History

Churchill Davenport

Churchill Davenport, Director. Photo by Aron Conaway.

Churchill Davenport is a native of Louisville who, after receiving an MFA in Painting from Yale University, taught painting, drawing, and foundations at the Pratt Institute in New York for 10 years.  While at Pratt, he was the Chairman of the Promotion/Tenure Committee and the Provost Search Committee, and was a member of Pratt’s Board of Trustees.  At the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) he served as both senior thesis and graduate student advisor for five years. Beginning in 2008, Davenport committed to fulfill the need in Louisville for an undergraduate college of art, leveraging the synergies already at work in the city’s growing visual arts community.

After an initial year of research and discussion related to a possible new school, AMS Planning and Research was hired to conduct a feasibility study.  The results of the study revealed that there is a need for an art college in Louisville, and that the support for such a college in Louisville is positive.  Concurrent to the feasibility study, Churchill Davenport assembled a Board of Trustees made up of professional artists, local art supporters, business leaders, and a National Advisory Board consisting of several art and academic leaders from throughout the United States. Mr. Davenport consults with these groups on a regular basis.

A small staff and a group of dedicated volunteers including art school graduates, arts educators, business leaders and interested citizens have supported and facilitated the growth of this project. Thus, the affiliation with Spalding University was realized in the fall of 2010.




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