[2][3][4] Part of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Arts Council is publicly funded by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, an independent agency of the United States federal government.
[7] In 2016 the council's budget was cut by $170,00, spread over two and a half years.
[9] The following year the National Endowment for the Arts awarded $746,500 to the council, a 5% increase from 2016 funding.
[11] In January 2021 the council honored the nine 2020 recipients of the Kentucky Governor's Awards in the Arts in a virtual ceremony.
[14] The council will determine how the funding will be distributed to arts organizations in Kentucky.