New Fine Arts Extension Program

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 25, 2005) -- The University of Kentucky and President Lee T. Todd Jr. will celebrate the creation of a Fine Arts Extension Program and the selection of its agent, Stephanie Richards, at a reception to be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at the Pike County Cooperative Extension Service Office in Pikeville, Ky.

The reception will mark a momentous occasion in Kentucky and Cooperative Extension Service history. The provision of services focused on the fine arts in rural communities is the first such program in the nation.

The reception hosted by Robert Shay, dean of UK College of Fine Arts; Scott Smith, dean of UK College of Agriculture; and Dr. Joey Collins, chair of the Pike County Cooperative Extension District Board, will offer the public a glimpse of what is to come from the new program. Entertainment will spotlight all forms of the arts, including presentations from local mountain music vocalists and musicians, a storyteller, a guitarist, members of the Old Time String Band, and local vocalists. In addition, UK School of Music assistant professor of theory Kevin Holm-Hudson and associate professor of musicology Ron Pen will offer an improvised composition of electronically processed guitar and loops and audience input. Visual arts will also be on display, including 30 quilts, books from 10 local authors, and three-dimensional art pieces.

For more information on the Fine Arts Extension Program and its events, contact Stephanie Richards at (606) 432-2534.