On a summer evening in Louisville, a wrestling ring stood in a space usually reserved for quiet contemplation. Beneath the clean lines of the Speed Art Museum, the ropes were pulled tight and the mat stretched flat. As wine glasses clinked and a crowd of gallery-goers took their seats, the atmosphere was one of polite curiosity.
Then the bell rang.
Read MoreLaVelle Smith Jr. has been many things in his life: a Kentuckian, a dancer, a choreographer, an Angeleno, the mind behind some of pop music’s most iconic dances, the person who performed onstage with Beyoncé at the Grammys. But the one thing he’s never been? Afraid.
Read MoreOn October 9, 2024, Kentucky to the World hosted the Premiere of A Pathway Forward, a documentary following Central High School Law and Government Magnet sophomores through a year of innovative instruction. Over a year later, the film’s message continues to resonate far beyond the school’s walls.
Read MoreThe heartbeat of American baseball isn’t found in a stadium - it’s forged in a factory in Louisville, Kentucky. And a new film by Kentucky to the World’s Director of Strategic Planning and Documentary Film, Tommy Johns, shares the story behind baseball’s most iconic bat.
Read MoreFall has always carried a certain magic: a creative pulse that hums through Kentucky’s hills and city streets. It’s the season when the air sharpens, colors ignite, and ideas start to take shape. For Kentucky to the World (KTW), fall isn’t just a time of transition. It’s a reminder of why we do what we do. This is the season of creativity, excitement, and momentum.
Read MoreComing to Louisville was never part of the plan for Dr. Ajmal Zemmar. But then again, neither was his biggest scientific breakthrough.
Read MoreEvelyn R. Gregory is a Cinematography and Video Production educator based in Louisville, KY. She earned her undergraduate film degree from the historic Alabama A&M University and holds both a Master of Fine Arts and a Master of Science while residing and teaching in Kentucky. She describes herself as “just a kid from Cleveland with a passion for storytelling.”
Read MoreAppalachia is not a monolith.
It’s a sentiment shared time and time again, from news organizations centered on the Black experience in West Virginia to works of fiction based in the reality of growing up Indigenous in North Carolina. Over 20% of the Appalachian population is nonwhite - including Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous folks, as well as many other races and ethnicities - and the region has become increasingly diverse since 2010. And yet, mainstream representations of the region almost always look the same: white.
Read MoreAllen Sarven ran away with the circus at age 18 and never looked back. At least, that’s how he sees it.
Born in northwestern Ohio, Al was captivated from a young age by the idea of becoming a professional wrestler. As a teenager, he maintained a monthly ritual of calling up every major wrestling promotion he could find and asking for a shot at training with them. Each month, they said no. And each month, he called them again.
Read MoreKnown largely as the country’s sole manufacturer of the Corvette and home of Western Kentucky University (WKU), Bowling Green is also one of the largest and fastest-growing cities in Kentucky. Founded in 1798, the city and its surrounding Warren County are projected to double in size to 233,000 by 2050.
To prepare, its leaders are collaborating and adopting new strategies for sustainable and inclusive growth. One initiative, a pilot program called the BG2050 Project (BG2050), uses civic imagination and artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a 25-year vision to guide this anticipated growth.
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