Community Arts Award/Organization - Singletary Center for the Arts

The Community Arts Award (Organization) is given to an organization that makes a substantial positive impact in the community through the arts. Built in 1979 and located on the campus of the University of Kentucky, the Singletary Center is the largest arts complex in the Lexington metropolitan area. It is unquestionably essential to UK's School of Music, but its exceptional acoustical properties make it an attractive venue for many community arts organizations including the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra, the Lexington Chamber Chorale, the Lexington Singers and the Kentucky Ballet Theatre. The Center serves as the home of the Lexington Philharmonic, which performs its Master Classics, Pops, and Family series.

Under the leadership of Director Holly Salisbury, the Singletary Center offers numerous residencies and partners with many regional organizations such as the Woodford Educational Enrichment Fund which provides performing arts experiences to more than 3,700 Woodford County School students annually and professional development for the schools' faculty. In 2003, 14,250 students across the state attended programs especially designed for them.

In its 25 years, the Center has presented a treasure trove of world-renowned musicians such as YoYo Ma, Kathleen Battle, Denyce Graves and the Montreal Symphony. It has commissioned new works in music by David Ott for the Amadeus Trio. The center hosts a tremendous range in programming that reflects the University's and the greater community's increasingly diverse population. The Center has served Central Kentucky by hosting more than 8,870 events over the years with an audience count in excess of 3.8 million.

The Singletary Center offers visual arts as well. In addition to housing the University of Kentucky Art Museum, a rotating exhibit of local and regional artists' work is shown in the President's Room. There are magnificent (and large) fiber arts work on the walls by nationally known artists Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, Millennium, and Gerhardt Knodel, Garden of the Muses. Even the commissioned handrails by Louisville sculptor Dave Caudill are works of art in themselves. Envisioning its mission as fostering creativity for the all its visitors, the Singletary Center provides a focal point for many of the regions' artistic activities.

Previous recipients: Bowling Green-Warren County Arts Commission, Ft. Knox Alumni Performing Arts Center, Rowan County Arts Council, Fohs Hall Community Arts Foundation, Appalshop, Jenny Wiley Theatre, Ashland Area Art Gallery, Princeton Art Guild, Cumberland County Arts Council, The Living Arts & Science Center, Roots & Heritage Festival, Paramount Arts Center, Master Musicians Festival, Covington Community Center, Louisville Central Community Centers, Montgomery County Council for the Arts