KyArtsCast

On this month's Episode of the Kentucky Arts Cast, Host Leeann Potter explores some of the America 250 KY programs that are taking place this Summer.

On this month's episode of the Kentucky Arts Cast, Kentucky's Newest Poet Laureate, Kathleen Driskell, sits down with host Leeann Potter to discuss writing, teaching, and the art of living. Award-winning poet, essayist, and teacher Kathleen Driskell has authored of six poetry collections, most recently Goat-Footed Gods. She is professor of creative writing and Chair of the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University in Louisville.

In this month's episode we will visit with Dave Shadwick, an artist preparing for this week's Kentucky Crafted Market AND Leah Hamilton and Melissa Bond, co-administrators of the Kentucky Heritage Emergency Response Network.

On our episode this month, we will visit with folks from organizations that received the Governor Awards in the Arts this year. Coordinated by the Kentucky Arts Council, the presentation of these awards recognizes individuals and organizations making extraordinary and significant contributions to the arts in Kentucky. Awards go to artists, arts organizations, art critics, volunteers, schools, educators, local governments, elected officials and corporate citizens. The Kentucky Arts Council solicits nominations for these awards and coordinates the panel selection process, and the awards are presented by the Governor of Kentucky.

The Kentucky Arts Council is celebrating our newest (and soon to be traveling) exhibit, Native Reflections. On this episode we will learn how an exhibit is created and how the process works from the artist and panelist prospectives.

It's been my pleasure for the past five years to produce this podcast. It started out as a wild idea, and has evolved into an amazing mode of communication that allows us to more thoroughly tell the Kentucky Arts Council's stories. Today, my time as producer and host comes to an end. I've had a wonderful time on this podcast journey, and now it's time to turn it over to other voices as it continues. There are some people I'd like to thank publicly for their support of this endeavor. When I went to Chris Cathers in 2018 with the idea to start a podcast, it was a half-formed idea. He said yes, though, and backed my efforts to seek out training opportunities. Mark Brown has been a patient teacher and source of advice on audio engineering. I've not always gotten it right, but I've done my best, thanks to Mark's wisdom. If you're a Kentucky Crafted artist, you know Dave Blevins for his work administering that program, and as executive producer/grand poobah/illustrious potentate of The Kentucky Crafted Market, but did you know he's also a composer? He wrote and performed the intro and outro music you hear on each episode. And then there's former coworkers Tammie Williams and Katie Lewis. That's Tammie's voice you hear at the beginning and end of each episode and Katie created the KyArtsCast logo which has served us well the past five years. I still get a kick out of seeing it whenever Apple lets me know a new podcast episode has uploaded (yes, I subscribe to my own podcast). I hate the sound of my own voice, so I'm grateful to the coworkers who have graciously sat in the host's chair for some great episodes. I fear leaving any out, so I'm not listing them here. But they know I appreciate their service, and when you hear them, you should feel free to tell them you appreciate them too. And Sarah Schmitt, most recently my supervisor, has been instrumental in helping come up with a production schedule that helped us get back on regular track coming out of the pandemic. I could go on, but this episode summary might be longer than the actual episode, and I don't want that. Thank you to my coworkers, all the guests over the past five years, and, of course, to you, the listeners. It's been a fun ride.

For a long time, the world of school band directors was largely dominated by men. This demographic has shifted over the years to include more women and increased diversity. Dr. Sue Creasap, professor emeritus and former associate director of bands at Morehead State University, leads a robust conversation that includes retired Jefferson County Schools band director Nan Moore, University of Louisville music professor and associate band director Dr. Amy Acklin, retired Fayette County Schools band director Lois Wiggins, and Harrison County Middle School band director Julie Lucky. They talk about changes in attitudes over the years, influential women they look up to, and challenges they've faced in their careers. Episode footnotes: Learn more about the careers of these five women featured on this episode Dr. Sue Creasap (host) Nan Moore Dr. Amy Acklin Lois Wiggins Julie Lucky