Our Cornerstone: Summer Program
Every summer, our faculty of professional artists and educators guide
over five hundred of Kentucky’s finest young artists through three weeks
of incredibly intense (and incredibly fun) arts instruction. For three
weeks, the students live, breathe, eat and sleep the arts. It’s a
thrilling, often life-changing experience, as they meet new friends,
explore their creativity, and discover new things about who they are and
who they can be in the future.
GSA auditions & reviews the Commonwealth’s most promising high
school sophomores and juniors in nine different arts disciplines:
Creative Writing, Dance, Design (formerly known as Architecture + Design), Drama, Film +
Photography, Instrumental Music, Musical Theatre, Visual Art and Vocal
Music. While GSA historically took place over the course of three weeks in late June and early July, beginning in 2022, we now offer two separate three-week sessions, in the last three weeks of June and the last three weeks of July.
GSA is an arts education program of The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. GSA is offered at no cost to the student, and is made available through funding from the state, as well as private fundraising. The value of GSA is over $4,000 per student.
GSA has served all 120 counties in the Commonwealth through the
summer program. GSA is a statewide program
and encourages geographical and ethnic diversity. However, GSA does not
establish quotas.
GSA does not discriminate or give advantages to anyone. This includes
preference based on region or county, urban or rural, experience,
training, high school vs. home school, instrument, voice type, body
type, etc.
Potential and attitude are as important in the GSA audition/review
process as is talent. The most talented student will not succeed at GSA
if they are not interested in becoming better than they already are. GSA
is not just an award – it is an opportunity to learn and grow. GSA
adjudicators look at these young artists holistically, not just their
product/performance.
Students do not need to be nominated for GSA. Students may choose to apply without permission or nomination from any school official. However, a recommendation from two adults who are not directly related to the student is required with each artform application.
GSA does not make accepted and alternate student selections until after the Final Round auditions/reviews.
Application Process
Eligibility
In order to be considered for the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, students must meet the following selection criteria:
- Currently be a sophomore or junior in high school or home school.
- Live, attend school, or have a parent/ guardian who works in Kentucky.
- Complete the application by the due date in January. GSA will not consider
incomplete applications. There is a fee for applying: $35 for one art
form/$50 for two art forms. Students that receive free and reduced lunch
have the option to waive the fee.
- Complete the Recommendation Process as part of the Preliminary Round application.
- If selected as a finalist, complete the Final Round in March.
Recommendation Process
Students applying to GSA are required to identify two people who will complete recommendation forms in support of their GSA application.
Recommenders can be teachers (from inside or outside of the student's school and in any
subject), school administrators (i.e., guidance counselor), mentors, or other people involved in the student's personal or artistic development such as a coach, youth minister, or staff at an organization for which
they volunteer. Links to an online recommendation form are
sent to the recommenders' emails (which are entered by the student at the
beginning of the application).
Alumni Benefits
Upon completion of the Summer Program, alumni are qualified for several exclusive benefits.
College & Career Day
Each fall, GSA alumni who are juniors and seniors in high
school are invited to participate in our special College and Career Day.
Representatives from approximately 80 top national colleges gather at
Louisville’s Youth Performing Arts School to share information about
their schools with GSA students and their parents and to conduct
auditions and interviews. It's a concentrated and convenient way to
"speed date" prospective colleges and universities. Alumni walk away
from College and Career Day with new connections to a diverse range of
schools and better ideas of what they want out of their secondary
education experience. Some even receive direct scholarship offers that
day.
Scholarships
Because GSA alumni are talented and driven individuals who want
to make a difference in their communities, 30 colleges and universities
(both inside and outside of Kentucky) offer the following scholarship
opportunities to GSA alumni. While GSA alumni are great candidates for
many scholarships, each of the opportunities are specific to completion
of GSA’s summer program.
Toyota Alumni Fund
Thanks to the generous support of Toyota Motor Manufacturing,
The Kentucky Center Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA) is proud to
offer GSA alumni the opportunity to apply for the Toyota Alumni Fund
(TAF). The goal of the fund is to support GSA alumni in their artistic
development. This can include a professional development opportunity or
creation and implementation of a project.
