The Curtain Rises Again: Performing Arts Return to Kentucky

Maestro J and friends, along with featured dancer Phillip Hancock (Cold Coordinator Choreography), use the creative language of music and dance to fight against oppression and recognize our shared humanity, shared vulnerability, and our shared purpose.

The performing arts sector is an important economic engine for our tourism economy. Prior to the pandemic, Kentucky Performing Arts contributed $15.8 million to our local economy. Following a national intermission of performing arts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, performing arts officially returned to the commonwealth. In August 2021, Kentucky Performing Arts held its first indoor, in-person performance following a 17-month intermission. Despite the intermission, Kentucky Performing Arts continued to provide arts and cultural experiences to Kentuckians through a mix of virtual programming and in-person, socially distanced outdoor events. In 2021, KPA presented 33 virtual events, including the original program All Together Now, which brought artists from throughout the commonwealth together at Old Forester’s Paristown Hall for a special streaming concert event. The Connecting For A Cause series was held in Christy’s Garden and brought together 470 people to six live events. In 2021, the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA) received supplemental funding allowing the program to double in size. For the summers of 2022, 2023 and 2024, GSA will now be able to welcome approximately 500 students to participate in the arts immersion program. In recent years, the class has served about 250 students on one campus each summer.