6 complete Community Scholars training in Bowling Green

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) — The 2022 cohort of the Kentucky Arts Council Community Scholars have completed their training, focusing on creating a new exhibit exploring stories of Jonesville, a Black community that once existed on the Western Kentucky University campus in Bowling Green.

The Community Scholars program trains members of a community in documentation, interpretation and dissemination of their unique local cultural resources and traditional art forms. Training consists of several sessions and occurs each year in a different community across the state.

The six Community Scholars – Alice Gatewood-Waddell, Dr. John Conley, Lamont Jack Pearley and Josh Niedwick, all of Bowling Green; David Greer of Oakland; and Alonzo Webb of Glasgow – underwent training in May and June under the guidance of facilitators from the Kentucky Arts Council, the Kentucky Museum, the African American Museum, the Kentucky Folklife Program and the WKU Folk Studies Department. Participants studied archives and the history of the Jonesville neighborhood and collected new interviews with residents to help tell its story. The exhibit, which will feature highlights from research and interviews, will open at the Kentucky Museum later this year.