LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (June 10, 2022) — The Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA) is launching its 35th anniversary class this summer with a double class size from previous years thanks to additional funding from the Kentucky Department of Education. Growing from 256 students to over 500, the tuition-free program will run over two consecutive three-week sessions (Session 1: June 12-July 2; Session 2: July 10-July 30) with students split into each. Both sessions will take place at the University of Kentucky this summer.
“Education continues to be key to ensuring Kentucky’s future remains bright. Investing this additional funding in the GSA is a positive step in ensuring that educational and cultural opportunities reach students in all Commonwealth communities,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. “I encourage more students to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to develop diverse and lasting friendships and explore your artistic talents through education and the arts.”
“This is a transformative moment for the GSA, but also for the state as a whole,” said UK alumnus Nick Covault, GSA executive director and 2002 GSA alumnus (vocal music ). “This increased investment not only means that more of Kentucky’s young creatives will be empowered, validated and affirmed as artists, it also means that the Commonwealth will benefit even more from the powerful skills of our next generation of creative leaders: citizen-artists who bring innovation, connection, joy and healing to diverse sectors of our communities.
GSA has been approved for $2,850,000 from the American Recovery Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Summer Enrichment Fund (Office of Teaching and Learning) to be awarded over a period of three years. Federal ESSER funding has been provided to state education agencies under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act. The $2,850,000 ESSER grant covers 43% of the expanded GSA program, with an additional 32% ($2,121,746) funded by private sources and the remainder by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Kentucky Performing Arts and the program administrators are working to secure additional funding, including fundraising, to allow the program to enroll 500 students after the three-year grant period ends.
“We are proud to join in this effort to expand the GSA to encompass additional students,” Education Commissioner Jason E. Glass said. “This program is a powerful and life-changing learning experience for Kentucky youth. I am delighted that more of our creative and artistic students will benefit from the GSA experience. »
GSA brings together student artists from across the state to a college campus in Kentucky for an immersive program of daily seminars, creative projects, master classes, and lectures. Instruction is offered in nine disciplines: architecture and design, creative writing, dance, theatre, film and photography, instrumental music, musical theatre, visual arts and vocal music. Students, educators, and administrators often noted the peer support learning element of the program, with participants connecting with like-minded peers and often leaving with new lifelong friends. Guest artists include Martha Redbone, Affriliachian Poets, Flamenco Louisville, Mutual Dance Theatre, Harry Pickens and a variety of other artists from various fields/mediums. They will entertain and interact with the students.
Alumni of the program are eligible for scholarships at nearly 30 colleges and universities. 93% of the GSA Class of 2021 said they felt better prepared to attend college because of their GSA experience, while 75% said they felt GSA helped make college an option more accessible to them.
To learn more about the program, including ways to support the GSA’s mission, visit https://kentuckygsa.org or the Kentucky Performing Arts website.
About GKA
GSA is a public/private partnership created in 1987 by the Kentucky Center (now Kentucky Performing Arts), the Commonwealth of Kentucky and numerous private partners. Today, the vital funding needed to make the GSA a reality is provided by the state through leadership from the Governor’s Office and the Kentucky Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet, as well as Kentucky Performing Arts. Foundation, Toyota Motor Manufacturing and more than 300 companies. , parents, educators, former students and friends of the AGK.
About the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts
The University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts offers the largest collection of academic programs in visual and performing arts in Kentucky with four academic units. The college is also home to the Singletary Center for the Arts and the UK Art Museum. The College of Fine Arts declares that the arts are essential to the life of the individual and the community and expresses its commitment to the arts through its dedication to teaching, scholarly research, artistic experimentation, performance, awareness and exposure.
About Kentucky Performing Arts
By bringing world-class performances to Kentucky, connecting artists to the community, and providing opportunities for arts education, Kentucky Performing Arts lives out its statewide mission to build lasting relationships with the arts. . As a full member of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet, Kentucky Performing Arts, along with the other agencies, seeks to preserve and promote the history, heritage, and arts of the Commonwealth.
Three locations in Louisville make up the family of locations under the Kentucky Performing Arts umbrella:
- The Kentucky Center at 501 W. Main St.
- The Brown Theater, 315 W. Broadway
- Paris City Hall Old Forester, 724 Brent St.
