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The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts has a long, award-winning history of improving arts access for people with disabilities. Adding to a robust and dedicated effort to ensure the arts are available to everyone, The Kentucky Center is now the first performing arts venue in the United States to employ Indoor Explorer technology to assist visitors who are visually disabled.
The “Indoor Explorer” app, developed by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), based in Louisville, Kentucky, presents a groundbreaking opportunity that advances access to the arts for those who are blind or have low vision.
APH has taken advantage of Bluetooth, beacon technology with the app for use on iOS devices. Once visitors to The Kentucky Center download the app, they can easily navigate every aspect of the venue from the entrance, to the box office, and the restrooms and, of course, the performance theaters. The Kentucky Center’s volunteer staff will be prepared to help patrons to their seats.
“The Kentucky Center has a groundbreaking history in inclusivity and accessibility so that everyone can enjoy the arts,” said Kim Baker, President of The Kentucky Center. “This technology, provided by the American Printing House for the Blind, is revolutionary because it will literally open doors and present new opportunities for our guests with a visual disability.”
“Indoor Explorer” makes use of beacons and indoor information stored in the OpenStreetMap® database. There are 23 beacons are currently located throughout The Kentucky Center. The beacons were installed during the fall of 2017 in designated spots. When used, the app looks up the beacon’s latitude, longitude and floor number. It also looks up points of interest on that same floor and reports their name, distance and position as users move and navigate their way through the building. It also allows users to use the GeoBeam or Compass feature to point the device to locations inside the building. When using the app indoors, the compass, in addition to reporting the direction, names all the building features in that direction.
“The arts are an experience of all the senses and the heart, and they are enjoyed by many people with visual impairments,” said Craig Meador, president of APH. “By adding Indoor Explorer wayfinding to their already robust array of accessibility services, the Kentucky Center is affirming that the arts belong to everyone, and that no one should ever be excluded from the artistic experience.”
“Indoor Explorer” takes advantage of small beacons that periodically transmit brief bursts of data. The app can correlate each beacon’s identification with information about its precise location. “Indoor Explorer” uses this information along with the signal strength of the beacon and any other beacons that may be in the vicinity to help determine your location. Once the app has a location, it can access points of interest (POIs) such as ticket counter, restaurants, security, bathrooms and specific theater entrances.
The technology was developed by APH, who worked closely with The Kentucky Center as well as it’s access services team. Partial financial support for the installation of the new technology in The Kentucky Center was provided by the James Graham Brown Foundation.
The free app can be found in the App store by searching “Nearby Explorer”.
The Kentucky Center’s Access Services Program offers services to ensure that the facility and programming are accessible to everyone by providing assistive listening devices, audio description, captioning, sign language interpretation, and large print programs for events and activities at The Kentucky Center and other facilities, including The Brown Theater (Indoor Explorer is not yet installed at The Brown Theater). The Kentucky Center provides these services to partnering arts groups and at other organizations such as Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. For more information, contact the Access Services Hotline at (502) 566-5111 (V) or (502) 566-566-5140 (TTY) or email Access Services at access@kentuckycenter.org.
In honor of what would have been Muhammad Ali’s 76th birthday, the Muhammad Ali Center staff, Youth Programs, and Board of Directors are partnering with Love the Hungry for a service project event on January 17th from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Ali Center. The team will produce 5,000 Nutri-PlentyTM pouches.
Love the Hungry is a local nonprofit organization focused on providing nutrient-rich meals that can alleviate and reverse the effects of malnutrition in young children. The Nutri-PlentyTM meal pouches are fortified with Mathile M+ Micronutrients™ and a combination of rice, soy, and dehydrated vegetables, complete with 21 vitamins and minerals, and 12 grams of protein. Each pouch creates enough meals to feed six children. The service project will provide enough Nutri-PlentyTM servings to feed 700 children every day for a month. 15 percent of the total meals packaged remain to assist Kentuckiana families.
Love the Hungry has distributed meals to 15 different countries, focusing primarily on Central America, Haiti, South Sudan and West Africa. They recently connected with Louisville-based WaterStep and CEO Mark Hogg, who won the 2013 Muhammad Ali Kentucky Humanitarian Award, to begin development of a nutrition center and clean water initiative in South Sudan.
Photo: Harry Potter In Concert
The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, presented by the Louisville Orchestra, returns to the Kentucky Center with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert, the third film in the Harry Potter series. On Saturday, July 7, 2018, at 7:30 pm and Sunday, July 8, 2018, at 3:00 pm, the Louisville Orchestra will perform this magical score live from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Film Synopsis In their third year at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione meet escaped prisoner Sirius Black, learn to handle a half-horse/half-eagle Hippogriff, repel shape-shifting Boggarts, and master the art of Divination. Harry must also withstand soul-sucking Dementors, outsmart a dangerous werewolf and deal with the truth about Sirius and his relationship to Harry and his parents.
Earning an Oscar® nomination for the score, John Williams composed the spellbinding and masterful music that has become a celebrated classic; conjuring beautiful, soaring motifs that continue the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends on their magical journey.
CineConcerts CineConcerts and Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, a new global concert tour celebrating the Harry Potter films, in 2016. Since the world premiere of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – In Concert in June 2016, more than half-amillion fans have enjoyed this magical experience from J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, which is scheduled to include over 600 performances across more than 38 countries worldwide through 2018.
Justin Freer, President of CineConcerts and the Producer/Conductor of the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, explains, “The Harry Potter film series is a once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomenon that continues to delight millions of fans around the world. It is with great pleasure that we bring fans for the first time ever an opportunity to experience the award-winning music scores played live by a symphony orchestra, all while the beloved film is simultaneously projected onto the big screen. This is truly an unforgettable event.”
Brady Beaubien of CineConcerts and Concert Producer for the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, explains, “Harry Potter is synonymous with excitement around the world and we hope that by performing this incredible music with the full movie, audiences will enjoy returning to the Wizarding World.”
Tickets go on sale FRI 19 JAN at 10:00 am – Online at LouisvilleOrchestra.org and KentuckyCenter.org; by phone at 502.584.7777; in person at the Kentucky Center drive-thru and ticket office at 501 W. Main, Louisville 40202. Tickets: adults $35 – $95; children 12 and under $25 (all seats).
For more information on the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, please visit www.harrypotterinconcert.com. For more information about this performance, please visit www.LouisvilleOrchestra.org.
Hundreds of pieces of extraordinary student artwork will be on display beginning today, Monday, January 15th, for the Kentucky Derby Museum’s 32nd annual Horsing Around with Art: A Student’s view of the Sport of Kings art competition, presented by WinStar Farm.
The competition is open to students in grades one through 12 from Louisville Metro public, private or parochial schools and showcases the student’s take on the Kentucky Derby in different artistic style, media and form. This year, more than 30 schools submitted over 200 pieces of artwork for the competition.
“Horsing Around with Art is an exhibit we look forward to opening each year. The spirit of the Kentucky Derby and the equine industry is captured with such creativity and talent by all student artists. The quality of the artwork never fails to amaze the judges and visitors alike. It is a wonderful way to celebrate and champion the arts in our local schools,” Kentucky Derby Museum President Patrick Armstrong said.
“WinStar is proud to support the Kentucky Derby Museum’s student art competition that not only encourages youth to participate and express their talent but also to become fans of the Thoroughbred industry in the process. Initiatives that have the ability to create new fans are essential to the sport and generate excitement for one of the industry’s most celebrated events,” President and CEO of WinStar Farm Elliott Walden said.
The 2018 Horsing Around With Art: A Student’s View of the Sport of Kings runs January 15 through February 18 in the Museum’s Matt Winn Gallery.
A panel of judges will select winners in several categories of distinctive and divisional awards.
One Grand Prize winner, whose work is judged to best “capture the spirit of the Kentucky Derby”, will take home six tickets to Kentucky Derby 144 and will have their artwork on display at the Kentucky Derby Museum for one year. Other prizes include a chance to experience Churchill Downs Racetrack’s backside during the first morning of Kentucky Derby Week , a private tour of WinStar Farm, a private tour of Hermitage Farm as well as high quality art supplies.
A total of $6,000 in quality art supplies will be awarded to winning schools’ art departments.
All winners and exhibiting students will be recognized during a ceremony at the Kentucky Derby Museum on February 13.
Bellarmine University’s Rubel School of Business and the Muhammad Ali Center are celebrating Muhammad Ali’s birthday with a Muhammad Ali APPreciation Night on Thursday, January 18th from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Bellarmine University’s Centro Building. During the APPreciation Night, the Center, along with Rasheda Ali-Walsh and Jamillah Ali-Joyce, Muhammad Ali’s twin daughters, will help launch two new mobile apps focused on continuing the Champ’s legacy of service. There will also be a birthday cake and drawings.
January 17th marks what would have been Muhammad Ali’s 76th birthday. He passed away on June 3, 2016.
The two new mobile apps, called “Generation Ali” and “Hours Against Hate,” are specifically designed to promote and preserve Muhammad Ali’s legacy, and especially to actively engage young people in service to and respect for others.
In attendance will be Donald Lassere, President and CEO of the Ali Center, Dr. Susan M. Donovan, President of Bellarmine University, Rasheda and Jamillah, among others.
“Muhammad Ali used his athletic prowess and his enormous personality to advance an idea of what human greatness really is – confidence, conviction, dedication, respect, giving and spirituality,” said Dr. Donovan. “We are honored to host this night celebrating what would have been the week of his 76th birthday. Students and the community will not only have the opportunity to learn more about Muhammad Ali’s legacy, but also to see what incredible things The Muhammad Ali Center is doing.”
The APPreciation Night is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are encouraged here. It will be held on the first floor of the Centro building, located at 2001 Newburg Rd.
The National Mentoring Partnership and the Muhammad Ali Center are proud to announce the Third Annual International Mentoring Day on January 17, 2018—the date which would have been the 76th birthday of boxing legend and global humanitarian Muhammad Ali.
January 15th – 21st, the Muhammad Ali Center invites mentors and mentees to visit the Center together and receive a discounted rate. Mentors will receive a $5 admissions rate and their mentee will be able to tour the Center for free.
On a larger scale, the international and universal power of mentoring will be recognized and celebrated throughout the month of January, National Mentoring Month.
Leading up to January 17, individuals and organizations are encouraged to share, through social media, photos, video, messages and stories that reflect on the real life power of mentoring and in particular: (1) what mentoring means to you in real life; and (2) how you define and describe mentoring through your experience. Mentors and mentees are encouraged to meet and visit together in real life and to share pictures and stories reflecting on the power of this mentoring relationship.
The dialogue will be captured online through #InternationalMentoringDay, #MentorIRL and #NationalMentoringMonth and on Twitter (@MentoringDay ) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MentoringDay/) and on this website:
http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org
The Muhammad Ali Center will continue its annual tradition to show Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to the community in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The screening of this historic speech is Monday, January 15th at 11:00 a.m in the Center’s Auditorium.
A panel discussion, “Continuing the Dream, Living the Legacy” will follow the showing. Members of the Muhammad Ali Center Council of Students will discuss how young people are continuing the work of Dr. King and Muhammad Ali in our community.
Though the screening is free to the public, visitors must pay regular admission prices to access Ali Center exhibits.
This public event follows the Ali Center’s planned closing for renovations January 8-14, 2018. The renovations, announced in November, include a complete redesign of the Center’s Main Lobby, the Ali Center Store, and Group Entrance.