Leaders of the SoFA Foundation dream that one day violin classes will be offered at schools, a youth orchestra will be flourishing in Henderson and a new theater will allow high school productions to be produced on a much bigger stage in front of much bigger audiences.
Both Greg Gibson and Leanne Banna, two members of the foundation, know they have a way to go before that can happen. But they believe it can.
“You got to crawl before you can walk,” Gibson said.
In the meantime, the foundation is concerned with helping to fund some of the more basic needs of the School of Fine Arts at Henderson County High School and arts programs of all education levels in Henderson County Schools. To that end, the SoFA Foundation is holding its first “Give Back Days” from March 5-7.
During that Tuesday through Thursday, participating local merchants will donate 10% of their sales to the foundation. The foundation has also set up sponsorship packages that would make more sense for some businesses, Gibson said.
Both Gibson and Banna said because this is the first year of the fundraiser, they haven’t set a specific goal for money raised. A goal of 20 has been set for the number of participating merchants, Gibson said.
A few of the top concerns for local arts programs, according to Gibson and Banna, are providing musical instruments, sound proofing the band room at HCHS and buying new art tables at the high school. Banna said the art tables are the same as the ones she used when she went to HCHS. She graduated in 1983.
Banna said band practice and choir practice can’t be conducted at the same time because the rooms abut each other, and the band’s music disrupts the choir.
Gibson said about 1,000 students take visual art, music or theater classes at the high school. For many of them, these classes provide a sense of belonging and community that they don’t get anywhere else.
A poll conducted by the SoFA foundation of 73 HCHS graduates who were a part of fine arts classes shows that 85% pursued arts after high school. Furthermore, 90% said these classes helped their mental health.
Sometimes these programs are a lifeline. One respondent, when asked about the benefit of arts classes, said, “Not to be dramatic, but they kept me alive.”
In the decade of the SoFA Foundation’s existence, Banna said the organization has raised roughly $50,000 which has funded guitars, keyboards and special chairs for choir members that help with correct posture.
Neither Banna nor Gibson both know that critical needs of schools—and their funding—come first. So, after the math, science, English and tech departments are funded, there isn’t much left for the arts.
That’s why the foundation is asking the community for support.
“If we can as a community that has the resources that can do it,” Banna said, “that makes a lot of sense.”
Her goal is for the SoFA Foundation to be able to fund arts as well as sports booster clubs.
Both Banna and Gibson have used their artistic background in their work lives. Gibson, a 1977 graduate of HCHS, went on to the University of Cincinnati, where he earned degrees in business and industrial design. He has worked as a float designer for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Disney Paris.
Banna earned a degree in advertising and business from Western Kentucky University and ended up working in marketing. In her work every day, she uses creativity and critical thinking, which she credits the arts for having helped to hone.
She said the pragmatic aspect of arts education is often lost on the public. For instance, she’s found that people doing very different jobs from something in the arts often come at tasks with a more critical—and creative—mind.
Furthermore, both want to support the next generation of artists coming from Henderson. They mentioned John James Audubon and W.C. Handy as forebears, but Banna cited more recent Hendersonians—Gregg Hale, who directed the” Blair Witch Project” and Ane Crabtree, who is an Emmy-nominated costumer designer—as artists who are continuing Henderson’s arts tradition. Both Hale and Crabtree are HCHS graduates.
“We want to help the kids get what we got,” Banna said.
For more information, go to http://www.hendersonsofafoundation.org.
