VOL. 12  NO. 6

	In This Issue
	The Arts and Hurricane Relief Efforts
	On the National Front
	Arts Council News
	Fellowship Artist Screening Kentucky On Stage Technology Initiative Health Insurance Visual Arts at the Market Grant Awards Economic Impact Survey Secretary Host Leaves Commerce Judy Sizemore Wins Sallie Bingham Award
	Around Kentucky
	Craft Marketing News
	Focus on Folklife
	Arts in Education
	Resources and Reports
	Quotable Quote
	Hot Dates

The Blue Moon is published bi-monthly by the Kentucky Arts Council, a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet. Please send comments, questions and information to the Blue Moon, Kentucky Arts Council, 500 Mero Street, 21st Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601-1987 or call 502-564-3757, toll free 1-888-833-2787.
E-mail: kyarts@ky.gov

Fellowship Applicants' Work Open for Public Screening

This year, 150 visual and media artists have applied for the coveted Kentucky Arts Council's Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Awards of $7,500, which also brings added recognition and promotional opportunities. Only about 20 will receive the highly competitive award. Before the panel reviews the work, the public will have the opportunity to view slides of each of the 143 visual arts applicants beginning at 2:00 p.m., November 28, 2005 at the Lexington Public Library, 140 East Main Street, Lexington, Ky. After the screening, a brief reception will be held as an opportunity to meet the Kentucky artist applicants.

The purpose of the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Program is to support Kentucky artists engaged in creating artwork of high quality and to recognize creative excellence in practicing, professional Kentucky artists. Applications are accepted annually, on a rotating basis by discipline. The Fellowship Awards are named after Kentucky journalist and past Arts Council Board chair Al Smith.

The Fellowship program utilizes a "blind jurying" process by which the selection panel is not provided with applicants' names; the panel reviews the work samples and applications according to application numbers only. Criteria for the awards include artistic excellence, professional achievement and the potential of the fellowship to enhance the artist's development and encourage the continuation of the artist's work.

For more information about the public screening or the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Program, contact Artist and Community Arts Program Director Amber Luallen at 888-833-2787 or amber.luallen@ky.gov.

Kentucky on Stage -- A Preview of Possibilities for Kentucky Stages

Acoustic, contemporary, Appalachian, classical, blues, old time, bluegrass, Celtic and choral are the sounds of music at the Kentucky Arts Council's seventh annual Kentucky on Stage. Add to that a 12-minute performance by the Lexington Children's Theatre and you have the makings of a wonderful sampler of the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory artists, groups and ensembles. The showcase on November 2, 2005 at the Lexington Children's Theatre featured John Gage, Ceol Cridhe, Pale Stout & Amber, No Tools Loaned, Roger Cooper, Raison D' Etre, Kentucky Wild Horse, Juggernaut Jug Band, Greg Schaber, Tim Lake, Lexington Children's Theatre, Andrew Leonard, Daniel & Amy Carwile, Derby City Chorus, Kentucky Reign, Butch Rice, and Willie Eames.

Kentucky On Stage is open to performing arts presenters including college and university student activity boards, corporate event planners, festival organizers, local arts councils, local and state government agencies, library directors, night club and coffeehouse booking agents, Main Street and Renaissance program directors, local, state and national park site activities directors as well as performing arts theatres and centers. It is an opportunity to review the offerings of Kentucky performing artists as well as make contacts for booking. Presenters can also take advantage of the Performing Arts on Tour grant, which subsidizes bookings of performers listed in the Performing Arts Directory. An Intent to Apply is required by November 15, 2005 and the Guidelines and Instructions can be found at http://artscouncil.ky.gov/guide/prog3/aot_gdl.htm

Artists interested in showcasing in next year's Kentucky on Stage must be accepted into the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory. Application deadline is March 1, 2006. This year's directory features 72 performing artists, groups or ensembles in dance, music, storytelling and theatre that have been selected by a panel of Kentucky and out-of-state performing arts professionals on the basis of artistic excellence, performance experience and marketing capacity.

For more information about Kentucky on Stage or the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory, contact Amber Luallen, Individual Artist and Community Arts Program Director at 888-833-2787 or amber.luallen@ky.gov

Kentucky Arts Council Implements New Technology Initiative

As the result of Challenge America funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kentucky Arts Council (KAC) is implementing a Technology Initiative in collaboration with the Center for Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Technology (CEDET), an organization with a long-standing track record of successful technology and economic development projects, many dealing with artists.

This initiative is multi-faceted and focuses on providing arts organizations and artists with organizational and business development services related to the use and application of technology. It will promote the use of technologies through training that enhances an understanding of the role, benefit, and application of technology in the operation of small artist businesses or management of art organizations. It will further assist applicants to the Kentucky Arts Council in the future with electronic grant application submissions and will better enable them to access information and resources currently available from the KAC.

Arts organizations and artists of all disciplines will be eligible to apply, with preference given to individuals operating a small business. Eligible arts organizations will include guilds, cooperatives, and associations. Criteria is presently being developed.

Watch for details and information that you'll be receiving as the project develops.

Health Insurance Available to Kentucky Artists and Arts Workers

A new option for health, long-term care, life and other insurance products is now being made available through Kentucky Association of Museums membership. Artists, arts workers and arts organizations now have the opportunity to become members of the Kentucky Association of Museums at $10 for individuals and $15 for basic institutional membership. Once a member, there are a number of benefits including professional development, a diverse network of colleagues and the opportunity to participate in Association Health Programs insurance programs.

To request a membership application, contact Sara Harger, Kentucky Association of Museums, Liberty Hall Historic Site, 218 Wilkinson Street, Frankfort, KY at 502-227-2560 or sara@libertyhall.org.

Upon receipt of your membership, you can then submit the Kentucky Association of Museums Association Health Programs Proposal Request or speak directly with one of the Association Health Programs licensed agents. Health insurance is available for individuals and family members, groups (full/part-time employees), student plans, short-term coverage, Medicare supplements and international travel. Long-term care is available for home, assisted living, and nursing home care. Life insurance offerings are for term, universal and survivorships. Insurance options are also available for disability income, critical illness, accident policies, dental, vision, and health savings accounts. Members can save up to 30% on insurance premiums. Rates and availability may vary by state.

Visual Arts at the Market Accepts Seven New Artists

Seven new artists have been accepted into the Kentucky Arts Council's adjudicated program Visual Arts at the Market, which assists painters, printmakers, photographers and other artists working in two-dimensional art forms in increasing their wholesale and retail market reach. Linda Fugate-Blumer, Ellen Guyer, Trent Altman, Dionisio Ceballos, Robert T. Jackson, Larry Wright and Mary Hagy join 49 other Kentucky artists whose work has been accepted on the basis of artistic excellence, quality of product and market readiness.

The primary benefit of being accepted in the Visual Arts at the Market program is eligibility to participate in Kentucky Crafted: The Market, a multi-million dollar, state-sponsored wholesale and retail market held annually in March at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville and produced by the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program. The Arts Council also provides professional development to artists through marketing workshops, product development consultations and promotional opportunities. Visual Arts at the Market artists are eligible for inclusion in the Arts Council's virtual gallery exhibition www.artscouncil.ky.gov/virtual.htm, which is annually updated before The Market.

For more information about Visual Arts at the Market or individual artists programs of the Arts Council, contact Artist and Community Arts Program Director Amber Luallen at 888-833-2787 or amber.luallen@ky.gov. The complete list of artists accepted into the Viual Arts at the Market follows:

Fall 2005 Arts Council Grant Announcements

FY2006 Individual Artist Professional Development Grant

FY2006 START Grants

FY2006 Organizational Technical Assistance Awards

Economic Impact Survey Near Completion

If you are an artist, craft artist, or part of an arts organization, the chances are pretty good that you have either completed a survey or have one in your pile of papers that needs to be completed. If you own a retail establishment that sells art, craft or art products, your survey will arrive any day. Fairs and festivals, libraries and local government agencies that provide arts experiences will also be recipients of surveys developed by the University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research for the Kentucky Arts Council.

Now is the time to get them completed and returned! The initial data coming in are encouraging and we think this information will help us make a strong case for public support for the arts in the next legislative session. If you have not completed the survey yet, please take a few minutes to do so. The higher return we get will yield a higher degree of accuracy in the data.

The surveys are also available online for your convenience. If you did not receive a survey or know of someone that did not receive one and would like to participate, go to http://gatton.uky.edu/CBER/ResearchSurveys.html

Secretary Host Leaves Commerce Cabinet Post
Parks Commissioner George Ward Appointed as New Secretary

In early October, Jim Host announced that he would be departing as Commerce Cabinet Secretary due to personal and family health reasons. For the last two years, Host has served with distinction and those that have had the opportunity to work with him during his tenure have a deep appreciation for his work ethic and his contribution to the agencies in the Commerce Cabinet and indeed the people of Kentucky.

Among his many accomplishments, Host helped launch the "Unbridled Spirit" branding campaign, draft the first ever comprehensive energy strategy, improved capital investment into our state park system, led the committee that recommended the construction of a Louisville arena and increased minority hiring to record levels.

State Parks Commissioner George Ward has been appointed as the new Kentucky Commerce Cabinet Secretary, overseeing 16 state agencies including the Kentucky Arts Council. Ward has more than 25 years experience in the hotel management business and is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. Under his leadership, the Department of Parks has made great progress in protecting the natural environment and historic significance of parks, ensuring total visitor satisfaction, developing staff professionalism and maintaining park buildings and recreational facilities, as well as reduce the department's $29 million annual operating deficit.

Judy Sizemore Wins 2005 Sallie Bingham Award

Each year, the Kentucky Foundation for Women recognizes outstanding achievement in feminist art for social change with the Sallie Bingham Award. The foundation has named Kentucky Arts Council Outreach Director and outstanding community artist from McKee, Ky., as the winner of the 2005 Sallie Bingham Award. Judy has received several grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and in each project she has demonstrated her commitment to feminism. She continually honors the gifts of women to their families, communities, cultures, and the world. Judy has been working with community arts and creative writing in Kentucky since 1988. She is one of Kentucky's top experts at using art to create and build community and received the 1998 Governor's Awards in the Arts for Arts in Education in 1988. Judy, a selfless, tireless crusader for positive social change, embraces art as the most powerful tool for creating a just and peaceful world.

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