Art’s nourishing ripple effect.
By Steven Kenny

Many, many thanks to everyone at Creative Pinellas for awarding me this 2020 Professional Artist Grant! Thanks also to the jury who spent many hours sifting through all the submitted applications. Your commitment and dedication to the arts is so deeply appreciated. The work you’re doing is so valuable and important. Thank you!

This award is a great honor. With it comes a great sense of responsibility. To be recognized in this way makes me even more determined to be the best artist that I can be and create work to the best of my abilities. To push harder and delve deeper.

I feel as though I’m part of a large team of professionals all working together to spread the good news about art. During the course of my career I’ve seen how profoundly art can affect people. When that happens there are ripples that radiate outward. Those who experience art positively carry that experience and pass it on in various ways, both intentional and unintentional, conscious and unconscious.

Once a positive experience of art occurs, there is a hunger for more that develops in both the public and the artist. The artist is rewarded in both the creation of their art as well as the sharing of it. The public feels enriched by the experience and desires more exposure to both the art and the artist. A wonderful, healthy reverberation occurs that nourishes all involved.

I feel blessed to be a small part of all the goodness that comes from art. I gratefully accept this grant and am determined to channel it through me and redirect that creative energy back into the world. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity!