LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The head of a prestigious performing arts program serving Kentucky high school students is asking for input that would be used to create a more diverse group.
What You Need To Know
- Nearly 40 percent of applicants are from Fayette and Jefferson counties
- Program offered at no cost to students
- Survey available to submit input
- Three-week summer instruction typically at UK
Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA) Director Nick Covault said very few states offer a program that convenes young artists for college-level instruction and community building with peers who share a passion for creativity.
“GSA is arguably the only program of its kind in the country that is offered tuition-free to Kentucky students,” he wrote in a recent op-ed piece. “Alumni of the program receive access to lifelong mentorships, a supportive alumni network, and college scholarships that break down barriers to higher education.”
GSA is an arts education program of The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts offered at no cost to the student, and is made available through funding from the state, as well as private fundraising. The value of GSA is $3,800 per student.
Covault said nearly 40 percent of GSA applicants in 2019 were from Jefferson and Fayette counties and 37 percent of qualified applicants are turned away because of capacity restraints.
“Our funding capacity limits our tuition-free experience to 256 students, a robust number in many ways, but also a shortfall in our ability to fully deliver to young Kentuckians,” he said. “We carefully navigate adjudicating our applicants in context, eschewing the comfort of ‘exact science’ and embracing the courage to navigate gray areas under the guidance of values. We seek to understand the hearts of our students; passion for and potential in the arts are often more important qualifications than technical skill.”
Covault admits, however, that “GSA exists in an intricate ecosystem of arts education that is interconnected with systemic challenges, such as income disparity, institutionalized racism, varying degrees of investment in education and marginalization of communities, both urban and rural.”
“We may not have all the answers,” he said, “but we are committed to using our resources to be a part of the solution.”
Covault said It is easy to become overwhelmed by the immensity of these “layered and nuanced issues,” and added amid the complexity of this challenge, GSA representatives believe in going to the places where future students live to meet with their advocates – parents, educators, counselors, community members – and learn how GSA can collaborate on resourcing young people who represent the future of connection, innovation and equity in society.
“This is why the GSA team travels throughout our beautiful state,” he said, “We have attended a high school play at Perry County Central High School; chatted with students and parents on the floor of a dance studio in Glasgow; and sat down for a meal with leaders of the local arts council in Estill County. We stopped at Breathitt County High School to see if the guidance counselor had a few spare minutes and took a quick tour of the Merle Travis Music Center in Muhlenberg County, where we learned more about the region’s legacy of thumb-picking guitar.”
Program representatives spoke with more than 1,000 people this past fall, Covault said, either in person or virtually, about the application process.
“This is why 147 GSA alumni volunteered to be recruiters in their hometowns across 47 Kentucky counties in 2019,” he said. “Relationships and partnerships take time to build, but through this investment, we can embrace our interdependence and work together toward a better future. GSA’s efforts are far from comprehensive, and our opportunities to grow are numerous.”
Originally established in 1987 as a program of The Kentucky Center for the Arts and Kentucky Department of the Arts, the progam was inaugurated under Gov. Martha Layne Collins and The Kentucky Center President Marlow Burt.
Auditions and reviews Kentucky’s most promising high school sophomores and juniors in nine different arts disciplines: architecture and design, creative writing, dance, drama, film and photography, instrumental music, musical theatre, visual art and vocal music. GSA historically takes place the last two weeks of June into the first week of July. Every summer, GSA’s faculty of professional artists and educators guide young artists through three weeks of intense arts instruction.
To leave feedback and join the discussion about how Kentucky can best resource its young artists, fill out the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/GSACommunityConvo.