History
1980 - The Kentucky General Assembly and then-Governor John Y. Brown, Jr., forge a unique plan establishing a major public/private partnership to build The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. The idea for a performing arts center in Louisville had bounced around among civic, business and political leaders for over a dozen years already, but funding had never been easy.

1983 - On November 19, the Kentucky Center for the Arts is officially dedicated at a gala event in Whitney Hall under the proud gaze of first Center President Marlow Burt. Attendees include Charlton Heston, Diane Sawyer, Lily Tomlin, Jessye Norman and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

1984 - The Kentucky Center takes the national spotlight, when it hosts one of the 1984 Presidential Debates between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale.

1986 - The Bank One Lonesome Pine Specials Series begins taping its concerts for airing on KET throughout the Commonwealth. Then, in 1988 Lonesome Pine goes international, with 130 PBS stations across America and Channel 4 in England broadcasting concerts videotaped on the Bomhard stage.

1987 - The Boyd Martin Experimental Theater is dedicated. The MeX, as it comes to be called, is a simple "black box" stage, providing a blank slate for original plays, innovative productions of the classics, music, dance and literary readings. It soon becomes a favorite venue for local theater and arts groups.

1988 - The Philip Morris Companies Inc. New Directions in Dance Series is inaugurated, bringing the finest in modern dance to The Kentucky Center. Over the years, the series has welcomed such internationally renowned companies as Ballet Jazz de Montréal, the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

1989 - Alexander Calder’s sculpture "The Red Feather" finds a home on the front steps of The Kentucky Center. The piece joins artworks by such 20th century masters as Joàn Miro, Jean Dubuffet, Louise Nevelson and John Chamberlain.

1990 - The Kentucky Center initiates the ArtsReach Louisville program, bringing arts involvement and instruction to community centers throughout the city. ArtsReach joins several successful educational programs at the Center, such as the Arts/Education Showcase, the Arts Institutes, the Governor’s School for the Arts, and later, Creative Connections. All of these programs fulfill the Kentucky Center’s mission to bring the arts to every corner of Kentucky.

1997 - Michael C. Hardy comes on as President of The Kentucky Center. Also, the Center becomes the manager of the newly-renovated W.L. Lyons Brown Theatre on Broadway. The Brown, which is listed on the National Register for Historic Places, currently seats almost 1,400 patrons in the style and splendor reminiscent of Louisville’s grand past and indicative of our vibrant future.

2000 - Thanks to the support of the Kentucky legislature, The Kentucky Center undergoes a $4.5 million renovation, a major project that includes adding 5,900 square feet to the lobby on both the north and south sides of the building, and a reconfiguration of the main entrance off Main Street.

2001 - The Kentucky Center for the Arts launches Overture, the first annual campaign. The campaign focuses attention on the KCA's statewide mission, highlighting the need for both corporate and individual support.

2002 - Arthur Jacobus, former CEO of the San Francisco Ballet, joins the staff as President of The Kentucky Center.

2004 - Yum! Family Series Program Presents Stage One enters into a management agreement with The Kentucky Center. One of the nation’s oldest and most successful children’s theaters, Yum! Family Series Program Presents Stage One has been a resident of The Kentucky Center since the beginning, joining such other resident companies as the The Louisville Orchestra, PNC Bank Broadway Across America, the Louisville Ballet and Kentucky Opera.

2005 - Stephen T. Klein comes to The Kentucky Center as President, following one season with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Prior to that, Klein spent nine seasons as Managing Director of Pittsburgh Public Theater, overseeing the building and relocation of the theater’s operations into the New O’Reilly Theater designed by Michael Graves. Klein brings 35 years of leadership experience in the arts to the Center’s presidency, including serving as the Executive Director of the internationally-acclaimed National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He also served as Orchestra Manager of the Cleveland Orchestra.