8 minute read
The Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater
in collaboration with
Kentucky Performing Arts
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presents the
Republic Bank Foundation Speaker Series THE STATE OF SONG: “MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME” FACES A CHANGING WORLD
Sunday, October 23, 2022 | The Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater Delicious Bites Reception 4 p.m. | Program 5 p.m.
Kentucky to the World proudly presents a unique family and student-friendly event on Sunday, Oct. 23, featuring a dynamic combination of live musical performances, audience engagement and conversation with Harry Pickens, Hannah Drake, Ben Sollee, and Emily Bingham as part of the Republic Bank Foundation Speaker Series.
A reception with some delicious bites will kick off the event at 4 p.m. in the North Lobby for all attendees followed by the live program at 5 p.m. in the Kentucky Center’s Bomhard Theater. This conversation will examine the role of “My Old Kentucky Home” as the song that represents our state, and thus ourselves, from its problematic roots to its modern disconnect.
This program seeks to begin the conversation about how KTW can work together towards rewriting Kentucky's song to the world by combining musical interactions with lively on-stage conversation and audience participation.
Harry Pickens Emily Bingham Ben Sollee Hannah Drake
THE MUSICAL HOSTS
An award-winning musician, author, composer, educator and life
transformation coach, Harry Pickens is a global performer with a multifaceted musical career that has featured collaborations with some of the world’s greatest jazz artists. Harry has received multiple honors including the Kentucky Governor’s Awards In The Arts and the Fund for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.
Hannah Drake is a blogger, podcast host, activist, public speaker, poet, and author of 11 books. She serves as the Chief Creative Officer at IDEAS xLab and co-lead artist of the (Un)Known Project, which seeks to discover the hidden names and stories of black people who were enslaved in Kentucky and beyond. She writes commentary on politics, feminism, and race. Her writing has been featured online at Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, The Bitter Southerner, The Lily, Harper’s Bazaar, and Revolt TV. Her work has been recognized by Colin Kaepernick, Ava DuVernay, and The New York Times.
An American cellist, singer-songwriter, composer and producer, Kentuckian Ben Sollee has distinguished himself as a multi-faceted creative, blurring the lines between music, technology and activism over the last two decades. In addition to his highly praised studio records and growing career as an Emmy Award-winning composer, Ben is known for his social and environmental advocacy to protect people and the land.
THE CONVERSATION HOST
Louisville native and writer Emily Bingham, Ph.D., has explored the impact of ideas in the U.S. and the society through her written works across multiple genres including gender, politics and religion. Most recently, as author of My Old Kentucky Home, Emily unearths how the official state song of Kentucky has woven itself into the bloodstream of American life and through its 21st century reassessment.
KTW CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY
For a decade, Kentucky to the World's mission has been to elevate the cultural and intellectual reputation of our Commonwealth on the global stage. This is accomplished by sharing compelling stories of extraordinary people with Kentucky roots who are shaping the world with their creativity, intellect, and passion through live events, television specials, digital content, collectibles, school programs and other initiatives.
THE FUTURE OF KTW IN BOWLING GREEN
In 2022 KTW was recruited as one of the exclusive tenants in Western Kentucky University’s (WKU) Innovation Campus Collaborative SmartSpace. KTW will be in the company of the MIT Documentary Lab and The USC Civic Imagination Project with more to come. This new satellite space gives us the unique opportunity to work with more collaborators to reach broader audiences as well as showcase the vibrance of Bowling Green’s community, economy, and workforce.
The KTW and WKU in-kind partnership will offer more Kentuckians an opportunity to tell their stories through the KTW podcast booth. It will inspire other budding entrepreneurs with video content from interviews with successful Kentuckians airing throughout the innovation space. The goal is to inspire talented people to come from beyond our borders to find their futures in Bowling Green and in the rest of the state.
WKU has redesigned the 30,000 square foot Innovation Campus (located at 2413 Nashville Road, Bowling Green, KY) to be a collaborative smart space for entrepreneurs throughout the state. The space offers fiber internet access and the ability to collaborate with other business owners in dynamic meeting spaces. The WKU CREATE (Central Region Ecosystem for Arts, Technology, and Entrepreneurship) is one of six innovation hubs throughout the state of Kentucky, similar to Louisville’s Amplify. In addition to the public-facing CREATE, the Central Region and Innovation Commercialization Center will house university labs, a research foundation and companies’ headquarters.
“When I first heard about Kentucky to the World’s mission I knew it was an organization that we wanted to have involved in our Innovation Center,” said Sam Ford, Executive Director of AccelerateKY and fellow of CREATE. “Talent is the most essential ingredient in our economic development of Kentucky. If we have talent who want to be here, that can’t be replicated. Sharing KTW’s success stories of living Kentuckians who have made it big is just further proof that it is possible to thrive here.”
BACKGROUND
KTW is unique in its singular focus on Kentucky ‘s intellectual and cultural
reputation. Their work showcases how they lead the charge for the narrative development that is vital to our state’s economic and workforce future.
KTW has hosted over 20 live events and programs reaching 6,600 attendees. These programs have served over 1500 students from nearly 70 schools and organizations. After the live event, the program is aired and available for streaming on Kentucky Educational Television (KET).
The speaker series for general audiences is held with the Republic Bank Foundation as the title sponsor in collaboration with Kentucky Performing Arts. Preceding each live event KTW creates a specially designed program for more than 100 local high school students featuring an intimate briefing with our presenters, generously supported by The Bass Family Foundation.
KTW programs have featured extraordinary people with Kentucky roots including: • Dana Canedy, Pulitzer Prize-Winning
Author & Journalist; New York City, NY • Chris Fischer, OCEARCH Founder and Expedition Leader; Park City, UT • Sam Ford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Comparative Media
Studies Researcher and AccelerateKY
Executive Director; Bowling Green, KY • Finis ‘KY’ White, Multi-Platinum
Hip Hop Sound Engineer; Atlanta, GA • Damaris Phillips, Celebrity Chef,
Food Network Television Host;
Louisville, KY • Tony Moore, Comic Book Artist, most notably Fear Agent, The Exterminators and the first six issues of The Walking
Dead; Cynthiana, KY • Mary T. Meagher, Olympic Gold
Medalist swimming the butterfly;
Atlanta, GA • Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate,
Institute Professor, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology; Boston, MA • Tracy Drain, lead flight engineer for NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission,
Jet Propulsion Lab; Pasadena, CA
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Our network of local partners currently include the Frazier History Museum, Kentucky Science Center, Louisville Tourism, Metro Parks & Recreation Community Centers, Muhammad Ali Center, and Kentucky Performing Arts.
YOU CAN HELP BRING KENTUCKY TO THE WORLD
Whether you’re a business person concerned about recruitment and retention of world-class talent, a citizen tired of Kentucky too often getting a bad rap, a student wondering how to grab onto the dreams you have for the future, or someone who’s just not sure if Kentucky and Kentuckians have what it takes to compete on the world stage — this is your organization.
As passionate advocates for the Bluegrass State, KTW needs YOU! The past 10 years have been filled with tremendous growth for Kentucky to the World. Please join them with your gift to support the artists, writers, thinkers, and game changers who are dedicated to changing the narrative of Kentucky on the world stage.
Make your gift today on our website at www.kentuckytotheworld.org or learn more by calling (502) 897-3819.
Jordan Clines J E W E L R Y
$2,500 AND ABOVE Bass Family Foundation Susan & Mark Blieden Sandra Frazier Porter Watkins & George Bailey Shelly & Kenny Zegart $1,000 – $2,499 Terrian Barnes Susan & Mark Blieden Sam & Mary Michael Corbett Karin Cox Lee and Lois Epstein Fisher Family Gives Four Roses Distillery Jean Frazier Susan B. and Steven J. Goldstein
Charitable Fund Susan Hershberg Cindy May Johnson Lucas Jean-Marie Kentucky Select Properties Jessica Loving & Sheryl Snyder Brian McGraw Cara Meade Anne Murray Marcus & Meredith Niemann Sean Riddle Roth Family Foundation $500 – $999 Anonymous Dr. Rebecca Booth and Steve Savage Sandy Gulick Amy & Sterling Lapinski Ellen & Richard Miller Ellen & Max Shapira David X. Thurmond $100 - $499 Jerry & Madeline Abramson Anonymous Ann Leah Blieden Dale J. & Ceci Conway Boden Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey P. Callen Mark Campisano & Lindsey Miller Gretchen & John Clark, IV Linda & Fred Cowan Mike & Lucy Crawford Carol & Buddy Cutler Nancy Doctor Hiram & Terry Ely Marjorie Fitzgerald Phyllis & Larry Florman Melissa & Rudy Gernert James & Kay Grubola Barb & Ed Haines Margaret Handmaker Patty & Tom Huckaby Isadore Rose Goldstein
Family Foundation Diana & Steven Jester Anne & Fred Joseph Kim Klein Kevin Lynch Bob & Bo Manning Debby Meyer Deena Ombres Kent & Cathy Oyler Mike Rodgers & Pam Greenwell Kathryn Rosenbaum Ellen & Philip Rosenbloom Dr. John & Bonnie Roth Laura & Mark Rothstein Felice & Bob Sachs Kathy Scherer Denise Schiller Patricia & Martin Schiller Jerry Seligman & Ellie Gordon Babu & Regina Sharma Nancy & Jimmie Strull Fran & Chuck Thompson James & Elizabeth Voyles Barbara & Frank Weisberg Angella Wilson Arnold & Carol Zegart Susan G. Zepeda & Fred P. Seifer
