KyArtsCast

The Kentucky Arts Council welcomes a new host, and celebrates Arts & Humanities Month in the Commonwealth

It's been my pleasure for the past five years to produce this podcast. It started out as a wild idea, and has evolved into an amazing mode of communication that allows us to more thoroughly tell the Kentucky Arts Council's stories. Today, my time as producer and host comes to an end. I've had a wonderful time on this podcast journey, and now it's time to turn it over to other voices as it continues. There are some people I'd like to thank publicly for their support of this endeavor. When I went to Chris Cathers in 2018 with the idea to start a podcast, it was a half-formed idea. He said yes, though, and backed my efforts to seek out training opportunities. Mark Brown has been a patient teacher and source of advice on audio engineering. I've not always gotten it right, but I've done my best, thanks to Mark's wisdom. If you're a Kentucky Crafted artist, you know Dave Blevins for his work administering that program, and as executive producer/grand poobah/illustrious potentate of The Kentucky Crafted Market, but did you know he's also a composer? He wrote and performed the intro and outro music you hear on each episode. And then there's former coworkers Tammie Williams and Katie Lewis. That's Tammie's voice you hear at the beginning and end of each episode and Katie created the KyArtsCast logo which has served us well the past five years. I still get a kick out of seeing it whenever Apple lets me know a new podcast episode has uploaded (yes, I subscribe to my own podcast). I hate the sound of my own voice, so I'm grateful to the coworkers who have graciously sat in the host's chair for some great episodes. I fear leaving any out, so I'm not listing them here. But they know I appreciate their service, and when you hear them, you should feel free to tell them you appreciate them too. And Sarah Schmitt, most recently my supervisor, has been instrumental in helping come up with a production schedule that helped us get back on regular track coming out of the pandemic. I could go on, but this episode summary might be longer than the actual episode, and I don't want that. Thank you to my coworkers, all the guests over the past five years, and, of course, to you, the listeners. It's been a fun ride. 

Amy Roblero-Perez is ending her one-year term as the first Kentucky Youth Poet Laureate. We chat with her about her reaction to beign named to the position, what she's been doing the past year, and hear readings of her work. We'll also talk with Jordan Campbell, executive director of Gateway Regional Arts Center in Mt. Sterling, which sponsors the Kentucky Youth Poet Laureate program. He'll discuss how it got started and what young Kentucky poets can do to apply for the program in the future. Episode footnotes Learn more about Kentucky Writers' Day Watch the commencement of the National Youth Poet Laureate livestream, which includes the announcement of the next Kentucky Youth Poet Laureate Learn about the Kentucky Youth Poet Laureate program LISTEN TO BONUS AUDIO: Amy asks Jordan why he came back to Kentucky to serve the arts community

For a long time, the world of school band directors was largely dominated by men. This demographic has shifted over the years to include more women and increased diversity. Dr. Sue Creasap, professor emeritus and former associate director of bands at Morehead State University, leads a robust conversation that includes retired Jefferson County Schools band director Nan Moore, University of Louisville music professor and associate band director Dr. Amy Acklin, retired Fayette County Schools band director Lois Wiggins, and Harrison County Middle School band director Julie Lucky. They talk about changes in attitudes over the years, influential women they look up to, and challenges they've faced in their careers. Episode footnotes: Learn more about the careers of these five women featured on this episode Dr. Sue Creasap (host) Nan Moore Dr. Amy Acklin Lois Wiggins Julie Lucky

We are getting closer to The Kentucky Crafted Market, March 9-10 at the Kentucky Horse Park's Alltech Arena. It is. perhaps. the Kentucky Arts Council's most visible event each year. In this episode we chat with four artists in the Kentucky Crafted program who are exhibiting and selling work at The Market: Dodie Wrocklage-Harp, Rob Bridges, Addison Williams and Michelle Hayden. Learn about their work and what they like about exhibiting at The Market. Episode footnotes: Learn more about the 2024 Kentucky Crafted Market View a digital version of the Market program to find out which artists will be there

What should Kentucky's public school students know about the arts by the time they have graduated? Jessica Greene, a performing and visual arts consultant to the Kentucky Department of Education, discusses that topic and talks about how Kentuckians can weigh in on those standards. Cynthia Warner, the Kentucky Arts Council's arts education director, interviews Jessica for this important conversation about the arts in our schools.  Episode footnotes: Kentucky Department of Education Academic Standards Review Process Visual and Performing Arts Standards Resources Kentucky's Visual and Performing Arts Curriculum Email Jessica Greene - jessica.greene@education.ky.gov

Kentucky Arts Council spring intern Ashanti Grace Castleberry and arts council communications director Tom Musgrave learn more about Hip Hop Into Learning (HHN2L), a Louisville-based nonprofit arts education organization that received a $500,000 Accelerator Award from The Lewis Prize for Music. Ashanti chats with The Lewis Prize CEO Dalouge Smith and Tom continues the conversation with HHN2L cofounder Nyree Clayton-Taylor.  Episode footnotes: HHN2L homepage The Lewis Prize for Music 2023 Accelerator Awards cohort

The Kentucky Arts Council's Chris Cathers and Tom Musgrave travel to the Kentucky Artisan Center's Todd Finley and Aly Norton about holiday gift giving, what the Artisan Center has planned for the season, and how you can give the gift of Kentucky-made art. Episode footnotes: Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea Kentucky Crafted Directory List of Kentucky Crafted Retailers

In this seasonal episode, we explore the intersection of the arts and the macabre with a trio of segments featuring storyteller Octavia Sexton, folklorist and podcaster Camille Maria Acosta and theatre professional Bo List.  Episode footnotes: Octavia Sexton's links Performing Artists Directory Teaching Artists Directory Floaties for Krakens Podcast site Leeds Center for the Arts Haunted Theatres  

In this episode of KyArtsCast we introduce the new Kentucky Arts Council arts education director Cynthia Warner, and talk to teaching artist Jane Dewey and high school student Cooper Bartlett, a member of Kentuckians for the Arts' Youth Arts Council. Episode footnotes: Kentucky Youth Arts Council Instagram  Kentuckians for the Arts website Contact Jane Dewey: jane.dewey@danville.kyschools.us

In early 2023, the National Endowment for the Arts announced its first round of funding for the year, which included $350,000 awarded in Kentucky. Among those awards were two for Kentucky literary artists. Poet makalani bandele received a $25,000 Literature Fellowship for creative writing, and Kristen Renee Miller received $10,000 for a Literature Fellowship for translation projects. Listen as Kentucky Arts Council spring intern Sophie DeCorte chats with makalani and Kristen about those fellowships and their plans for the funding.

The holidays are upon us and our hearts and minds turn toward gift giving. We join Todd Finley and Aly Norton on location at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea to talk about giving the gift of Kentucky-made art and craft, recordings of your favorite Kentucky musicians and storytellers, season tickets to Kentucky theatre organizations or musical groups, memberships to Kentucky museums and galleries, and other creative ways to give the gift of Kentucky creativity this holiday season.  Episode footnotes: Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea Kentucky Crafted Directory Kentucky Crafted Retailers Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet holiday page

Asia Institute Crane House in Louisville was one of 17 organizations to be designated a Southern Cultural Treasure by South Arts. In this episode we talk with AICH Executive Director Joel Buno and South Arts Vice President of Programs Dr. Joy Young. We'll learn about what it means to be a Southern Cultural Treasure and how Asia Institute Crane House fits into that tapestry. BONUS AUDIO: Dr. Joy Young discusses other South Arts programs  Episode footnotes: Asia Institute Crane House website  South Arts website  About Southern Cultural Treasures  Contact Dr. Joy Young - joyyoung@southarts.org

In this episode, which is taken from the Kentucky Arts Council's Arts Day(s) in Kentucky presentations in March, Community Scholars and curators Maxine Ray and Wathetta Buford join Kentucky Museum Director Brent Bjorkman to discuss joining forces to rescue treasured art, artifacts and documents of Bowling Green's African American Museum in the aftermath of the December 2021 tornado. Episode footnotes: African-American Museum website Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund resources

We return to presentations from Arts Day(s) in Kentucky for this episode, which focuses on the impact of the devastating tornado that tore through western Kentucky in December 2021. In this presentation we'll hear from Ice House director Nanc Gunn about efforts to re-establish space for the gallery while continuing to serve the artists, arts community and the region in the wake of the disaster. We'll also hear from Lexie Millikan, director of the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah.about the effects on the arts community after the loss of the Ice House. Episode footnotes: Ice House Gallery website Yeiser Art Center website Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund donation site

We're excited to be recording in-person again, and in this episode we go on the road to the University of Kentucky campus to talk with Crystal Gregory, an associate professor in the university's school of art and visual studies. Crystal was recently named the Kentucky State Fellow in the 2022 South Arts Southern Prize Competition. That distinction carries a $5,000 cash award and puts Crystal in the running for the $25,000 or $10,000 Southern Prize. We chat with Crystal about her work, her journey to art, and what she has been doing during the pandemic to energize her creativity. Episode footnotes: Crystal's bio and artist statement The South Arts Southern Prize Photos of Crystal's work she described in her studio – image 1, image 2

This episode is a audio from a presentation during Arts Day(s) in Kentucky. It features three artists whose work is in the Kentucky Arts Council's traveling exhibit "Our Kentucky Home: Hispanic/Latin American Visual in the Commonwealth." You can view a slideshow of the entire exhibit on the arts council website. Episode footnote: Online slideshow of "Our Kentucky Home: Hispanic/Latin American Visual Art in the Commonwealth

Today, Oct. 21, has been designated by the National Endowment for the Arts to be a day to focus on health and wellness in the arts as we celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month. We thought it would be a good idea to highlight an important grant program, the Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grant, administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts. This program provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 for recent unexpected medical, dental, and mental health emergencies to artists in financial need who are practicing in the visual arts, film/video/electronic/digital arts, and choreography. One of our Kentucky Crafted artists, Deb Chenault, received one of these grants and talked with us about what it meant for her, and why artists in Kentucky who need help paying for necessary medical treatment should give this grant a look. Also along for the interview is Mollie Quinlan-Hayes, who administers the grant program for NYFA, and who has valuable information on how to navigate the application process. The next cycle of these grants opens on Nov. 1. Episode footnotes: Mollie Quinlan-Hayes email address - emergencyfunds@nyfa.org Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants information.  Grant FAQs  If you don't quality for a Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grant, the New York Foundation for the Arts maintains a list of other emergency grants for artists Deb Chenault's Kentucky Crafted directory page

  "Don't turn yourself down." That's advice Joyce Garner gives to her fellow Kentucky artists about taking opportunities to advance and promote their work. Joyce was recently named the Kentucky State Fellow in the South Arts Southern Prize competition. Her work will be considered, along with state fellows from each of the South Arts member states, for the $25,000 Southern Prize, which will be announced in a FREE virtual ceremony on June 17. For this episode of the podcast we talked to Joyce about winning the state fellowship, her journey to art, and what inspires her. Episode footnotes: Description of the Southern Prize competition Joyce Garner's artist statement and work Register to watch the 2021 Southern Prize Awards Ceremony on June 17

"Everyone asks me, especially when I'm traveling around the country...'What is it? feel like you all have something special there in Kentucky. Why is it that this idea of a Kentucky writer is such a special thing?' And I think it's special because we're always reaching out for the next wave of writers. That's been part of the tradition." Learn more about the woman who will be Kentucky's literary ambassador for the next two years, Crystal Wilkinson. She will be inducted as Kentucky Poet Laureate April 23 as we celebrate Kentucky Writers' Day.  Episode footnotes: Kentucky Writers' Day page Kentucky Poet Laureate page Watch Kentucky Writers' Day on the Kentucky Arts Council Facebook page or YouTube channel

Arts Week in Kentucky is coming, Feb. 22-26! On this episode of the podcast we get a taste of what to expect during Arts Week with Lori Meadows, chair of Kentuckians for the Arts, and Mark Brown, the Kentucky Arts Council's folk and traditional arts director. Each of them will have a role in bringing the great programming on tap for Arts Week in Kentucky, and they are just the tip of the iceberg. You can register for this FREE week of programming here! Episode footnotes: Kentucky state legislature Kentucky Arts Council's Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant

The Kentucky Arts Council's communications and technology branch manager Sandie Lawrence is retiring at the end of 2020, closing a chapter on her 25-year career at the Kentucky Arts Council. She recently chatted with coworkers Tom Musgrave and Emily Moses about building the arts council's first website, the advent of that strange new communications method called email, what she'll miss about working for the Commowealth of Kentucky, her philosophy about life, and how parenting influenced her interpersonal relationships with coworkers. Enjoy this tribute to our own Sandie Lawrence!

Last year, we spent time with the folks who lead Consolidated Baptist Church's Summer Enrichment Program, a unique education program, which includes the arts among other academic disciplines. This program serves the youth of Lexington, lasting for several weeks, and we supported it with funding last year. When they wanted to go virtual for this summer, we provided assistance again in the form of a virtual teaching artist residency and technical support. On this episode, we talk with program director Demetria Blair, teaching artist Yolantha Pace, and Kentucky Arts Council arts education director Samuel Lockridge about how the program made the pivot from in-person to virtual. We explored the success, challenges and unexpected benefits of learning in a virtual environment. Episode footnotes: Listen to last year's episode on the Summer Enrichment Program Learn more about the program - consolidatedsummerenrichment.org Yolantha Pace's Teaching Artists Directory page Frank X Walker's website Lexington Children's Theatre

This past spring, the Kentucky Arts Council, with our friends at the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, entered into a partnership with the for-profit group Artrepreneur. Founded in 2015, Artrepreneur is an e-commerce platform that serves more than 40,000 visual and craft artists from more than 50 countries. Joining us are Steve Schlackman from Artrepreneur, Heather Pontonio of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, Kentucky Crafted artist David Shadwick and Emily Moses, executive staff advisor of the Kentucky Arts Council. We'll talk about how this relationship formed and how Artrepreneur is benefiting participating Kentucky Crafted artists. Episode footnotes: A list of Kentucky Crafted artists using the Artrepreneur platform The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation Americans for the Arts COVID-19 economic impact survey data

Kentucky's connection to poetry will be the subject of a an upcoming episode of the documentary series "Poetry Unites America." On this episode of KyArtsCast, we talk with Ewa Sandrzynska, the documentary filmmaker behind the series, about how Kentuckians can contribute to the episode via an essay contest she is conducting. Deadline for submission to the contest is Sept. 15, so listen to this episode to find out more about the project! We also chat with Tamara Coffey of the Kentucky Arts Council about the nomination process for Kentucky Poet Laureate. The deadline to nominate someone for that important position is Oct. 1. Episode footnotes Poetry Unites Kentucky Facebook page Submit your essay! Guidelines for Kentucky Poet Laureate nominations

The Kentucky Arts Council is currently accepting applications to the Kentucky Crafted program, the state's juried arts marketing program. The deadline to apply to this free program is Aug. 17. On this episode of KyArtsCast we talk with three artists in the Kentucky Crafted program: Michelle Hayden of Michelle Hayden of Michelle Hayden Fine Art in Berea, Rob Bridges of Rob Bridges Illustration in Georgetown, and Amy Henson of Rock Bottom Soap in London. We also talk about the program benefits and our guests give advice on how to approach the application process. Episode footnotes: The Kentucky Crafted program guidelines and application Michelle Hayden's Kentucky Crafted directory page Rob Bridges' Kentucky Crafted directory page Amy Henson's Kentucky Crafted directory page

With Kentucky's Healthy at Work guidelines gradually reopening sectors of the state's economy, we talk with folks from three of our sister agencies in the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet - Gwen Heffner of the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, Erin Palmer of Kentucky Performing Arts (formerly the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts) and Nick Covault of the Governor's School for the Arts. Each of them talks about how their agencies have adapted to the social restrictions put in place to combat COVID-19 and about what reopening might look like. Nick specifically talks about the shape this summer's Governor's School for the Arts will take. The program, which, since 1987, has been an intensive summer residential program for rising high school seniors, will be conducted virtually for the first time in its history.

You may not have known that award-winning Kentucky writer Maurice Manning has been the Kentucky Arts Council's featured artist. The spot on the arts council homepage usually reserved for the featured artist has been used to communicate valuable COVID-19 related resources for artists and arts organizations throughout the pandemic. But we wanted to put Maurice out front and center in a meaningful way, so we're giving you this chance to learn more about him on this episode. Arts council staff member Tamara Coffey spends time chatting with Maurice about what he's been up to during self-isolation, who his influences are and asks him to share some of his work with the audience.

We're paying tribute to former Kentucky First Lady Phyllis George, who died last month at the age of 70. Phyllis was integral to starting what is now known as the Kentucky Crafted arts marketing program. Our guests, Mary Reed, Fran Redmon, Tim Hall and Judy Geagley, each have their own personal reflections on what Phyllis' belief in Kentucky-made art and craft meant to them. Join us as we celeebrate the life of this inspiring woman.  

NOTE: Since the recording of this episode, the Native Reflections exhibit tour has been put on hold. You can see work in the exhibit by visiting the Kentucky Arts Council website and viewing a slideshow. The Kentucky Arts Council, in partnership with the Kentucky Heritage Council and the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission, is presenting Native Reflections: Visual Art by American Indians of Kentucky. This traveling exhibit will feature inspiring pieces of art by Kentucky residents who identify as either members of a recognized tribe or as native inspired. On this episode of the podcast, we talk with two of the artists whose work is included in the exhibit, Brigit Truex and Jannette Parent; Tressa Brown of the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission; and Mark Brown of the Kentucky Arts Council. Episode footnotes Story on jingle dancing, which Brigit Truex referred to on the podcast. 

It's Poetry Month across the country and it's also the month we celebrate Kentucky Writers' Day, April 24. On this episode, Kentucky Arts Council staff member Tamara Coffey talks literature, self-isolation and inspiration with current Kentucky Poet Laureate Jeff Worley and former poets laureate George Ella Lyon and Richard Taylor.  To learn more about Kentucky Writers' Day, visit the Kentucky Writers' Day Facebook event page or the arts council website.  Episode footnotes The Writer's Almanac The Slowdown podcast

It's been a year since we debuted KyArtsCast, so we wanted to take a few minutes to acknowledge the occasion and shine a spotlight on the folks here at the Kentucky Arts Council who collaborate every day to bring outstanding arts programs and grants to every corner of the Commonwealth. We also want to hear from YOU! As we enter the second season of the podcast, we'd like to know what you'd like to hear on the podcast. Email Tom Musgrave, arts council communications director, at tomr.musgrave@ky.gov or leave a comment below with your topic. We can't guarantee we'll follow up on every idea, but we will read them.  Thanks for listening, and join us in the new year for the second season of KyArtsCast!

Chris Cathers, executive director of the Kentucky Arts Council, and Todd Finley, executive director of the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, chat about the importance of shopping local and how and where to find wonderful examples of art and craft by Kentucky artists. It's your guide to shopping local this holiday season!

Rick Hill, the resident artist at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources who has painted original covers for the department's publication Kentucky Afield, talks about how he started as a nature artist and his creative process.  The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky Arts Council recently partnered to present an exhibit of Rick's work at the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort. The exhibit runs through Nov. 26 during normal Capitol visitor hours. Rick Hill's first ever Kentucky Afield cover as full-time artist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.   Arts Across Kentucky cover featuring one of Rick Hill's carvings.   Trout carving by Rick Hill. Episode footnote Link to more information about the "Kentucky Afield Illustrated" exhibit.

Listen and learn how to win FREE tickets to the Kentucky Creative Industry Summit, Dec. 6 at the Clay Community Center in Mt. Sterling! For this episode, Emily Moses, Kentucky Arts Council executive staff advisor, talks with Mitzi Sinnott, Heather Pontonio, Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova, all of whom will be among the presenters at the 2019 Kentucky Creative Industry Summit.  This year's summit theme is Race, Equity, Access, Diversity and Inclusion, and our presenters will lead interactive discussions around those topics and more!  Episode footnotes Agenda for the Kentucky Creative Industry Summit Register for the Kentucky Creative Industry Summit ($30, includes lunch)

Emily Moses, Kentucky Arts Council executive staff advisor, continues her chat with Beth Flowers, executive director of the AIR Institute of Berea College. In part two of this episode, that was recorded in July, Beth and Emily discuss the AIR Institute's 2 1/2-day workshop called AIR Shift. The workshop brings artists and members of the business community together to develop a worthwhile and achievable community improvement project, and gives participants the tools to repeat that collaboration to achieve valuable community goals. For more information on AIR Shift, visit the AIR Institute of Berea College website. To find out how to bring AIR Shift to your community, contact Emily Moses at emilyb.moses@ky.gov.

National Arts in Education Week (Sept. 8-14) is coming up and we thought it was a good time to highlight a valuable educational program that the Kentucky Arts Council offered its support to this summer. This unique educational opportunity available to Fayette County Youth, the Summer Enrichment Program at Consolidated Baptist Church, is a four-week program that connects the arts to STEM skills and agriculture in a meaningful way to youth in kindergarten through fifth grade. We talked with program director Demetria Blair, a paraeducator at Jessie Clark Middle School in Lexington; Lanora Long, an art teacher with the summer program and a retired Fayette County Schools art teacher; as well as student participants Alana Young and DeVaughn Elery. Check out this episode and find out more about how this program is making an impact.  Episode footnote Summer Enrichment Program web page

In May, Louisville's iconic Galt House Hotel introduced the public to its inaugural artist in residence, geometric abstract artist Gibbs Rounsavall. This residency is believed to be the first of its kind for a Kentucky hotel. In this episode of KyArtsCast we talk to Gibbs as well as Scott Shoenberger, president and CEO of the Al J. Schneider Company, which owns the Galt House. Listen in and learn more about this fantastic new initiative. Episode footnotes: Galt House Hotel Artist in Residence webpage  Gibbs Rounsavall's homepage

  Back in March we visited the 2019 Lexington Comic & Toy Convention at Lexington Convention Center. Our mission was twofold. We wanted to talk to the artists in our Kentucky Crafted program who also exhibit at the convention and find out why it makes sense from an artistic and business perspective to have a presence at Comic Con. We also chatted with a handful of costume players, or cosplayers as they are commonly known - folks who create a costume based around their favorite character and/or comic book universe or sci-fi genre. Many cosplayers create their costumes from the ground up, and we wanted to explore what kind of artistry they bring to their creations. As you're listening, peruse the photos below that we got of some cosplayers during our visit to Comic Con. We've also included links to extended interviews with the folks we talked to. Enjoy this special episode!   Justin Stewart, Lexington Comic & Toy Convention Art Director Listen to our extended interview with Justin!   Alisha Martin, left, Kentucky Crafted artist  Listen to our extended interview with Alisha!   Jason Sturgill, Kentucky Crafted artist Listen to our extended interview with Jason!   Billy Tackett, Kentucky Crafted artist Listen to our extended interview with Billy!   Janna Sedwick, cosplaying as the 1970s television series version of Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) Listen to our extended interview with Janna!    Stacy Humphreys, cosplaying as the character Qi'ra from "Solo: A Star Wars Story." And check out her steampunk and Dia de los Muertos variations on the Batman villainess Poison Ivy. Listen to our extended interview with Stacy!   Poison Ivy photos by Galaxi Photos   Chris Marcus, cosplaying as Lego Batman Listen to our extended interview with Chris!   Nolan Williams, cosplaying as a member of the music duo Daft Punk Listen to our extended interview with Nolan! Check out video of the lighting effects in his helmet.   Theme music for this episode was “The Decisive Battle – Heroic Epic” by Keys of Moon Music, licensed under CC BY 4.0.  

We've packed up the podcast studio and hit the road for this episode. Join us as we learn more about an important art-based component of substance abuse addiction recovery called The Culture of Recovery, and initiative of the Appalachian Artisan Center. We're talking with two participants in the recovery program, Kim Patton and Nathan Smith, along with program coordinator Savannah Napier Hall and instructors Doug Naselroad, Dan Estep and Kirk Banks. Episode footnotes Culture of Recovery Facebook page - read through testimonials excerpts written by program participants. Learn how the arts have helped them cope with their addiction and aid in their recovery. Appalachian Artisan Center Appalachian School of Luthiery

The third annual Artists Thrive Summit is July 30-Aug. 2 in Berea, and for this episode Emily Moses, Kentucky Arts Council executive staff advisor, is chatting with Beth Flowers, executive director of the AIR Insitute of Berea College and a member of the summit leadership team. Emily and Beth talk about what goes on at the summit, who should be there (spoiler alert...YOU) and how to get a 75 percent discount on registration! Episode footnotes Artists Thrive Summit Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation

Listen in as we chat with three Kentucky Crafted artists, Deb Chenault, Justine Riley and Bill Berryman, about their work, what makes it unique and how they've benefited from being juried into Kentucky Crafted. The application process for Kentucky Crafted is open through Aug. 15, and this episode also features the Kentucky Arts Council's arts marketing director, Dave Blevins. Dave talks about the program guidelines and navigates the answers to questions that artists frequently ask about applying. Special thanks to 91.3 FM WUKY in Lexington for allowing us to record in their studio and to the station's operations and programming director John Lumagui for engineering this episode. Episode footnotes The Kentucky Crafted program guidelines and application Deb Chenault's Kentucky Crafted online directory page Justine Riley's Kentucky Crafted online directory page Bill Berryman's Kentucky Crafted online directory page

Remarks from newly installed Kentucky Poet Laureate Jeff Worley of Lexington and outgoing poet laureate Frederick Smock of Louisville made April 24, Kentucky Writers' Day, at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.

Meet Lori Larusso, Lexington visual artist and the South Arts Kentucky State Fellow in the third annual Southern Prize competition. Lori represented Kentucky among the nine other State Fellow, each from one of the South Arts member states, last month at the Southern Prize awards ceremony in Columbia, S.C. On this episode we’re chatting with Lori about her life in art, the work that earned her the distinction of Kentucky State Fellow and what awards like that, and her 2012 Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship, have meant to her as an artist. Episode footnotes: Work that Lori Larusso submitted to South Arts for consideration for the Southern Prize General information on the South Arts Southern Prize The Bo Bartlett Center in Columbus, Ga., where the Southern Prize exhibit, including works by Lori Larusso, will be on display through the summer Lori Larusso’s website

Kentucky Writers' Day is just around the corner, 10 a.m. April 24 at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, and to get stoked for it we brough two Kentucky Poets Laureate into Studio B for a chat about Kentucky poetry, literature and the poet laureate position. Tamara Coffey, Kentucky Arts Council organization support and individual artists director, takes the interview microphone for a lively chat with incoming Kentucky Poet Laureate Jeff Worley and former poet laureate Richard Taylor (1999-2000), who nominated Jeff for the important post of Kentucky's literary ambassador. Jeff will be inducted as poet laureate during the morning ceremony at KDLA, and will read his work that same day, along with five other Kentucky Poets Laureate, at Paul Sawyier Public Library in Frankfort beginning at 2 p.m. By the way, the deer theme that seems to run through the podcast was completely unplanned. As the late American painter and teaching artist Bob Ross would say, "it was just a happy accident."

If you missed out on the chance to visit The Kentucky Crafted Market last month, you also missed an opportunity to hear fantastic live music from the Kentucky Stage. Not to worry. We've curated highlights from groups that performed on the stage and collected them in this special episode. Each group or individual that performed on the Kentucky Stage is a member of the Kentucky Arts Council's adjudicated Performing Artists Directory, a valuable resource for people looking for entertainment at any size gathering. If you enjoy the sounds of a particular act that you hear in this episode, we're providing links to their entire set below. You can also click on the artist's name and learn more about them on their online directory page. Cloigheann Click to hear their entire set Phourist and the Photons Click to hear their entire set The Local Honeys Click to hear their entire set JOANNA~JAMES Click to hear their entire set Kentucky Wild Horse Click to hear their entire set A Girl Named Earl Click to hear her entire set Marcus Wilkerson Click to hear his entire set Barrenhart Click to hear their entire set TDH Click to hear their entire set Jeri Katherine Howell Click to hear her entire set  

  This month’s podcast is all about love for the arts, and the upcoming Kentucky Crafted Market, March 16-17 at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena. Our guests are musician Marcus Wilkerson and visual artists Alisha Martin, Dave Shadwick and Lakshmi Sriraman. They each talk about what made them fall in love with creating art, and their excitement for the upcoming Kentucky Crafted Market. More information on each of this episode’s artists can be found on their respective directory pages on the Kentucky Arts Council website: Marcus Wilkerson (Performing Artists Directory) Marcus Wilkerson (Teaching Artists Directory)   Alisha Martin (Kentucky Crafted Directory)   Dave Shadwick (Kentucky Crafted Directory) Dave Shadwick (Architectural Artists Directory)   Lakshmi Sriraman (Performing Artists Directory) Also, here's a link to the John C. Campbell Folk School where Dave learned more about blacksmithing.

Tom Musgrave chats with Doris Thurber, a cofounder of Franklin County's Hands Healing HeArts initiative, and Angie Boone, one of the Hands Healing HeArts participants, about this unique addiction recovery support program centered around the visual arts. Hands Healing HeArts works in cooperation with Franklin County Drug Court, using a variety of hands-on, multi-disciplinary artistic approaches with women in Drug Court to support their recovery. During the course of this conversation, we talk about a couple of videos Hands Healing Hearts has produced, and the organization has generously allowed us to post links to them: Art of Recovery trailer (2:19).  Installation exhibit at Frankfort's Grand Theatre (12:01). This is a compelling visual and audio tapestry, showing the journeys the women of Franklin County Drug Court as they move through the Hands Healing HeArts program. For more information about Hands Healing HeArts, to volunteer, or to learn about how you can start a similar program in your community, visit the Hands Healing HeArts website. Also, Tom apologizes for not introducing himself at the beginning of the podcast. We're still getting used to this. Thanks for your patience, listeners!

Tom Musgrave, Kentucky Arts Council communications director, and Chris Cathers, interim executive director chat about how the podcast came about, behind the scenes stuff at the Kentucky Arts Council and some initiatives involving art as therapy for Kentucky's military veterans. We also discuss work in the arts council's Kentucky Veteran Project exhibit, which can be seen in a slideshow here. You can also see the traveling schedule for the exhibit as it moves around Kentucky. 

Just a chance to dip your toe into the Kentucky Arts Council's monthly podcast, KyArtsCast.