Rowan County Arts Center

Morehead, Kentucky

Housed in a courthouse building that was constructed in 1899, the Rowan County Arts Center serves the community as a base of artistic activity. Executive Director Angela Traver explained that the center’s location in the historic Morehead structure makes the organization’s presence even more unique. The towering three-story building includes several gallery spaces, artists’ studios, an old courtroom transformed into a stage and performance area, and classrooms and staircases full of artwork. During the week, visitors can chat with a variety of local artists—weavers, quilters, painters and many more—at work in their studios. Some artists from surrounding counties such as Morgan, Bath and Fleming, also have studios there. “We really have a large pool of talent, and folks are excited about it,” Traver said, adding that the proximity to the art community at Morehead State University also benefits the arts center. The Kentucky Center for Traditional Music holds its semester finale in the Rowan County Arts Center’s performance space. Traver said people were “pretty much hanging from the rafters” to hear the music. Students from MSU often hold their senior recitals in the old courtroom, which boasts acoustics unparalleled in the area. “We had a performer doing her senior recital in traditional opera, and she said it was by far the best place in town,” Traver said of the old courtroom. “It’s one of those benefits when we renovated the old courthouse that you didn’t know would happen.” The center recently presented a play based on a famous Kentucky feud—the Tolliver-Martin feud. Traver said that, though most people think of the Hatfields and McCoys, the Tolliver-Martin feud was bloodier, and the play brought many new people to the center. “These are folks who might have never come into the Arts Center before, but because we have such diverse programming, we have people coming in from all over. It’s about getting people through