Bardstown Elementary receives arts council artist-in-residence grant

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, 10:15 p.m. — Bardstown Elementary School has been awarded a grant by the Kentucky Arts Council to bring a professional actor, director and playwright for a short-term visit to teacher Pamela Layman’s classes.

SUSAN POPE

The grants were announced Wednesday in Frankfort, and are intended to provide 47 weeks worth of short-term artist residences at schools across the Commonwealth. The grants give students and teachers a chance to have a hands-on experience with the arts.

The $540 grant to BES will bring Susan Pope, a Central Kentucky actor, director, playwright and musician to the school for one week for an African-American character study. The grant amounts are based on the length of the residences, which are from one to four weeks.

Pope will bring considerable experience in performing arts to BES. She currently designs and performs interactive museum shows at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. She is a juried teaching artist with the Kentucky Arts Council and Kentucky Center for the Arts. She founded and directs TheatrEXpands, an applied theatre initiative that facilitates art and creativity training in k-12 education, creating aging, healthcare and the workplace.

For more information on the Kentucky Arts Council and the Teacher Initiated Program, please visit http://artscouncil.ky.gov/Grants/TIP.htm.

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