Kentucky Foundation for Women is pleased to announce that Gwen Kelly will be the recipient of the 2026 Sallie Bingham Award. The award will be given at the foundation’s annual celebration of community, KFW Day, on October 3.
Gwen will be honored for her work and dedication as an artist, a facilitator, a workshop leader, community builder, curator, and educator. She holds a BFA in Fiber Art and a Masters of Art from the University of Louisville. Her art has appeared in many galleries including a one-woman exhibition at Spalding University’s Huff Gallery, the Small Works International at Amos Eno Gallery in New York, and Kentucky Quilts: Roots and Wings a traveling exhibition of the Kentucky Folk Art Museum as well as serving as a co-curator for exhibits.
Gwen has designed and implemented art-making and creativity workshops across Kentucky. She has worked with the Speed Art Museum, the Kentucky Center for the Arts, the Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation, NeighborWorks America, Louisville Visual Arts Association’s Open Doors Program and Children’s Free Art Classes, Center for Neighborhoods, and other organizations. She has been leading an open jewelry-making studio in the California neighborhood (currently hosted at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage) for over 20 years.
“Over the years KFW has allowed me to explore different paths and dream about doing so many different things. In 2005 I received funding for a neighborhood project, Glass Is Not Trash, which is still active in a slightly different form, as a weekly jewelry- and art-making open studio. I’ve received encouragement for my still unfulfilled, yet still alive, novel writing dreams, and I’ve received support for my visual art. KFW has provided me with quiet time at Hopscotch House which has also been a place I’ve been able to share with others over the years. Through being on grant panels, I’ve been able to live vicariously through and meet so many visionary women from across Kentucky. I learn so much when I review grants,” said Kelly.
Her work building community has not gone unnoticed. Gwen was named a Louisville Connector by Leadership Louisville, and an article from StyleBlueprint may have put it best, “If there is a community event or anything around town that’s raising awareness of our city’s needs, she is there.”
“Gwen’s art and outreach make real the values of the Sallie Bingham Award with her generous approach to building community, fostering artists, and providing a path to creative fulfillment for women across the Commonwealth. Gwen is bettering the lives of women and girls in Kentucky sharing her insightful work and broadening the canvas for women artists. KFW is honored to present Gwen Kellly with this year’s Sallie Bingham Award,” said Sharon LaRue, Executive Director of the Kentucky Foundation for Women.
“Receiving the award is very validating and heart-warming. It never occurred to me that doing something I enjoy and being able to say, “Yes, I can help with that” would be something I’d be recognized for. I have truly enjoyed all of my interactions with KFW over the years and benefited greatly from its existence so it’s humbling to be included in their list of women worthy of being recognized,” said Kelly.
Named for KFW’s founder, the Sallie Bingham Award recognizes Kentucky women who are leaders in changing the lives of women and girls across the state by supporting feminist expression in the arts. Recipients show a demonstrated and sustained commitment to excellence in feminist art and to advancing social change that impacts women and girls in Kentucky. The award was founded in 1996 by former KFW Director, Ann Stewart Anderson. Winners are selected by nominations or by recommendation from the KFW staff or Board. Previous winners include Looking for Lilith Theatre Company, fabric artist Alma Lesch, writer and arts mentor Judy Sizemore, and writer Crystal Wilkinson. For more information on the award, check out: https://www.kfw.org/awards/sallie-bingham-award/
For more information or to schedule an interview with Gwen Kelly call Sharon LaRue at 502-562-0045.
The Kentucky Foundation for Women is a private foundation formed in 1985 by Louisville writer Sallie Bingham. Its mission is to promote positive social change by supporting varied feminist expression in the arts.
