AWESOME ACHIEVER
CATCHING UP WITH
KEN CLAY
AWARDS IN THE ARTS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT by G. Douglas Dreisbach
Ken Clay is the recipient of this year’s Fund for the Arts Awards in the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award, and no one is more deserving. He has been a longtime supporter of the Greater Louisville arts and culture community. In the 1960s, he opened the Corner of Jazz, the first African-American culture shop in Louisville. In 1978, he co-founded the Renaissance Development Corp., which was a cultural arts administrative organization that promoted Black art and culture in Kentucky. He’s also an entertainment coordinator for WorldFest, and the list goes on and on.
"If you want to understand a culture, listen to their music and you will get a better understanding of the culture and of the people."
Audience publisher, G. Douglas Dreisbach, caught up with Clay and talked about his Louisville roots, his passion for the arts and more. This is an excerpt of the full interview. To read it in its entirety, visit Audience502.com. G. Douglas Dreisbach: Congratulations on the award. After all of the time and effort that you’ve put into some very important causes around the community over the years, what does it mean to you to be recognized with this kind of an honor? Ken Clay: I rank it extremely high in the kinds of awards I have received over my lifetime, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I see it as a recognition of my contributions to the Louisville community and to the arts, and I’m seeing those 56
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VIDEO: Interview with Ken Clay separately because my past has been involved very much with the community, particularly the African-American community. So, my focus on the arts has always been community-driven, and I think that’s the kind of recognition this special award gives to me. M A G A Z I N E
