FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information:
Mollie LaFavers
mlafavers@fundforthearts.org
859-324-0181
LOUISVILLE, KY, February 4, 2021 – Fund for the Arts (FFTA) will kick-off its annual campaign with a virtual happy hour on Thursday, February 4 at 5:30 pm on the FFTA’s Facebook and YouTube live. The event, titled Happy Hour with the Arts, will feature the making of a new signature FFTA cocktail with Old Forester Distilling Company as well as special performances from poet and activist Hannah Drake and local musician Chase Dean.
The event will serve as an opportunity to announce the Fund for the Arts 2021 Campaign Chair, Campbell Brown, President & Managing Director of Old Forester, Brown Forman Corporation. Additionally, Fund for the Arts will use this time to extend a message of gratitude for their over 11,300 donors and 220 Workplace Campaign Chair volunteers who represent 175 companies throughout Greater Louisville. At the event, FFTA will also honor two Workplace Campaign Chairs of the year, Brooke Zimmerman of White Clay and Lisa Schneider of BKD.
The theme for the event and for the Fund for the Arts 2021 campaign is “healing and rebuilding.” Brown and FFTA President & CEO Christen Boone will discuss the Fund’s commitment to approaching 2021 with radical optimism, emphasizing the role of the arts as a critical force in the healing and rebuilding of our community.
“There is no more important work coming out of 2020 and well into 2021 than healing and rebuilding for our community,” said Brown. “The arts are going to be crucial in helping us rebuild our economy. As I speak, outdoor public performances are being planned by arts organizations for this spring and our museums and cultural institutions are putting safety plans in place to bring people back downtown and into restaurants, parks, and neighborhoods.”
Boone said, “this year, as we focus on healing and rebuilding, we are working to take crucial steps towards racial equity. The arts have the power to help us understand our past and craft a stronger future together. Artists and arts organizations will help our community to reconnect and heal wounds of racial injustice.”
At the event, Fund for the Arts will announce important new initiatives that will serve the community as we heal and rebuild.
ArtsMatch for Racial Equity
This year’s ArtsMatch projects will address and advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion across Kentucky. Cultural Providers selected to participate will have a crowdfunding page on the Fund’s website where donors can make contributions to projects that speak to them. Fund for the Arts matches the community’s contributions $1 for $1. Projects will be announced in April – donations can be made through June 30.
Imagine Series
This year, FFTA is launching a new opportunity for community members and supporters to connect with the arts and hear directly from creatives, artists, arts leaders, and innovators. Every month on Facebook Live, FFTA will host a lunchtime conversation as a part of the new Imagine Series. The first of these virtual conversations took place on January 27th at noon with special guests Allan Cowen and Executive Artistic Director of Actors Theatre of Louisville and recipient of the Cowen Award for Innovation, Robert Barry Fleming. A recording of each installment in the series will be available permanently on the Fund for the Arts Facebook page after they air live.
The virtual Happy Hour will air live on the FFTA Facebook and YouTube from the community room at the Academy for Music, Production, Education, and Development (AMPED). AMPED is a free music program located in West Louisville that uses music and technology as a catalyst to empower youth and their families to work as a team, learn how to express themselves effectively, and develop into healthy, productive members of our community and the world.
About Fund for the Arts
Fund for the Arts is a regional nonprofit with the mission to maximize the impact of the arts on economic development, education, and quality of life in our community. The Fund is a convener, promoter, leader, and driver of Imagine Greater Louisville, the region’s arts and cultural plan. It facilitates the largest arts grant program in Kentucky as well as conducts one of the oldest united arts campaigns in the country. For more information, visit www.fundforthearts.org
