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SPOTLIGHT
ON THE ARTS - November 2004 by Deanna Mascle Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft
The KMA&C is a nonprofit organization founded in Louisville in 1981 as the Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation. A handful of art enthusiasts were instrumental in its inception, including then-First Lady Phyllis George Brown, art patron Mary Shands, current Board President Lois Mateus, and Steve Wilson, another art patron and the current board’s incoming president. The organization’s goal was to promote excellence in the art and craft heritage of Kentucky, to support artists and educate the public through programming and exhibits – a goal that still holds true today. The museum is supported in part by the Fund for the Arts and the Kentucky Arts Council, a state agency of the Commerce Cabinet. According to Helen Overfield, KMA&C’s director of marketing and public relations, KMA&C is a full-service organization offering everything that artists and art lovers could need or want. The museum features four exhibition galleries with 22 exhibitions annually. The gallery shop represents more than 400 craft artisans and serves as both an educational and retail showcase for art and craft. Professional development workshops are offered to artists as well as teachers. A scholarship program enables artists and crafts people to obtain formal instruction and education in their media. An educational outreach program supplements craft education in Kentucky schools. The education center also offers field trips, a traveling art suitcase curriculum, and artist-in-residency partnership programs. “Thematic exhibitions, hands-on workshops, tours and lectures provide insights into the world of the art and craft we offer,” Overfield says. “Besides being a museum, we educate others. We are most proud of the quality of art and craft in our exhibitions and the reputation we have for excellence in the region. Our board of directors and staff are top-notch, always seeking ways to grow the organization and its offerings in accordance with our mission.” From dreams to reality Since moving into the lower level of 609 West Main Street for retail and exhibition space in 1984, the organization has presented over 175 exhibitions, reaching approximately 65,000 viewers annually. By 1991 the organization was a leader on the national forefront in preserving and advancing the art and craft heritage of Kentucky. As part of the national “Year of the American Craft” the organization was recognized for making exemplary and unprecedented contributions to the documentation and interpretation of the cultural history of the commonwealth. The organization has seen artists progress from novices to masters and watched Main Street transform from an almost deserted noncommercial street to the thriving business and cultural district it is today. However, the organization’s commitment to preserving one of Kentucky’s most precious resources, its continuing tradition of fine craftsmanship, has remained the same. By bringing the work of nationally recognized artists to Kentucky and by exposing the work of Kentucky artists on the national scene, the museum has been able to preserve art and craft heritage and advance it. In January of 2001, the organization purchased two adjacent buildings in the heart of Louisville’s West Main Street Historic District. The expanded facility provides the organization with 27,000 square feet of interior space in which to operate, spread over four floors and a lower level. The new facility increased the size and visibility of the gallery shop, with frontage on Main Street, and houses the exhibition galleries - the Steve Wilson Gallery, Mary and Al Shands Gallery, and Lindy and Bill Street Gallery. (The Street Gallery, on the second floor overlooking Main Street, is rented for meetings and entertaining.) The third floor houses the education center while the fourth floor is used for administrative offices. “We are delighted to be expanding as an arts organization and to be in such close proximity to the Louisville Science Center, the Louisville Slugger Museum, Glassworks, the Frazier Historical Arms Museum and eventually the Ali Center. This is truly a testament to downtown development and the success of the West Main Street district,” Overfield says. The museum is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment. Admission is free. For more information, call (502) 589-0102 or visit http://www.kentuckyarts.org. Deanna Mascle is a
staff writer for The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2004, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content is copyright 2004,
Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
The Kentucky Museum of Arts + Design board of directors voted this fall to change the museum’s name to Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft in order to more accurately reflect the museum’s stated mission: “to promote art and the craft heritage of Kentucky.”