VOL. 10  NO. 5

	In This Issue
	Folklife Festival Returns
	On the National Front
	House Approves Funding Increase NEA Deadlines Americans for the Arts Conference Highlights October- Arts and Humanities Month
	Arts Council News
	Performing Arts Directory KY on Stage Plans for New Assessment Guide to Programs
	The Arts in Education
	Craft Marketing News
	Focus on Folklife
	Around Kentucky
	Celebrating the Governor's Awards Lewis and Clark Residency Final Shout Out The Kentucky Center Celebrates 20th Shakespeare in American Communities
	Resources and Reports
	START News Update
	Message From the Director
	Quotable Quote
	Hot Dates

The BlueMoon is published bi-monthly by the Kentucky Arts Council. Please send comments, questions and information to The Blue Moon, Kentucky Arts Council, Old Capitol Annex, 300 West Broadway, Frankfort, KY 40601-1980 or call 502/564-3757V/TDD Toll Free: 1-888-833-2787
E-mail: kyarts@mail.state.ky.us

2004 - 2005 Kentucky Performing Arts Directory

A panel of in- and out-of-state arts professionals recently selected members of the 2004 - 2005 Kentucky Performing Arts Directory. Congratulations to the following members.

The next deadline for artists to apply for inclusion in the Performing Art Directory will be March 1, 2004. Please contact Heather Lyons, Individual Artist Program Director, for more information.

Kentucky On Stage!

October 7 & 8, 2003
Downtown Art Center
Lexington, Kentucky

The 2003 Kentucky On Stage / Setting the Stage event will include an exciting two days of workshops, performance showcases, and great opportunities for networking, booking and increasing your own knowledge about opportunities for performers and presenters. On October 7 and 8, 2003, Lexington's Downtown Art Center will be full of activity for all types of performing artists and for presenters involved with performing arts facilities, festivals, schools, libraries, city and community events, among other types of venues.

Kentucky On Stage will include three showcases in two venues and will provide a wonderful opportunity to sample more than 40 performances by the excellent traditional and contemporary performers selected for inclusion in the 2004-2005 Kentucky Performing Arts Directory. An afternoon showcase will take place each day at the Downtown Art Center theatre and on Tuesday, October 7, 7 - 9 PM, a special Kentucky On Stage Coffeehouse, will take place at Lexington's beautiful Phoenix Ballroom. Each showcase will feature a range of musical genres, dance, theatre and storytelling. We know you will enjoy seeing all of the fine performers who are new to the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory as well as the wonderful performers who are continuing with the Directory again. A full list of performers selected for Kentucky's Performing Arts Directory is included in this issue of the Blue Moon.

Kentucky On Stage also includes Setting the Stage, the workshop component of the event. For Setting the Stage, we are very pleased to welcome special guest, Jeri Goldstein, President of The New Music Times, an artist management and publishing company. Over the two days, Goldstein will present marketing workshops for presenters and for performing artists and will provide her acclaimed joint session for artists and presenters in The Art of Negotiation. Goldstein has managed the careers of some of the top touring acoustic artists on the circuit including Robin & Linda Williams and Garrison Keillor & The Hopeful Gospel Quartet. Goldstein has also booked national and international tours for artists performing in country, folk, gospel, bluegrass, contemporary, classical and children's music as well as for theater and dance.

Other great workshops will be offered on topics such as Presenting Artists in Alternative Spaces, Showcasing for Performing Artists and information on state and regional funding sources for presenters and artists.

Complete schedules and registration forms for Kentucky On Stage / Setting the Stage are available on the KAC Web site or call the KAC at (888) 833-2787 to request one. We look forward to seeing you this year at Kentucky On Stage!

Kentucky Arts Council begins Mid-Point Assessment for Grantees

Beginning in FY 2004, the Kentucky Arts Council (KAC) is implementing a mid-point assessment process for some grant programs. Initiated to help ensure that projects and programs successfully meet goals, including positive long-term impact on all participants, mid-point assessments will help grantees reflect on progress toward objectives.

Each grant, award and adjudication program includes purpose and goal statements that outline what the Kentucky Arts Council wishes to achieve in partnership with applicants selected to participate in that program. Performance expectations address how applicants will work to meet the purpose and goals of specific programs. Performance expectations, though different for each program, call for a description of strategies for addressing issues, such as planning and implementation, documentation and assessment, diversity and access, and artistic excellence.

Mid-term assessments will assist grantees in reflecting on the progress and continuation of their work based on the performance expectations, and provide the KAC with feedback concerning the milestones and the ways in which we may continue to support work in the field. Rather than serving as verification that the work proposed in the application is being completed, the mid-term assessment is designed to demonstrate the ways in which the applicant is being responsive to what is happening in the specific project, including:

• Accomplishment of goals
• Development of strategies
• Problems encountered
• Ways in which the original plans are being adjusted to better meet the goals

Mid-point assessments will ask for responses to a series of questions based on the original performance expectations addressed in the application. Narratives should be approximately two pages in length. Applicants will be informed of the date their mid-point assessment is due, and the completed responses may be E-mailed or sent by regular mail by the deadline to the appropriate KAC staff for that program. The Kentucky Arts Council will respond to mid-point assessments regarding assistance it might provide for reaching the goals of the project.

Assessment methods should be developed along with the plans for the project or program, and should be used throughout implementation and follow-up. Many KAC applications ask for a description of the process and tools to be used to gather ongoing data about the project, and careful, thoughtful responses to these performance expectations will help outline the entire assessment process. A sample set of mid-point assessment questions might include:

1. Project Goals and Plan

• Discuss your ongoing collaborative planning process
• How have your goals for the project evolved over time? Why?
• How have your anticipated partnerships and collaborations developed?

Target Group

• Describe the process you eventually used to identify your target groups
• What are the ways in which your work is making an impact on the participation of your target group?
• How have your participation strategies evolved over time? Why?

3. Assessment and Feedback

• What evidence are you gathering about your work and how is it impacting what you are deciding to do? Are you using it to guide your next steps?

4. Artistic Quality

• What are the ways in which you have seen participants grow artistically? What do you think caused this growth?

Detailed information about specific performance measurement methods that may be used to assess programs will be included in the next issue of the Blue Moon.

Guide to Programs Now Available

You may have it in your hands already and don't realize it! Among the many changes at the Kentucky Arts Council, the traditional book that gave detailed information about grant programs has taken on a leaner and cleaner look and purpose. Mailed out in late August to over 12,000 constituents, Creating Cultural Vitality in Kentucky is a six page, user-friendly reference guide with very short descriptions of each award, grant, adjudicated program, event and service available through the Arts Council.

The old format of the Guide to Programs became duplicative of the online Guidelines and Instructions that currently accompany each application or nomination form. "We wanted this to be more of a marketing tool for the Arts Council," says Public Information Officer Ed Lawrence. "While it is still useful to artists and arts organizations who already work with us, we hope this new format will also be enticing to those that may not be aware that the Arts Council has something for them." Creating Cultural Vitality in Kentucky is indexed by colorful icons that lead the reader to what's available for community organizations as well as arts organizations. Other targeted groups for increasing participation in the arts include businesses; the education community, including teachers, administrators and involved parents; fair and festival organizers; local government entities and libraries.

Call toll free, 1-888-833-2787, or e-mail the Arts Council for additional copies.

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