Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft

Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft
Established	1981
Location	West Downtown Louisville, Kentucky
Website	Kentuckyarts.org

The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (also referred to as KMAC [kay-mac]), located in Louisville, Kentucky's "Museum Row" in the West Main District of downtown, is a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 to continue the art and craft heritage of Kentucky through the support and education of craft artists and education of the public. The museum is supported in part by the Fund for the Arts and Kentucky Arts Council, a state agency of the Commerce Cabinet as well as many public and private donors.

History

Founded in 1981 by Phyllis George Brown, then First Lady of Kentucky and former Miss America, the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft was started to build interest in Kentucky's rich craft and art resources.^[1] With the help of Mary Shands, the start of the center began with ease.

In 1984 the organization moved into the lower level of a West Main Street building to have more space for things like a gift shop.^[1] When the move occurred the west district of downtown Louisville had low occupancy rates for the buildings. The location of several museums like the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft helped revitalize this area of downtown.

An artists display inside the museum.

Since 1984 the organization has presented over 175 exhibitions, reaching approximately 65,000 viewers annually. By 1991 the Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation has tried to be a leader in the community of preserving Kentucky's heritage in its arts and crafts. It has held several promotion events to help improve its goal.

Over ten years ago the organization recognized the importance of including educational programming as part of their mission. In 1990 the state's educational system had been restructured resulting in the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA).^[2] The Museum's educational programs are tightly connected to the KERA goals of combining art education with other subjects such as history, social studies, mathematics and language arts. Over the years, their educational programming has expanded and its focus has continued to increase their work with schools in Jefferson County and throughout the state.

In January 2001 the organization purchased two adjacent buildings on West Main Street in the heart of Louisville's West Main Street Historic District. Built in the 1880s the building is a four-story cast iron structure with a pastel facade and giant windows. After renovation, the facility provides the organization with 28,500 square feet (2,650 m²) of interior space in which to operate, spread over four floors and a lower level.

The new facility increased the size and visibility of the Gallery Shop, with frontage on Main Street, and houses three exhibition galleries: the Steve Wilson Gallery, the Mary & Al Shands Gallery, and the Lindy & Bill Street Gallery. The Lindy & Bill Street Gallery, on the second floor overlooking Main Street, is rented for meetings and entertaining. The third floor houses the Education Center as well as a small south facing gallery and the fourth floor is used for administrative offices.

The Museum is in close proximity to the Kentucky Science Center, the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, the Frazier History Museum and the Muhammad Ali Center, which gives the nickname of the area as "Museum Row".

See also

• List of attractions and events in the Louisville metropolitan area

References

Museums in Kentucky Art Kentucky Folk Art Center Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft Museum of the American Quilter's Society Speed Art Museum University of Kentucky Art Museum Aviation Aviation Museum of Kentucky Biographical Bill Monroe Museum General George Patton Museum of Leadership Muhammad Ali Center Rosemary Clooney Museum U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum Whitney Young Birthplace and Museum History Adsmore Ashland Bardstown Historical Museum Barthell Coal Mining Camp Big Sandy Heritage Center Blue Heron Coal Mining Camp Bluegrass Heritage Museum Civil War Museum Coal Miners' Museum David A. Zegeer Coal-Railroad Museum Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum Federal Hill F.M. Stafford House Frazier History Museum Harland Sanders Café and Museum Highlands Museum and Discovery Center Historic Locust Grove Hunt-Morgan House James A. Ramage Civil War Museum Kentucky Coal Mining Museum Lexington History Center Magoffin County Pioneer Village and Museum Mary Todd Lincoln House McCreary County Museum Mountain Homeplace Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History Portland Museum Riverside, The Farnsley-Moremen Landing Samuel May House Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History Thomas Edison House Rail Bluegrass Railroad and Museum Elkhorn City Railroad Museum The Historic Railpark and Train Museum Kentucky Railway Museum Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati Religious Creation Museum Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill Shaker Museum at South Union Science & technology East Kentucky Science Center Kentucky Science Center Kentucky River Museum National Corvette Museum Sports Kentucky Derby Museum Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory Miscellaneous Callahan Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind Cumberland Inn Museum International Bluegrass Music Museum Garrard County Jail Museum Vent Haven Museum

Coordinates: 38°15′27″N 85°45′44″W / 38.257471°N 85.76226°W / 38.257471; -85.76226