About Us
At the Fund for the Arts, we believe that art is a right, not a privilege, because art is a fundamental expression of the human condition.
Founded in 1949, the Fund for the Arts (FFTA) is one of the two oldest United Arts Funds in the country. FFTA supports, promotes and develops arts, artists, and arts organizations to help create a healthy and vibrant community for all. Since our founding we have raised over a quarter billion dollars that have directly and indirectly benefitted millions of people and scores of organizations in our community.
Vision
The community we want to live in
We envision a healthy and vibrant community where:
everyone embraces the art that exists in our lives every day,
everyone contributes to the well-being of our arts community, and it is understood that
everyone belongs to the arts community
Mission
How we create and sustain that community
We contribute to the overall health and well-being of our community by:
generating resources for, investing in, and supporting our local arts, artists, and arts organizations.
Values
Guiding principles for our organizational community
Equity – Listen to, engage with, invest in, and support historically excluded individuals, groups, and communities
Belonging – Create a safe and welcoming environment for engagement where an invitation is not required
Accountability – Be who we say we are and do what we say we will do for each other and the community we support
Stewardship – Manage the resources that have been entrusted to us equitably and responsibly
Gratitude – Value one another and the community we support
Storytelling – Tell the stories of arts, artists, and arts organizations in our community however, whenever, and to whomever we can.
Learning – Continue to be curious and seek opportunities to expand our knowledge and understanding
Strategies
The specific work we do in the community
We Generate Resources for arts, artists, and arts organizations in our community
We Invest in arts, artists, and arts organizations in our community
We Support arts, artists, and arts organizations in our community
Our History
Fund for the Arts is one of the oldest united arts funds in the country and has raised more than $200 million since its establishment in 1949. When Mayor Charles Farnsley, who served as Mayor of the City of Louisville from 1948 to 1953, first conceived of the Fund for the Arts in 1949, he based its structure on that of the Community Chest, now known as Metro United Way. The Fund’s first office was a room with five desks in the basement of the Public Library at Fourth and York Streets, described as “very cramped” by a volunteer. The first campaign, chaired by Fund board chair (and later Judge) Alexander G. Booth, was overseen by a part-time Executive Secretary William R. Dunton III and raised $99,000. The first member agencies included The Louisville Orchestra, the Louisville Theatrical Association, Louisville Children’s Theatre (now StageOne Family Theatre), and the Junior Art Gallery, the forerunner of the Louisville Visual Art Association, among others.
The second part-time head of the Fund was Richard H. Wangerin who took over as Executive Secretary from 1954 to April 1968. At the time, Wangerin also managed The Louisville Orchestra, the Theatrical Association and the Brown Theatre. At the time, fundraising for the Arts was not as widespread and so it was not until the 1960’s that the campaign raised over $200,000.
The Fund’s growth accelerated in the 1970’s. The first full-time Executive Secretary was hired in September 1971. C. Dennis Riggs, a Louisville native and former college athlete, headed the Fund for the next three years. In 1976 Allan Cowen was hired. Cowen had formerly served as Associate Director of the Winston-Salem Arts Council.
Fund for the Arts celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1989 by relocating to its restored downtown Louisville building renovated for a total of $900,000. Purchase of the Fund building was made possible by generous grants from Mary Caperton Bingham and Jane Morton Norton, with interior finishing donated by Amelia Brown Frazier. The building offers space for the Fund operations along with commercial tenants providing rental income to help cover the annual operating space rent.
Upon Cowen’s retirement in 2011, then Executive Vice President Barbara Sexton Smith was named the President & CEO in April 2012 and oversaw a deep expansion of the Fund’s facilitation of educational work with students in and outside of the classroom. After years of working in development for nonprofits, Christen Boone was named President & CEO of the Fund in July 2014. Boone oversaw the expansion of the Fund as a Local Arts Agency and laid the groundwork for more equitable and sustainable community responsiveness and funding practices via grant initiatives, such as the Sustaining Impact Grant.
Formerly at the August Wilson Center and Jazz at Lincoln Center, Andre Kimo Stone Guess became the President & CEO of Fund for the Arts in 2021. A native of Smoketown in Louisville, Guess returned to Louisville in the hopes of giving back to a vibrant arts community that had the power to heal a hurting community.
