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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 23, 2004 |
Contact: Ed Lawrence |
Arts Council Rewards Artistic Excellence in Kentucky
The Kentucky Arts Council recently awarded the 2005 Al Smith Fellowships for writers, choreographers and composers to twelve professional Kentucky artists, to recognize and encourage artistic excellence in Kentucky. The $7,500 awards named for Al Smith, journalist and former Arts Council chair (1977-1980), alternate between two discipline groupings: writers, composers, choreographers, and interdisciplinary artists in one year and visual and media artists in the other. In addition, 29 Kentucky artists have been awarded $1000 Professional Assistance Awards for continued development of their work.
Jim Tomlinson, a writer of fiction who received an Award said he was "stunned at first, then almost immediately, incredibly elated. With so many accomplished writers applying for the Al Smith Fellowship, you can't actually expect to win one." The Berea author of Prologue, a novella in Seven Days in December, went on to say that the Fellowship Award was a validation of his work, "but in the long run, the Award's real value is what happens next, where I go from here, both artistically and commercially. And I'll tell everyone who'll listen; since moving to the Commonwealth almost ten years ago, I've been amazed by how strongly Kentucky supports its artists and how it nurtures the arts community."
A panel of out-of-state artists and arts professionals reviews the anonymous applications and selects the artists who will receive Fellowships and Professional Assistance awards based primarily upon the artistic excellence. Lesser criteria include the artists' professional achievements and the potential for the award to enhance the work of the artist.
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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.
NOTE TO EDITORS: See listing below for Al Smith Fellowship Award and Professional Assistance Award winners by discipline and county of residence.
| AL SMITH FELLOWSHIP
AWARDS |
||
| COUNTY | NAME | AMOUNT |
Choreography |
||
| JEFFERSON | Mehrunnisa Hassan | $7,500 |
| Fiction | ||
| FAYETTE MADISON MERCER |
Deborah Reed Jim Tomlinson Heather Henson |
$7,500 $7,500 $7,500 |
| Musical Composition | ||
| JEFFERSON | Steve Rouse | $7,500 |
| Non-fiction | ||
| FAYETTE JEFFERSON |
Todd Campbell Graham Shelby |
$7,500 $7,500 |
| Playwriting | ||
| JEFFERSON JEFFERSON |
Liz Fentress Vin Morreale, Jr |
$7,500 $7,500 |
| Poetry | ||
| FAYETTE FAYETTE FLOYD |
Anthony Brusate Young Smith Leatha Kendrick |
$7,500 $7,500 $7,500 |
| PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE AWARDS
|
||
| COUNTY | NAME | AMOUNT |
Choreography |
||
| CALLOWAY JEFFERSON |
Ivan Pulinkala Anna Sapozhnikov |
$1,000 $1,000 |
| Fiction | ||
| FAYETTE FAYETTE FAYETTE FLEMING JEFFERSON JEFFERSON JEFFERSON MARTIN |
Barbara Hausman Keith Hubbard Steve Lyon Garry Barker Lorraine Nickole Brown Vince Tweddell Julia Youngblood Mary Stepp |
$1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 |
| Musical Composition | ||
| JEFFERSON JEFFERSON WARREN WARREN |
Jonathan Shippey Craig Wagner Michael Kallstrom Charles Smith |
$1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 |
| Non-fiction | ||
| FAYETTE JEFFERSON JEFFERSON JEFFERSON KENTON |
Susan Brown Michael Feigin Irene Mosvold Terry Tapp Ron Ellis |
$1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 |
| Playwriting | ||
| FAYETTE FRANKLIN JEFFERSON JEFFERSON |
Natacha Feola Mary Hamilton Marty Pollio Patricia Ramsey |
$1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 |
| Poetry | ||
| FAYETTE FAYETTE GARRARD GREENUP JEFFERSON ROWAN |
Rebecca Howell Jeff Worley Christina Lovin Stephen Holt William Smith George Eklund |
$1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 |
| Total | $119,000 | |