City to develop arts/cultural district

By GINA KINSLOW
Glasgow Daily Times

HORSE CAVE September 19, 2008 11:39 am

— Horse Cave is one of three Kentucky cities selected by the Kentucky Arts Council for the development of an arts and cultural district.
Such a district would be one where the arts play a central role, said Lori Meadows, executive director of the Kentucky Arts Council.
Meadows presented a check Thursday to the Horse Cave Development Corporation in the amount of $35,938, which will oversee the disbursement of grant funds for the development of the district.
“We spent a lot of time this year thinking about different communities that might be good to work with,” she said.
Other cities chosen were Berea and Maysville. Each city receives the same amount, which has been provided by the National Endowment of the Arts.
Selection was based upon established arts activity, an expressed interest in using the arts as a tool to develop cultural tourism and the potential for an arts and cultural district to contribute to the social, economic and educational growth of the community.
Meadows said the Kentucky Arts Council wants to see what it can do to help Horse Cave, Berea and Maysville move forward in making the arts a central part of the communities.
She pointed out there “certainly seems to be a strong interest in the arts” in Horse Cave.
“Kentucky Repertory Theatre has been a partner of the Kentucky Arts Council for a long time and the Arts Council has had a lot of workshops here,” she said.
The council intends to spend 12 to 18 months working with each of the three communities to develop more focus on the arts.
“It doesn’t mean everything will be finished in that time, but it will be a good start,” Meadows said.
Horse Cave officials have already been tossing around some ideas for the money.
“I think a lot of it will be used in marketing us as a cultural district in downtown,” said Ken Russell, president of the Horse Cave Development Corporation. “That’s something that they really want us to use the money for, is to develop a cultural district. We’ve discussed the possibility of a new art festival ... something in the spring of next year.”
The type of event they have in mind, he said, would be a juried art festival “where people have to actually qualify to show here.”
An example of such a festival would be the St. James Court Art Show in Louisville.
“We would love to think it would be of that nature,” Russell said.
There is also a possibility of doing something pertaining to educational arts.
Officials working with the project are to meet with Meadows in October to begin brainstorming, he said.

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