Arts and Humanities

The Kentucky Opera is on the list of Kentucky artists and organizations receiving grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for the next fiscal year. The opera will receive $12,500 to help fund the development of a new one-act opera by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Terry Teachout through its innovative composer workshop. 

A sponge, a jellyfish and a crab walk into a Christmas party—stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

If you haven’t, it’s because a Squallis Puppeteers show isn’t your average holiday fare. Created by puppet artist Kathryn Spivey, “Plank’s Holiday Special” is the story of three sea creature friends whose party is threatened by a dangerous, unwelcome guest who turns out to be a harmless brine shrimp—and the life of the party. 

Today, All Things Considered asks an intriguing question. It's a scene we take for granted: the orchestra cues up and plays at the direction of the baton-wielding, tuxedoed conductor. But if orchestra musicians play with sheet music in front of them, do they really need conductors? Shankar Vedantam consults not art, but science--a study from the University of Maryland that tracked how orchestra players followed conductors: 

The Kentucky Arts Council is launching a new grant program to fund arts experiences for underserved populations. The first fiscal year of funding for the new Arts Access Assistance program will go to programs and organizations offering “creative aging and lifelong learning” arts programs for senior citizens across the state. 

"There’s great evidence to support the fact that arts are beneficial, both for life and health of older Americans," says program director Sarah Schmitt.