The Fund for the Artsis one of the most important organizations dedicated to the local arts. It was founded in 1949 and is one of the two oldest United Arts Funds in the country. The focus of the group is to support, promote, and develop the arts, artists, and arts organizations to help create a healthy and vibrant community for all.
With a vision for 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, FFTA plays an important role in our arts community.
We caught up with president and CEO, Andre Kimo Stone Guess, who is a Louisville-native growing up in the Smoketown area, and accepted what he considers the right job at the right time just two years ago.
Andre’s energy, compassion and dedication to the local arts scene is inspiring and we are excited to hear what he has been doing in his first two years, what he is working on now, and what he hopes to come in the future.
Fund for the Arts and the Imagine Greater Louisville 2025 Steering Committee in partnership with PBS, KET, The Muhammad Ali Center, and Louisville Metro Government are announcing the resurgence of the transformational Imagine Mural Festival, which had its inaugural year in 2019.
The new Imagine Mural Festival will bring together collaborative teams of interdisciplinary artists to create multimedia art installations in the downtown Louisville blocks adjacent to the Muhammad Ali Center.
Fund for the Arts President & CEO, Andre Stone Kimo Guess
The Fund for the Arts is a vital asset for the arts in Louisville. Its goal is to provide arts access and education, and foster diversity, as well as promote the city as a nationally recognized epicenter of the arts. During a roller coaster of a year — the arts and the community overall are just now starting to rebound from the challenges of the pandemic — Christen Boone, who has navigated the Fund for the past seven years, announced her resignation.
After a national search for a new President and CEO, the Fund for the Arts’ next chapter will be led by one of Louisville’s own, Andre Kimo Stone Guess. With an extensive background in arts and entertainment world from consulting to management, he is ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work on many important issues around our community.
On Tuesday, June 30, Guess was publicly introduced at the Fund for the Arts Summer Arts Kick-off that was attended by Mayor Greg Fischer, this year’s Campaign Chairperson, and Brown-Forman Chairman, Campbell Brown, Board Chairman and CEO of Stock Yards Bank, James ‘Ja’ Hillebrand, and outgoing President & CEO for the Fund, Christen Boone.
Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with Guess to learn more about his background, his interest in the arts and the community, and what he is excited about for the future of the Fund for the Arts.
Fund for the Arts is an important anchor in the Louisville arts community, with the goal to provide arts access, education, diversity, and ultimately to promote the city as a nationally recognized epicenter of the arts.
Being nearly 10 months into an unprecedented public health crisis with COVID, combined with social and civil situations that we’re all dealing with, we caught up with President and CEO Christen Boone to see how the Fund has adjusted so far, and how the organization intends to move forward.
Powerful and Provocative: Pandora Productions is dedicated to telling the stories of the LGBTQ community
What started as a theater company with a goal of showcasing social justice through the arts, Louisville-based Pandora Productions has blossomed into one of the only LGBTQ+ theater companies in the region. Through trials and tribulations, shoestring budgets and other obstacles, the group is blazing its own path to deliver relevant content in the community.
Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with artistic director Michael Drury to discuss Pandora’s journey, what it takes to run a theater company and what lies ahead.
