Kitchen, Inc. Building
Turned Over to College for New Art School |
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Ken Wheeler |
Standing in front of the future home of the Paducah School for the Arts in Paducah’s Lower Town, Ken Wheeler had to apologize.
A member of the Paducah Junior College, Inc. Board of Trustees since 1990 and the chairman of the board since 2005, Wheeler has been very active in economic development initiatives throughout the western Kentucky region, including support for improving engineering education opportunities in Paducah.
Wheeler said he thought the notion of bringing an arts school to Paducah seemed like a lot of “fluff.” But as he stood in front of more than 100 artists and supporters of the proposed art school, Wheeler admitted he had changed his mind. “I have considered it and considered it, and watched the idea grow in this community,” the staunch businessman said as he pulled out a black artist-type beret and placed it on his head. “I’m here to tell you this old dog is ready to change to some new tricks.”
 Ownership
of the former Kitchens, Inc. building – the future home
of the Paducah School for the Arts – was turned over to
West Kentucky Community & Technical College by Paducah officials
during a brief presentation on October 31. The building located
at 904 Harrison Street will house the school after undergoing
extensive renovations.
Paducah Mayor Bill Paxton called the deed presentation a “great day” and praised several community leaders for pushing to make the idea of a school a possibility.
“This school is going to happen. Harvey Sadow (the art school’s first director) is going to make sure it happens,” Paxton said. “This building is going to be transferred into something gorgeous and this school is going to make Lower Town even better.”
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| Harvey Sadow, the Paducah School for the Arts director, shows off the interior of the Kitchen, Inc. building to Dr. Michael McCall, president of the Kentucky Community & Technical College System, and Dr. Barbara Veazey, president of West Kentucky Community & Technical College. |
Sadow, an internationally recognized sculptor from Florida, was named the art school director in September. Specializing in ceramics, Sadow has more than 30 years of experience as an artist and educator. His work is exhibited at the White House Collection of Contemporary Craft, the International Museum of Ceramic Craft and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, among others.
WKCTC President Barbara Veazey said she wanted to recognize Mayor Bill Paxton and city commissioners, who agreed to purchase the building and donated it to the Paducah Junior College Foundation.
“It’s an opportunity for us to say thank you for the vision and for the confidence the college can pull this off,” Veazey said, adding that a priority for the art school is now raising funds.
In 2008, the college will ask legislators for $2.1
million to plan programs and to make the 35,000-square-foot Kitchens
building compliant with earthquake codes, Veazey said. In 2010,
the college plans to ask for money to complete renovations and
start the program.
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Dr. Michael McCall, Ken Wheeler, and Dr. Barbara Veazey |
Michael McCall, president of the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) pledged his continued support of the project. In addition to attending the deed presentation, McCall also had breakfast with WKCTC faculty and staff, met with community leaders and was the featured speaker at the Paducah Rotary Club.He said he had no problem visualizing what the school may come to look like when all renovations are completed, despite the building’s interior look today. To convert the entire facility to a state-of-the art school, with classrooms, studios and artists-in-residence lofts, will likely cost as much as $6 million. College officials said funding for renovations will need to come from public funding, private donations and grants.
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