TCR photo/Hawkins Teague The Stephen Powell glass exhibit has brought close to 1,200 visitors to the Janice Mason Art Museum since its June 28 opening, Museum Administrator Paula Lisowsky said at last week’s board meeting. Glass sculptures such as the one pictured above will continue to be displayed until Sept. 7.

Hawkins Teague

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Approximately 1,200 visitors have come to see the Janice Mason Art Museum’s Stephen Powell glass exhibit so far, Museum Administrator Paula Lisowsky said the JMAM board meeting on Aug. 7.

Lisowsky said the direct result of the heightened attendance was that donations to the museum had increased for the month. Unfortunately, the electric bill was about $1,000, which she said was more than it had ever been before. This was partly because the exhibit required high-wattage bulbs, but also because July was a very hot month, she said. Lisowsky said that the museum would now be leaving the lobby lights off.

Lisowsky also announced that 106 children has participated in the museum’s Jumpin’ July art classes. She also confirmed that Jane Gentry Vance, Kentucky’s poet laureate, would be speaking at the museum as part of its 10th anniversary lecture series at 2 p.m. on Aug. 24.

The board also talked about a grant from the Kentucky Arts Council for which it is applying. Board member Paul Fourshee said that grant would be for sound equipment for the Little Theater, but that the KAC’s policy is to avoid giving grants directly to schools. He said that if the museum were awarded the grant, it would have to be used for portable speakers. Lisowsky said this was an understandable policy, since the KAC wouldn’t want to slight any of Kentucky’s roughly 2,800 public schools.

Board member Portia Ezell said that SKIT (Southern Kentucky Independent Theater), the performing arts division of the museum, was planning to present “Dining With the Dearly Departed” again this fall. The event began last year, and featured actors portraying characters from Trigg County’s past that are buried at East End Cemetery. She said that last year’s event was a big success and that they would probably present it on two nights to allow more people to buy tickets. Last year, the actors presented monologues by their characters’ graves in two sessions on a Saturday night. As one half of the crowd walked through the cemetery, the other half ate a box supper under a tent. The groups switched places after the first presentation was completed.

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