Showcasing the Arts

Arts Week in Kentucky
Schedule of Events


Feb. 22-26, 2021
Register


The Kentucky Arts Council invites you to join us for FREE programming each day to celebrate Arts Week in Kentucky. Register for one day, multiple days or all five days online here. You will be emailed one link for each day that you register. Use that link to join us anytime throughout the day. We welcome you to discover the broad array of the arts in Kentucky and join in the conversation! Have a question? Email Kentucky Arts Council Executive Staff Advisor Emily B. Moses for more information at emilyb.moses@ky.gov.

Monday, Feb. 22, Arts Education Day

10 a.m. – Panel Discussion: The Future of Arts Education in Kentucky

Join us for a facilitated panel discussion with representatives from arts education organizations around Kentucky. Featured guests include:

11 a.m. – Teaching Artists Guild

Learn about the Teaching Artists Guild, a resource for teaching artists in the United States. The Teaching Artists Guild is a member-driven organization committed to the professionalization and visibility of artists who teach.

Noon – Teaching Artists Showcase

Join us for a presentation and conversation with Kentucky Arts Council Teaching Artists Directory participants.

1 p.m. – Lunch Break

2 p.m. – Trauma-informed Care for Educators

Judi Vanderhaar, Program Consultant, Kentucky Department of Education

This school year has been extremely difficult for many students, teachers and parents. Join the Kentucky Arts Council and its partners at the Kentucky Department for Education for an in-depth discussion of how trauma impacts our brains and our ability to learn. Whether you are an educator, parent or student, it is important to understand trauma in the context of education.

Tuesday, Feb. 23, Folk and Traditional Arts Day

10-11:30 a.m. – Culture Bearers of Traditional Arts

Join us for a live interview with three of the commonwealth’s outstanding culture bearers and learn how they practice living traditions every day in their communities. Featured artists are folk musician and storyteller Mitch Barrett, Chinese traditional dancer Shuling Fister and willow artist Justin Roberts.

11:30 a.m.-noon – Live Music Performance by Mitch Barrett

Noon-1 p.m. – Farming and Folk Arts

Did you know that folk arts include foodways and farming? Ashley Smith of Black Soil and Michelle Howell of Need More Acres present the stories and culture surrounding their Kentucky farm communities.

Wednesday, Feb. 24, Arts Advocacy Day

Sponsored by Kentuckians for the Arts

10 a.m. – Advocate for the Arts in Kentucky!

Kelly Barsdate, Chief Program and Planning Officer for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies

Now more than ever, Kentucky communities need the positive economic, civic and healing powers of the arts. Are you doing your part as an advocate to make sure public funds for the arts are available for your organization and for all communities across Kentucky? This session will debunk some common myths and misconceptions about nonprofit advocacy and will share new research that can help you make a convincing case for the arts. Tune in for a national perspective on cultural advocacy as well as state-level facts and figures that can empower your case for support.

11 a.m. – Arts Advocacy: Discover Your New Role

Lori Meadows, Chair, Kentuckians for the Arts

What makes an effective arts advocate? In this presentation, we will rethink arts advocacy and examine the role of advocate as educator, relationship builder, champion and ambassador for the arts in Kentucky. You'll walk away from this session thinking differently about arts advocacy and ready to lean (or jump!) into your role as a Kentucky arts advocate!

Noon – Kentucky Performing Artists Showcase

Tune in for a video presentation featuring performing artists from across Kentucky.

1 p.m. – Planning Arts Advocacy with Artists Thrive

Heather Pontonio, Senior Program Director, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation

Azucena "Susie" Trejo Williams, Artist / Assistant Professor of Art & Design, Campbellsville University

What roles do arts organizations, leaders, partner organizations and other institutional stakeholders play in advocating for the field of artists who generate creative content in Kentucky? Join Heather Pontonio from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation to take a look at this question and more using the Artists Thrive advocacy tool. This interactive session will facilitate meaningful conversation among arts leaders and partners who support the arts – and artists – in the commonwealth. It will also introduce you to Artists Thrive, a national initiative offering activities, practices, language, visions and values of what it means to succeed and thrive as an artist – and what it means to have a thriving arts sector and, eventually, thriving communities. The goal of Artists Thrive is to change the narrative in the field and raise the value of artists in every community.

Thursday, Feb. 25, Non-Profit Arts Organizations Day

10 a.m., Marketing for Arts Organizations During a Pandemic

Heath Eric, President and Founder, The Eric Group

Searching for new ways to promote your arts organization? The pandemic may have changed business as usual, but you can stay in touch with your audience and take your marketing to a new level by expanding your reach regionally, nationally and globally.

11 a.m. – Arts Organizations, Surviving and Thriving the Pandemic: A Panel Discussion

The pandemic has turned normal operations for Kentucky’s arts organization upside down. Are you still finding your way or moving full steam ahead into the new normal? Join these arts leaders as they share their pandemic challenges and victories, and how they have adapted to keep their organizations viable.

Panelists include:

12:30 p.m. – Arts Advocacy Workshop

Friday, Feb. 26, Individual Artists Day

10 a.m. – E-Commerce for Artists

Melissa Oesch, Artist

Melissa Oesch, owner of ReImagined by Luna, has been selling her work online since 2008. She sells work on both retail and wholesale sites, and recently developed an online shop through her website. In this session, Melissa will share tips for getting started, including best practices for building an effective approach to selling work online. Melissa is a juried member of the Kentucky Crafted program and the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen.

11 a.m. – Branding for Creatives: Creating a Clear and Consistent Cross-Platform Narrative

Jennifer A. Reis, Artist

Brand identity is the sum of consistent visuals, language, and interaction you provide the external world as a representative of you and your work across digital and print platforms. In this session, participants will learn all about what branding means to creatives and will take away tips and tricks to craft a consistent narrative for their arts-based venture.

12:30 p.m. – Kentucky Crafted Artists' Demonstrations

Join us online for artist demonstrations from Kentucky Crafted artists across the Commonwealth. Demonstrating artists are:

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