Kentucky Arts Council Awards Stimulus Funds

The Kentucky Arts Council has chosen 18 groups to receive grants with the money provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer reports.The NEA provided the Kentucky Arts Council with more than $300,000 under the economic stimulus plan enacted in March. The plan defined the arts as an important sector of the economy. The council awarded the funds to groups to cover salaries for positions that were in jeopardy and are critical to an organization's artistic mission.Kentucky Arts Council executive director Lori Meadows says the money will do more than preserve jobs."In some cases we know that some organizations by receiving the funding from the NEA through the Kentucky Arts Council, they’re going to be able to continue programming," Meadows says.Meadows says that at several organizations the grants helped to save more than one job."In some cases, we know that, for instance, if an organization was applying for the executive director, that’s also going to retain other positions. And we did see that happen in some cases," she says.Groups applying for the grants faced stiff competition."We received $1.2 million in requests from 77 organizations," she says.The groups that received grants include four from Louisville and the Kentucky Repertory Theatre, which had been in danger of closing.Three other Kentucky groups received nearly $60,000 of stimulus funds through the Southern Arts Federation.(Click here for a list of groups that received NEA stimulus money in Indiana.)Organizations Receiving NEA Stimulus Money through the Kentucky Arts Council Paramount Arts Center, $20,000 , Boyd CountyOwensboro Symphony Orchestra , $18,633, Daviess CountyLiving Arts and Science Center, $20,000, Fayette CountyKentucky Theatre Association, $7,200 , Fayette CountyMusicorps/Music Institute of Lexington , $20,000, Fayette CountyMountain Arts Center, $20,000, Floyd CountyMayfield/Graves County Art Guild, $12,000, Graves CountyKentucky Repertory Theatre, $10,000, Hart CountyKentucky Opera Association, $20,000, Jefferson CountyWalden Theatre Corporation, $10,000, Jefferson CountyLouisville Theatrical Association, $20,000, Jefferson CountyKentucky Museum of Art and Craft, $20,000, Jefferson CountyCenter for Great Neighborhoods of Covington, $8,943, Kenton CountyBehringer-Crawford Museum, $20,000 , Kenton CountyLuther F. Carson Four Rivers Center, $20,000, McCracken CountyMontgomery County Council for the Arts, $20,000, Montgomery CountyKentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum, $20,000, Rockcastle CountyPublic Theatre of Kentucky, $20,000, Warren CountyTOTAL: $306,776Organizations Receiving NEA Stimulus Money through the Southern Arts Federation Actors Theatre of Louisville, $20,000, Jefferson CountyPaducah Symphony, $20,000, McCracken CountyPennyroyal Arts Council, $17,500, Christian CountyTOTAL: $57,500