Feature: 2017 LOUISVILLE AWARDS IN THE ARTS at Churchill Downs

On Saturday, April 29, the Fund for the Arts, Jennifer Lawrence Foundation and Churchill Downs hosted Louisville's second annual Awards in the Arts, presented by Delta Dental of Kentucky and Joy Mangano. Once again, the event took place as part of Opening Night of the Spring Meet at Churchill Downs.

The presentation ceremony took place on the Mansion Balcony at Churchill Downs and was broadcast on the Big Board between races. The evening also included horse racing, arts performances around the racetrack, and a VIP reception in the Stakes Room complete with Jennifer Lawrence-inspired décor and cuisine.

The 2017 Awards in the Arts were presented to:

The Delta Dental of Kentucky National Award in the Arts

Stephen Gaghan

American Screenwriter and Director Stephen Gaghan was born and raised in Louisville, Ky. where he attended Kentucky Country Day School. He went on to study at the University of Kentucky and Boston College. He is best known for writing the screenplay for Steven Soderbergh's film Traffic, for which he won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2000 at the age of 34. Since then, Gaghan has earned 12 award wins and 17 nominations for his work in film and television, including the Emmy and Oscar. Most recently.

The Unbridled Charitable Foundation Inc. National Arts Advocate Award

Tim Daly

Tim Daly is an American actor and producer from New York City. He is a national advocate for the arts and serves as president of The Creative Coalition - a nonprofit arts advocacy group formed by members of the American entertainment industry - and he continually advocates for the arts through the Coalition and its Right to Bear Arts campaign. Daly currently stars in the popular TV series Madam Secretary,

The Bobby Petrino Family Foundation Arts Impact Award

Kentucky Shakespeare

This award honors an organization that has demonstrated and leveraged a significant impact in the Louisville community through the arts - Kentucky Shakespeare. Founded in 1949, Kentucky Shakespeare is a nonprofit, charitable organization and professional theatre. It is the oldest free Shakespeare festival in the United States. Grounded in the works of William Shakespeare, this organization enriches Kentucky by presenting accessible, professional theatre experiences that educate, inspire and entertain people of all ages in schools, parks, libraries, and more. In its most recent, 56th season, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park served more than 25,000 audience members in only 11 weeks, with attendees of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds

The David Fenley, Founder of UpStartU, Arts Innovation Award

Louisville Story Program

This award is presented to an organization that is fueling innovative work in the arts - the Louisville Story Program. This organization strengthens the community by amplifying unheard voices and untold stories, partnering closely with overlooked Louisville residents by providing extensive writing and oral history workshops and editorial support, culminating in professionally-designed documentary books, exhibits and radio programs, in which the authors tell the stories of their lives and communities in their own words. The Louisville Story Program helps to make Louisville a more inclusive city, in which every community member is heard, and where stories are lived together.

Yum! Brands Arts Education Award

La'Nita Rocknettes School of DanceThe

This award recognizes an organization that is helping to educate and inspire Louisville's children for nearly six decades through the arts - the La'Nita Rocknettes School of Dance. Led by Owen Neil, son of founder Anita Lucille Neil, the La'Nita Rocknettes School of Dance provides the opportunity to learn ballet, pointe, tap, jazz and modern dance to any young student, free of charge and regardless of age, color, size, skill level or body type. The mission of La'Nita Rocknettes School of Dance is to help students with their self-esteem and confidence through arts education and on-stage performances.

The Ronda Gordon Foundation Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award

Paul Owen

This award honors an individual who has demonstrated lifetime achievement in the arts in Greater Louisville - Paul Owen. Owen was the resident designer at Actors Theatre of Louisville from 1971 to 2009, designing approximately 1,500 productions during his 38 seasons. Owen's work was never defined by a specific style, rather, Greater Louisville audiences marveled at the variety of his designs. While now in semi-retirement, his passion for the arts has not waned, as he frequently designs for Kentucky Shakespeare.

The Lift A Life Foundation Emerging Leader in the Arts Award

Rachel Mauser

This award celebrates an artist who has excelled in her discipline early in her career - Rachel Mauser. Mauser is celebrated for her work in bookbinding, letterpress printing, printmaking and painting. Along with her outstanding commitment to her own practice, she also uses her art as a tool to help young people close education gaps, develop identity and self-worth, and become leaders in their communities. She is the co-founder and co-director of the STEAM Exchange, a community arts center in Louisville's Smoketown neighborhood, where she helps to create passion-driven learning experiences for underserved communities, free of charge.

Louisville's Awards in the Arts was established to celebrate the extraordinary arts community in the Greater Louisville region and the arts tremendous contribution to our unique cultural landscape and quality of place. But most of all, Louisville's Awards in the Arts were established to celebrate the artists themselves, their talent and passion, to create, produce and present transformative and inspiring works of arts, in and for our community. Net proceeds of this event go toward the Jennifer Lawrence Arts Fund at the Fund for the Arts.

Churchill Downs, the world's most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America's greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Churchill Downs will conduct the 143nd running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on May 6, 2017. The track has hosted the Breeders' Cup World Championships eight times