield suffered a total loss, though thankfully no one was inside the building when the tornado hit. Please keep them in your thoughts as the Ice House Gallery family and community navigates the days, weeks and months ahead.

If you are wondering how to help those affected by the devastation in western Kentucky, there are a couple of immediate ways you can do that.

Gov. Beshear has established the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund to assist those impacted by the tornados and the severe weather system on Dec. 11. All donations to the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund are tax-deductible and donors will receive a receipt for tax purposes after donating. If you wish to donate to the Relief Fund, please select an amount and click on the donate button below.

Kentucky First Lady Britainy Beshear is encouraging Kentuckians to donate to the Western Kentucky Toy Drive. Your donation of a new, unwrapped toy in its original packaging will help replenish holiday gifts lost in the tornado damage. Donations are being accepted through Dec. 18. To learn more about where you can donate, visit the link above.

We encourage all artists and arts organizations to check out the resources at Performing Arts Readiness, the National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness and Emergency Response (NCAPER) and CERF+ The Artists Safety Net. These organizations can help direct you to disaster recovery resources and help you craft your individual or organization disaster managment and recovery plan. We would also like to remind you of the New York Foundation for the Arts' Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants. This is a one-time grant of up to $5,000 to cover a needed medical procedure. You can learn more about the program in the link above, but you can also hear from a recipient of that grant who is an artist here in Kentucky. She talked to us for a recent podcast episode. 

Our annual Give a Gift Made in Kentucky campaign is in full swing on Facebook and Instagram, and will run through Jan. 1. Look for the Give a Gift logo in posts and learn about holiday events that will feature artists in our programs, or individual works by artists that can be part of your seasonal gift giving.

Since this is the season of giving, we’d like to give to you the news that The Kentucky Crafted Market is returning in 2022. We’ll be back at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena, with the event open to the public March 12-13, and open to registered buyers only on March 11. We’ll share more about The Market in upcoming communications, including times and how to purchase tickets online, but for now, please save the dates and make plans to visit us and some of the best visual and craft artists in Kentucky at The Kentucky Crafted Market in Lexington.

The arts council’s newest traveling exhibit, "Our Kentucky Home: Hispanic/Latin American Visual Art in the Commonwealth," is at The Carson Center in Paducah through Dec. 31, so make plans to see it over the holidays if you are in or traveling to western Kentucky. After its stop in Paducah, "Our Kentucky Home" will move east to Murray where it will be on exhibit at the Murray Convention & Visitors Bureau from Jan. 2-28. For more information on the exhibit, including a tour schedule, visit the "Our Kentucky Home" page on our website.

As that exhibit begins its tour of Kentucky, our other traveling exhibit, "Native Reflections: Visual Art by American Indians of Kentucky," is nearing the end of its journey on the road. It is currently at Louisville’s Metro Hall, home of the city government, where it will be on display through March. If you have not yet seen "Native Reflections" in person, take this opportunity to view the amazing work in this exhibit before it ends.

We have spent the entirety of 2021 in the shadow of a global pandemic, and I’d like to thank all of you for continuing to participate in and support our programs. I look at Arts Week in Kentucky, way back in February, as just one moment where our collective love for the arts was on full display. We’ve seen it in other instances too: the recently concluded web series Celebrating the Art and Culture of Kentucky: Some of the Bluegrass is Black, our ongoing Creative Industry Summit Series and, of course, in September at The Kentucky Crafted Outdoor Market at Waveland State Historic Site, our first in-person public gathering in more than 18 months.

We thank you for that continued support and the work you do in Kentucky communities, whether as an artist, arts organization leader or fervent friend of the arts. Your work is an important part of the success of our mission.

Again, happy holidays from all of us at the Kentucky Arts Council, and if you are able to give to the recovery effort in western Kentucky, please do so.