Kentucky performing artists are encouraged to apply to the Kentucky Arts Council for inclusion in the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory, which promotes, showcases and provides professional development opportunities to a diverse selection of the state's finest contemporary and traditional performing artists. Individual artists, companies or groups in all genres of dance, theatre, music, storytelling, or other performing disciplines who have been Kentucky residents for at least one year may apply.

Kentucky performing arts presenters are also offered incentives to book artists included in the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory; the Kentucky Arts Council provides fee subsidies through the Performing Arts on Tour Grant Program.

Roberta Schultz, one part of the three-part harmony group Raison D'Etre says, "The Kentucky Performing Arts Directory certainly legitimizes your performances. Once you start to get bookings in the halls of Kentucky, it makes you more marketable and expands your base. We now regularly play in Indiana and Ohio and most recently we were invited to showcase for the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance in Monticello, New York. That has generated a lot of interest from that area of the country. We got a lot of radio play and that is really a plus." The Northern Kentucky musical trio which also includes Violet Rae Downey and Vickie Ellis, has also been involved with the Ohio Arts Presenters Network as a result of being a part of the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory and is eligible for similar booking programs of the Southern Arts Foundation's state arts agency members: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

"We have actually benefited from being in the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory," says Jan Foody, board president of Lexington's Kentucky Ballet Theatre. " We've been on for several years. The first year nothing much happened but last year we had at least four requests and through the Arts Council's Performing Arts on Tour Grant we were able to perform at the Center for Rural Development in Somerset and at the Lee County High School in Beattyville. Our fee for full company performances is $14,000. Through this program both venues received half that amount so they were able to hire us, where they probably wouldn't have been able to otherwise. It gets us out in the state. This year we are working on at least seven requests. I hope we always stay in the directory."

Performing artists interested in applying to the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory must submit an Intent to Apply form by February 1, 2005. The guidelines and instructions are available at artscouncil.ky.gov/guide/prog3/pad_gdl.html. The completed application including resumes, work samples (CDs, cassettes, or videos), and current marketing or publicity materials must be postmarked by March 1, 2005. For further information about the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory, contact Artists and Communities Program Director Amber Luallen at 502-564-5116 or [email protected]. To view the current Kentucky Performing Arts Directory, go to the Arts Council's Web site at www.artscouncil.ky.gov and click on Performing Arts on Tour Directory under Publications and Directories.

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The Kentucky Arts Council is a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet. Working in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts Council invests in programs that develop vibrant communities, provide lifelong education in the arts and support arts participation. Every $1 in grant funds awarded by the Kentucky Arts Council helps grantees secure $15 in earned income and matching funds from individuals, philanthropic sources and other levels of government.