Meet our Board Chair and congratulate this year's Sustaining Impact Grant and Baird Excellence Award recipients!
Congratulations to the 2022 Sustaining Impact Grant Recipients!
This year, through its Sustaining Impact Grants (SIG), Fund for the Arts $3.16 million was made to 28 local arts institutions. Of these organizations, 23 have received a Sustaining Impact Grant before and 5 are receiving this grant for the first time.
The purpose of Sustaining Impact Grants is to provide mission-based operating support to Greater Louisville charitable arts organizations whose programming supports the priorities of Imagine Greater Louisville 2025 to ensure the organization’s ongoing capacity to drive community impact. Sustaining Impact Grants are designed to provide foundational operating support for Greater Louisville charitable arts organizations.
Congrats to the following SIG recipients!
Actors Theatre of Louisville
AMPED (Academy of Music Production Education and Development)
Arts Alliance Southern Indiana*
Arts Association of Oldham County
Bunbury Repertory Theatre Company
Commonwealth Theatre Center, Inc.
IDEAS xLab*
Kentucky Opera Association
Kentucky Shakespeare, Inc.
KMAC Museum
Lanita Rocknettes School of Dance*
Looking for Lilith Theatre Company
The Louisville Academy of Music*
Louisville Ballet
Louisville Chorus
The Louisville Orchestra, Inc.
Louisville Story Program Inc.
Louisville Visual Art
Louisville Youth Choir
Louisville Youth Orchestra
The Little Loomhouse
Pandora Productions
River City Drum Corp Cultural Arts Institute Inc. LLC
Passion for Equality Victoria Russel is the First Woman of Color to Lead Fund for the Arts
by Julie Engelhardt
Louisville is the setting for an amazing display of artistic and cultural offerings, including musical and theatrical venues and performances, youth orchestras, ragtime bands, community centers, museums, historical sites, and so much more. All of this is made possible thanks to a long-standing champion of the city's cultural community, Fund for the Arts (FFTA).
It's amazing when you stop to think about how FFTA has been a staple in Louisville since 1949. Its founder was Charles R. Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville in the late 1940s and early '50s. It is the oldest arts fund in the country, providing more than $172 million in grants, facilities and support for Louisville's arts groups and programs.
For a nonprofit to serve as long as FFTA has, it must continually implement changes that reflect current needs and evolving situations. A significant shift took place earlier this year when FFTA names Victoria Russel as Chair of its Board of Directors. She is the first woman of color to hold this position.
Russell is no stranger to taking a variety of leadership posts in her hometown. She is the Chief of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Officer at Beam Suntory, a world leader in premium spirits, and is the first person to hold this prestigious position at the company. In addition to Fund for the Arts, she is also on the boards of the Chestnut Street YMCA and Leadership Louisville Center.
... Click here or below to read the full story in Audience Magazine
Thank you for your support during Give for Good Louisville!
THANK YOU! Thanks to your generous support, Give for Good Louisville was a success! Together, we are bringing more art to more people in more places. This year during Give for Good Lou, 115 donors raised $32,880 to support the mission of the Fund for the Arts. That is incredible!
Because of the generosity of donors like you we are able to provide world-class arts in education experiences for children across our region, we are working to ensure that everyone in our city has equitable access to the arts, and we are bringing more arts experiences to hospitals and senior communities. We couldn't do this work without you. Thank you!
Baird Excellence Awards
Congratulations to Jefferson County Public Schools educators Shandra Hart and Laura Roth for receiving a Baird Excellence Award in celebration of their exceptional dedication to providing arts education through the Fund for the Arts 5x5 program!
This year, Baird honored 35 Jefferson County Public Schools teachers and principals at the 8th annual Baird Excellence Awards. The awards recognize outstanding teaching and leadership performance from educators across the district.
Award recipient Shandra Hart is an Art Teacher at Atkinson Academy. Thanks to Ms. Hart, during the 2020-2021 school year, K-5th grade Atkinson students experienced performances and workshops with Kentucky Shakespeare, KMAC Museum, Squallis Puppeteers, and StageOne Family Theatre as a part of the 5x5 program.
Laura Roth is a visual art teacher from Cochran Elementary and she is a strong advocate for the arts in the classroom. Ms. Roth is an enthusiastic 5x5 educator. Thanks to her efforts, Cochran students have experienced everything from Stage Combat with Kentucky Shakespeare to Spirit of the Drum with River City Drum Corp. She takes care in seeking enriching arts opportunities for her students.
Photos from the Imagine Mural Festival
The 2021 Imagine Mural Festival is over, but the murals are here to stay! You can see them in person at the Repurposed Lot at 621 W. Main Street and the Riverfront Garage at 141 N. Sixth Street. For now, check out the progress photos above!
Artist groups in order of appearance:
Moth Hands
Healing Walls Project
Creatives of Color Collective
Sponsored by the Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, supports the Fund for the Arts with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Fund for the Arts | 623 W Main Street | Louisville, KY 40220
