kentuck is
rising to the
next level
be a part of it!
As Kentuck prepares for its 53rd year, we would like to welcome you to join us on our journey to rise to the next level of excellence. When you support Kentuck, either through membership and/or year-end contributions, you allow us to provide programming that enhances the quality of life in your community and acts as an economic engine, bringing in tourists to spend money in your community’s businesses. Maybe you enjoy Kentuck’s Art Night, workshops for all ages, Gallery Shop, or the Kentuck Festival of the Arts. Maybe you’ve enjoyed one of our newer programs like Saturday Art Markets, a la cARTe, or Kentuck’s Kids Studios, making you part of the more than 4,000 participants in year-round programming—a 34% increase from 2022—which doesn’t count the Kentuck Festival.
In 2024, Kentuck will be expanding your opportunities to participate in art-making by opening Kentuck’s Clay Studio. Long-time studio artist Kerry Kennedy will be moving to a home studio, and her previous studio at Kentuck will become the Clay Studio, a place for learners of all ages to take classes at any experience level! In addition, Kentuck will also be adding stained glass and fused glass classes to its list of learning opportunities.
We want you to be part of this exciting journey. Please consider purchasing a membership or making a year-end contribution to Kentuck. Memberships and year-end giving will support the following things that Kentuck needs to continue the high caliber of programs you have come to expect:
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Equipment for Kentuck’s Clay Studio (tables, shelves, kiln parts, clay tools, and wheels for youth and adults) $10,000
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Tools, supplies, and a glass kiln for offering stained glass and fused glass classes $3,000
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Up-to-date technology that will allow our staff to process your registrations, tickets to events, and communications to you $7,000
As 2023 comes to a close and you consider your giving options, we hope that Kentuck’s mission to perpetuate the arts, engage the community, and empower the artist inspires you to become a member and/or contribute to our year-end giving campaign. 2024 will be met with new challenges, including proposed funding cuts and Kentuck Festival site changes, and new opportunities to continue bringing the West Alabama community with the highest quality programming you've come to know and love. Your support is more critical now than ever, and any amount is appreciated!
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Sincerely,
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Amy Echols, Executive Director
& Kentuck's Board of Directors
exciting news for 2024
You asked, we answered! Today, we offer four times more workshops than we did in 2019. We've hired two teaching artists so we make sure we're teaching what you want to learn. In early 2024, we will open the brand new "Kentuck's Clay Studio," a dedicated classroom space for all clay classes, including wheel throwing, after school clay play, and hand building classes. Having a dedicated clay classroom opens up a whole realm of possibilities, including increased class sizes, new class times, and drop-in opportunities. This classroom space is located on Kentuck's campus in Historic Downtown Northport, in the space currently occupied by Fire Horse Pottery.
(Don't worry, Fire Horse Pottery will still be creating at her new home studio. Follow her updates here.)
investing in the community: kentuck's NEW clay studio
repurposed
Kentuck Art Center's 2024 exhibition season lifts up women's voices in art and community through visual art exhibitions, music, and a series of speakers. Exhibitions at Kentuck's 3 on-campus galleries will feature women artists who create innovative art with media that traditionally has been deemed, "women's work," or features themes surrounding the lived experience of women. Each month, Kentuck's free event, Art Night, will offer an opening reception for artists, artist talks, and live music by women vocalists and musicians. Women who have broken barriers in traditionally male-dominated fields and scholars who study the role of women in history will be invited speakers. Throughout the year, workshops and community outreach will incorporate themes of the current exhibition or feature women artists.
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Upcoming exhibitions include: "Repurposed" (a group show), Ardith Goodwin, "Stitching Stories" (a group show), and Della Wells.
investing in art = investing in community
$1 = $46
Each dollar invested in Kentuck puts more than $46 back into YOUR community.
$5 million
The Kentuck Festival of the Arts makes an estimated $5 million economic impact on the surrounding community during the 2-day weekend. The Kentuck Festival of the Arts is the largest non-sporting event in Tuscaloosa County and isommunity, and empower the artist. The Kentuck Festival of the Arts is nationally recognized for its quality, diversity, and celebration of artistic style ranging from folk to contemporary arts and traditional crafts.
enhanced quality of life
Studies show that community arts projects decrease feelings of isolation and encourage people to build relationships and a sense of place.
thousands of children
Kentuck's Boxes of Joy is a program that provides art supply kits and additional arts instruction to youth in Tuscaloosa and Northport who are considered economically disadvantaged. Kentuck partners with several organizations throughout the community, including Northport Housing Authority, Tuscaloosa One Place Extended Day Program at Matthews Elementary, and the Tuscaloosa Juvenile Detention Center to bring craft kits to over 200 children, ages 5-21.
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Kentuck's Artists in the Schools program sends over a dozen Festival Artists to local third grade classrooms for demonstrations and hands-on activities. Studies show that students engaged in the arts have higher standardized test scores, higher GPAs, and lower dropout rates.
free events
Kentuck Art Center hosts two free, family-friendly events every month: Art Night and Saturday Art Market.
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Art Night, held the first Thursday of each month from 5-8pm, serves as the opening reception for exhibitions in the Museum and Teer Galleries. Additionally, visitors can expect open artists’ studios, live music in the courtyard, extended Gallery Shop hours, and pop-up shops from local vendors.
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Saturday Art Markets occur the third Saturday each month from 9:30am-2:00pm in Kentuck's Courtyard of Wonders. This is your monthly opportunity to shop with our wonderful local artists!
