Artist Barbara Lockhart and business owner/arts supporter Stuart Powell will share coveted award for 2016

By MIMI BECKER

Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County

The Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County will award two Arts Citizens of the Year for 2016: local artist Barbara Lockhart and business owner Stuart Powell. 

Barbara Lockhart

Barbara Lockhart is a local artist who works in graphite, charcoal and pastel.  Her subject matter varies, but she has long had a love of horses.  Several of her equine pieces in oil and acrylics have been made into commercial prints.  Sales of these pieces have benefited the University of Kentucky Cancer research program.

Recent subjects have included her grandchildren, as well as nature and various scenes around Danville.  Lockhart participates in the Gathering Artists and the Plein Air Artists of Central Kentucky.  Her works have been exhibited locally at the Community Arts Center, McKinney Conference Center, Art of Danville and Central Kentucky Savings and Loan among others.  Her creative spirit is evident in her interest in gardening, landscaping and interior decorating as she continually seeks to develop her artistic skills and explore new techniques and mediums.

Lockhart is a vital member of the community.  She has been  a long time patron of the arts.  She and her late husband, John, contributed the Treble Cycle in front of the Community Arts Center and she has supported arts scholarships through her generous donations to the Arts Commission’s biannual Art-full Affair and the Commission’s general program activities. 

Lockhart is an active board member in the Boyle County Scholarship Foundation which grants scholarships to Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky School for the Deaf and Danville Christian Academy graduates to pursue higher education opportunities.  Lockhart is an inspiration to the arts community for her willingness to share of her time and talent to make Danville a better place in which to live and work.

The Arts Commission is proud to announce the creation of the Lockhart Art is Vital Fund in Lockhart’s honor.  Through this fund, the Arts Commission will provide artistic support in the community in a variety of ways such as school performances of professional arts groups and materials for special programs. 

Stuart Powell

“You succeed each day by doing what is right: support your customers and surrounding community … It’s a way of life, not particularly a way of making a living.” These are words from Stuart Powell and words he has lived by for many years in Danville and Boyle County.  He and his wife have spent over 50 years in this community developing a successful business and generously sharing of that success. Whether it has been supporting fundraisers for the Danville-Boyle County Humane Society or helping to establish a small, local airport which has grown to be a significant piece in the economic development of Boyle County, Powell has been a positive influence in this community.  

The Arts Commission wishes to recognize Powell’s dedication to the availability, growth and stability of the arts from support for the Norton Center’s Weisiger concert series to the Brass Band Festival to the family’s generous contributions which make operations of many non-profit arts programs possible.  In appreciation of Stuart and the Powell family, the Arts Commission is establishing the Powell Performing Arts Scholarship.  Through this fund, children in Boyle County who have an interest in the performing arts of music, dance and drama, but, who may not have the financial means to do so will have the opportunity to explore new artistic worlds.  

SO YOU KNOW

The Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County will hold its annual general meeting 7 p.m. Jan. 24 in the McKinney Conference Center at Constitution Square. The recipients of the 2016 Arts Citizen of the Year Award will be honored. A reception will be held after the award presentation.

Also at the annual meeting, Arts Commission members will ratify the board’s nominated slate of directors.  The slate is: Mary Conley, Bryson McGuire, Kathy Milby, Mary Noelker, Esther Rugerio, Jennifer Shevlin, Erin Tipton and David Walden.  Members may cast their vote for the slate by email to Mimi Becker at arts@betterindanville.com or phone (859) 236-2361 ext. 111 leaving a message with vote and phone number.

The board will thank out going directors John Ferguson and Tom Tye for their service.

Following the annual general meeting, there will be a short regular monthly meeting to which all Arts Commission members are welcome.