The Boyle County Performing Arts Center is owned and operated by Boyle County Schools. When the opportunity arose to build a new performing arts space, BCS chose to go beyond a typical school auditorium and invest in a multi-million dollar facility. The vision for the BCPAC was to serve not just Boyle County Schools students, but the greater Danville/Boyle County area by becoming a regional hub for student, community, and professional level performances and artistic exhibitions that both entertain and educate.
The mission of the Boyle County Performing Arts Center is three-fold:
- To provide all Boyle County students EXPOSURE to quality professional arts presentations
- To enrich the cultural life of the Greater Danville area through ACCESS to public events that entertain, inform, and educate
- To provide OPPORTUNITY for creative community involvement & professional partnerships for Boyle County students and residents through the presenting and production of quality arts events
Exposure
Boyle County Schools passionately believes that all students should be consistently exposed to quality arts performances throughout their scholastic career. Each year it is the goal of BCS to have all 2800 of our students experience a live, professional-level performance in the BCPAC. BCS recognizes the numerous educational benefits of early arts exposure for students, including but not limited to socioemotional development and increased academic achievement. Being a rural community with over 52% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, we pose the question: How many students in their first 18 years of life would never see a live, professional-level arts performance if we did not provide that exposure?
Access
In addition to school matinee performances, the BCPAC strives to provide the greater Danville/Boyle County community with access to affordable high quality, professional arts programming. With a focus on family and educational programming, we aim to create a safe, inviting space that brings families and community together. Keeping ticket prices low through community partnerships, corporate sponsors, and grants, we attempt to remove all barriers of access for our patrons.
We also strive to provide access to our space through affordable rental pricing. Since beginning our rental program, the BCPAC has been used for several community theatre productions, a variety of presentations and lectures, as well as numerous pageant and scholarship organizations. This access to our venue fosters our vision of being a true community space.
Opportunity
By presenting professional programming and shows, the BCPAC serves as a springboard for extended master class, artist spotlight, and workshop opportunities for the Boyle County Arts Academy students. Over 300 students grades 5-12 are part of the BCAA and have a focus area in vocal music, instrumental music, drama, dance, or visual art. In addition to school matinees, the BCPAC seeks to book artists and events that are willing to increase the educational value of their visit through workshops with small groups of BCAA students. Giving students the opportunity to learn from professional artists as part of their K-12 education is a strong driving force behind the BCPAC's mission.
The BCPAC also seeks out community partnerships to create opportunities for students to perform alongside seasoned professional and semi-professional artists, such as West T Hill Community Theatre and The Lexington Ballet Company. BCPAC summer camps are also rapidly expanding and provide students with opportunities to learn new skills and develop their craft with local and community artists.
Cultural Equity Plan
To support a full creative life for all, Boyle County Performing Arts Center commits to advance the policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable nation.
DEFINITION OF CULTURAL EQUITY
Cultural equity embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of arts policy; the support of artists; the nurturing of accessible, thriving venues for expression; and the fair distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & AFFIRMATIONS
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Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the arts sector.
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Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society.
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The prominent presence of artists challenges inequities and encourages alternatives.
MODELING THROUGH ACTION
To provide informed, self-aware leadership for cultural equity, we strive to…
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Pursue cultural consciousness throughout our organization through substantive open conversation and transparent policies.
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Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and report organization progress.
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Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies.
FUELING FIELD PROGRESS
To pursue needed change related to equity, we strive to…
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Encourage substantive learning to build cultural consciousness and to proliferate pro-equity policies and practices by all of our constituencies and audiences.
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Improve the cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the full breadth of American society.
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Generate quantitative and qualitative data related to equity to make incremental, measurable progress towards cultural equity more visible.