Arts’ Watch: Two exhibitors and summer fun ahead

Published 12:00 pm Friday, May 12, 2023

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By Bill McCann

Columnist

This coming weekend through Tuesday, May 16, will be your last opportunity to see the paintings of local artists Kevin Osbourn and Amanda Wangler’s works in this year’s Governor’s Derby Exhibit.

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The exhibit of paintings and drawings is on display in the Kentucky State Capitol closes at 4 p.m. on the upcoming Primary Election Day, Tuesday.

Governor and Mrs. Beshear, as governors before them have done, display artworks by Kentucky artists and painters on the walls of the Kentucky State Capitol Rotunda during the celebration of the Kentucky Derby each May.

This year’s exhibit was titled “Resilience,” and artists addressed that theme directly or indirectly.

Forty-eight artists from Kentucky have their works on display. Among those artists are two Clark County artists who took very different approaches to the theme.

Kevin Osbourn’s oil painting titled “The Turf Mile” depicts a horse race at Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington with horses straining to cross the finish line first.

Amanda Wagler’s painting titled “Mamaw’s Quilt: Remember Where You Came From” depicts a person wrapped in a colorful patchwork quilt seated on a bench, their dog next to them and both looking out at the hills, the moon and the stars.

Both are wonderful paintings that should be seen. Visit the state capitol rotunda in the few days remaining of this exhibit or see the slideshow on YouTube. The hours of the Frankfort exhibit are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A slide show of the exhibit can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WfjmiJIDao

Locally, this is the last weekend for Little Women: The Broadway Musical. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. Sunday’s performance is at 2:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday the curtain is at 7:30 p.m. For more information visit https://leedscenter.org/upcoming/

Registration is now open for Leeds’s Winnie the Pooh Performance Workshop. This two-week-long summer workshop, June 5-17, is for children 8 to 12 years old who want an opportunity to have fun “singing, dancing and acting while working to put on a fully staged production of “Winnie the Pooh Kids.” Registration ends May 31. The workshop runs June 5-17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For adults looking for summer arts fun, there are several possibilities. For those whose interest is music, there are once-monthly concerts at Legacy Grove Park through October. And downtown, there are Rock the Block concerts monthly at the Clark County Courthouse beginning on Friday, May 19. For musicians who want to do more than listen, The Hall, 17 S. Main, has an Open Mic Night every Monday at 5:30 p.m..

Finally, those who want to take up a new art or become better at one already practice the Gateway Regional Arts Center in Mt. Sterling is currently offering more than 50 classes in as their catalog says, “All the Arts for All the People.” Classes range from dance, theatre, and drawing classes to drum and mountain dulcimer lessons. Visit https://www.grackentucky.org/academy to learn more about current offerings or to register for a class.