2026 Scholarship Application Information

The Arts Association of Oldham County (AAOC) awards three (3) $5,000 scholarships and one (1) $1,000 scholarship to seniors residing in Oldham County who plan on majoring in the arts.

The AAOC scholarship is given to a graduating senior residing in Oldham County who plans to attend a two or four year college or university or to a student who will participate in an apprenticeship or a vocational school in the arts. Non-accredited schools are also eligible.

We consider the arts to include but not limited to:

• Visual art to include but not limited to: sculpture, painting, drawing, glass work,
• Performance art to include but not limited to: acting, written or performed music to include musical theater and voice, dance, choreography
• Creative writing to include but not limited to: journalism, poetry, essays, literature
• Photography 
• Graphic design 
• Interior design 
• If you have questions as to what is included in this “art” category, please contact Brandi Persello, Education Director on the AAOOC board of directors at musicwithbrandi@gmail.com or Robin Miller, Arts Association of Oldham County Executive Director at execdir@aaooc.org for an explanation.

Start compiling a portfolio of your art work NOW! A portfolio can be a DVD or CD of performances (but a video on thumb drive or an easily accessed url is preferred), a traditional portfolio of visual art or photography, or a compilation of writings. If you have questions, call for advice and help with the portfolio. Make sure you are registered on the Oldham County Scholarships  web site.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Portfolios should be in a 3-ring binder with clear sleeves.
• All portfolios should have the cover sheet on the first page.
• You may include a list of any awards you have received in your chosen field of art as well as recommendations from teachers, etc

***If you are applying for a scholarship from AAOOC and are not attending an art program or majoring in your art, in a short essay, explain how you will use your art in your chosen field i.e. therapist using singing for stutterers, engineer using art talents for drawing plans.

Visual Art

No more than five (5) photographs of your work (no originals) with an explanation of the piece of art and what the medium is. (Placed on the back of the page).

Performing Arts

A CD or thumb-drive (in a format commonly used) of no more than 4 performances. Please identify yourself in the performance with a description of what and where the performance was done. If voice or instrument, you must include the sheet music of the performance. (Musical theater is excluded from providing the score.)

Creative Writing and Journalism

Essays, short stories, poetry, and newspaper articles you have written should be included. No more than five (5) with photographs for journalism.

Photography

No more than eight (8) photographs with a short explanation of what you were trying to capture with a shot. This should be on the backside of a copy of the photograph.

NEW THIS YEAR - Artificial Intelligence Statement (AI)

You must indicate on a sheet submitted with your application FOR EACH PIECE whether or not you were assisted by any artificial intelligence (AI) software/tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Adobe Firefly, Canva, Freepik, AI Face Swap, etc.) in the creation or development of your work/submission. If YES, what percentage of creation/development/assistance would you estimate you used AI software/tool in the creation/development of this work/submission? 

Describe how you used or were assisted by AI software/tool in the creation/development of this work:

For example, indicate if this submission was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools (AI) (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemni, Adobe Firefly, Canva, Freepik, AI Face Swap) for purposes such as idea generation, image creation, or editing.

In addition to portfolio, student must be registered on the Oldham County Scholarships web site.

Hand-deliver or mail portfolio with cover sheet no later than March 1 to:

Robin Miller/Scholarship Application
c/o Arts Association Oldham County
104 East Main Street
La Grange, KY 40031