Kentucky Governor's School For The Arts Opens Applications For 2022 Class

The Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts has announced that applications are now open for its 2022 class. The program, a tuition-free three-week immersive arts education experience, opens doors to a variety of scholarship opportunities and will be celebrating its 35th anniversary next summer.

Recently, Kentucky Performing Arts announced that GSA received supplemental funding, allowing the program to double in size. Starting in 2022, and for the following two summers (2023 and 2024), GSA will welcome approximately 500 students to participate in the arts immersion program, studying a range of artistic disciplines. In recent years, the class has served about 250 students each summer. The University of Kentucky in Lexington is the current program host campus.

GSA was approved for $2,850,000 from the American Recovery Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Summer Enrichment funds (Office of Teaching and Learning) to be awarded over a three-year period. Federal ESSER funding was provided to state education agencies as part of the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act). The $2,850,000 ESSER grant covers 43% of the expanded GSA program, with an additional 32% ($2,121,746) financed by private sources, and the remaining from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Kentucky Performing Arts and program administrators are working to secure additional funding, including fundraising, to allow for the program to accommodate 500 students after the three-year grant term ends.

Each summer, GSA hosts talented high school students from every region of the Commonwealth for a three-week, tuition-free immersive residential program. Students, educators and administrators have often noted the program's dual peer-support learning element and scholarship opportunities, with attendees connecting with like-minded peers across disciplines while opening scholarship opportunities to nearly 30 colleges and universities. In 2021, 93% of the GSA 2021 class reported feeling more prepared to attend college because of their GSA experience. 75% of the GSA 2021 class also felt college became a more accessible option for them because of their GSA experience

During this program, rising student artists engage in studies across nine disciplines: Architecture + Design, Creative Writing, Dance, Drama, Film + Photography, Instrumental Music, Musical Theatre, Visual Art and Vocal Music. Acceptance to the GSA program is competitive, with 30 colleges and universities offering scholarships targeted at GSA alumni. There is an application fee of $30 for the GSA summer program, which is waived for students on free or reduced lunch; applicants are scored on their creative talent and passion and the application does not ask for GPA or SAT/ACT scores. For more information, go to www.kentuckygsa.org.

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