Big Ass Fans® has received the 2015 Kentucky Governor’s Awards in the Arts Business Award. The Governor’s Awards in the Arts celebrate Kentuckians and Kentucky organizations that have made extraordinary and significant contributions to the arts.
In 2014, Big Ass Fans was the first company to commission work by an artist involved in StudioWorks, a Louisville-based non-profit art gallery and studio benefiting adults with developmental disabilities. Artist Julie Baldyga fulfilled the commission with a series of oil pastel paintings depicting female workers in Big Ass Fans’ manufacturing facilities. StudioWorks Manager Al Gorman reported the commission increased interest in the group and its artists. Big Ass Fans also made a monetary donation to the Zoom Group, the organization that operates StudioWorks.
Big Ass Fans also employs graphic and interior designers, writers, web professionals and artists who drive quality in-house creative services. As one of the perennial winners of Kentucky’s Best Places to Work, the Lexington-based company supports creative professionals with wages that exceed national and state averages.
A public ceremony recognizing the 2015 Governor’s Awards in the Arts recipients will be held in October at the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort.