Art in Unlikely Places: Student Entrepreneurs Impacting Community through the Arts

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 28, 2015) — The University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts is paving a new frontier by offering an experience to college kids that brings new meaning to the hands-on learning environment. 

In the spring of 2014, the Arts Administration Program at UK launched a new course and initiative called Art in Unlikely Places. The goal of Art in Unlikely Places is driven by a belief that creativity is the seed of hope. The initiative connects inspiring artists to those most in need of the transformative powers of the arts. The students' vision is that this organization will deliver the work of inspiring artists to the ailing, the impoverished, and the distraught, sharing beauty with those whose life-circumstances might otherwise prevent them from discovering the hope that is found in the artistic moment. 

Art in Unlikely Places, in its second year, is a registered student organization at UK. The organization elects officers within the class based on a typical nonprofit organizational structure. From the beginning of the semester the students are challenged to develop an idea into a fully realized initiative that fulfills the mission of the organization.

Students participating in Art in Unlikely Places this semester have developed a new idea to impact the Lexington community through the power of the arts. "A Beautiful Life: Through the Eyes of a Child" introduces children in need to the arts by providing them an opportunity to express themselves in creative ways. They have partnered this year with Greenhouse 17, a refuge for children who have been witness to domestic violence, and The Kidz Club, where children with medical needs are provided special attention with academic and social interaction.

Art in Unlikely Places held workshops with 30 children for the organizations, prompting participants to create artworks that expressed their inner feelings, hopes and dreams. All were asked to draw what made life beautiful to them. Music therapists from Evolve joined the partnership with the students during the workshops where children participated in songs and games.

Lending his talents to "A Beautiful Life” is renowned artist, UK Professor Arturo Alonzo Sandoval. Sandoval, with the assistance of photographer Scott Walz, will incorporate images of the artworks the children created into four quilts and a digital collage. Two of the art quilts will be donated to the partner organizations and the remaining two have been sold to benefit the program. The original artworks by the kids at Greenhouse 17 and The Kidz Club along with the story of the Art in Unlikely Places students will be reproduced into a book.

For $30, arts patrons can purchase the book and receive an invitation to the Art in Unlikely Places finale. All Art in Unlikely places supporters will be invited to the unveiling celebration of the final artworks May 7, at the Lexington Art League. Light refreshments will be served accompanied by a musical guest appearance from the popular UK a cappella group, the acoUstiKats.

Proceeds from the event will allow Art in Unlikely Places to continue to send art workshops back to Greenhouse 17 and The Kidz Club. Funds will also insure that Art in Unlikely Places will continue to thrive and benefit the future students of the program.

Students have collaborated with local organizations and businesses like the UK College of Fine Arts, WRFL, Red Mango, T.G.I. Fridays and Bourbon and Toulouse to help them achieve their fundraising and marketing goals for the semester.

The class collectively feels that this style of instruction has been one of the most real and beneficial programs to their educational experience. The students of Art in Unlikely Places are led by Mark Rabideau, adjunct assistant professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Arts Administration Program.

Rabideau is a strong believer in the real life experiences this course structure offers. “I am willing to watch my students fail, but I am not prepared to watch them do something ordinary. I believe this class and these students are extraordinary,” Rabideau said.

For further information on this student project, visit Art in Unlikely Places at their GoFundMe website: www.gofundme.com/artinunlikelyplace. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at: www.facebook.com/artin.unlikelyplaces; www.twitter.com/ArtinUnlikely; and www.instagram.com/artinunlikelyplaces.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu