| Feb. 5, 2025
Dear Friends of the Arts,
February is already shaping up to be an exciting month at the Kentucky Arts Council! We are thrilled to share upcoming events that highlight the importance of the arts in our communities and invite you to join us in celebrating creativity across the state.
Our friends at Kentuckians for the Arts are gearing up for Kentucky Arts Day on Feb. 13, a vital opportunity for artists, advocates, and community members to come together and engage directly with elected officials. This event is a chance to showcase the arts’ contributions to Kentucky’s economy, education, and overall quality of life. By sharing your stories and emphasizing the impact of creative industries, you help ensure continued support for arts programs that enrich our communities. Your voice matters! When policymakers understand the far-reaching benefits of the arts, they are more likely to champion policies that sustain and grow artistic opportunities for all Kentuckians. We encourage you to be part of this important day and show that the arts are essential!
Later in the month, we hope you will join us for another inspiring event — the Poetry Out Loud! Kentucky State Championship on Feb. 20 at the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort. This competition brings together talented high school students from across the state to showcase the power of the spoken word. Competing schools include:
• Beechwood High School, Fort Mitchell • Betsy Layne High School, Stanville • Elizabethtown High School, Elizabethtown • George Rogers Clark High School, Winchester • Kentucky Country Day School, Louisville • Saint Xavier High School, Louisville • Walden School Corporation, Louisville • Williamstown High School, Williamstown
We look forward to celebrating the arts with you this month. Thank you for your continued support of the creative spirit in Kentucky!
|
 Chris Cathers
Kentucky Arts Council
Executive Director
E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park presents an engaging Arts and Culture Lecture Series led by Shawn Hennessey, a seasoned artist, and educator, at the Sawyer Hayes Community Center. Topics include Bob Dylan and Andy Warhol, Modern Art, and Postmodern Rebellion, and the evolution of Rock & Roll. Suggested donations range from $5 (students) to $20, benefiting the Tom Sawyer Foundation.
Feb. 11, 6:30 p.m.–8 p.m.: Modern Art & Postmodern Rebellion in America: 1945-1965 Delve into the artistic and musical revolutions of post-war America, from Bebop to Abstract Expressionism and Neo-Dadaism.
Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m.–8 p.m.: Rock & Roll Counterculture: 1880–1980 Trace the origins and evolution of Rock & Roll, featuring original vinyl recordings
E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park, a 554-acre urban park in Louisville, offers top-tier recreation facilities and is part of Kentucky’s 44 state parks. The Sawyer Hayes Community Center is located at 2201 Lakeland Road, Louisville, Ky.
With support from the Kentucky Historical Society and the Kentucky General Assembly, the Kentucky Arts Council is offering grant funds up to $10,000 for arts and cultural organizations, communities, or other nonprofit entities and up to $5,000 for individual artists.
As the United States prepares to celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, the commonwealth is exploring the people, places, and events that created our shared history over the past 250 years. As a legacy of this semiquincentennial, artists, organizations, and communities are invited to commemorate this anniversary and interpret its themes through the arts. More information about the application can be found here.
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