When the recession hit the country several 
professions suffered, and that included the art industry, an already difficult business to be in. But the Kentuck Art Center, located in Northport has made it a mission to bring that business back to life.

Kentuck is most well-known for their annual Kentuck festival showcasing hundreds of different artists and art forms. But when they aren’t 
preparing for the big year’s event, the center focuses on the business itself, selling the artwork of many local and out-of-state artists.

Exa Skinner, the program manager, said 
everything they do comes back to promoting the arts.

“Now that we’re rebounding [from the recession], we want to educate the community and help others recognize its place in our lives,”
Skinner said.

To help Kentuck reach those goals, the center has seven studio artists. These are artists that make a full-time living off of the work they do. The art center gives them discounted prices to rent out spaces where they can work whenever they 
need to.

“We want our artists to be able to make a living off of what they do,” Skinner said. “Art takes up all of your time, and we provide the resources for them to do what they love.”

Daniel Livingston has been a studio artist at the center for the last 5 years, though his history with Kentuck stretches back 25 years ago, as he is a part of the festival every year. Livingston is a ceramist with a focus on the Raku style, a Japanese rapid-fire technique.

“One of the benefits of working here is that you get exposure because it’s a well-known organization,” Livingston said. “They expose people to your work, and they have a very efficient way of running organization, which is great because it makes it easier to produce art.”

Kentuck is also the host of Art Night, where all of the studio artists showcase their work and several local vendors attend as well. Skinner said nearly 200 people attend every month, and they hope to continue to see new faces.

“Art Night is all about the community,” Skinner said. “It’s a way to celebrate community involvement, appreciate the artwork shown and each month we have a local band play.”

The next Art Night on Sept. 1 will be the 20-year anniversary for the event. Voodoo Saints, a New Orleans-styled jazz band from Tuscaloosa, will attend and perform as community members get a chance to expose themselves to local artwork and meet others who share the same passion.