High school senior Bailey Bayne and Art Educator Paula Gieseke were announced as this year’s recipients of the Pennyroyal Arts Council’s Barbara Gardner Art Award.
The award honors Barbara Gardner, who passed away in 2021, and spotlights her commitment to the arts. Gardner was a self-employed artist and art teacher and was a member of the Hopkinsville Art Guild. Each year, the council awards $500 scholarships to an art student and an art educator to support their work in the arts.
Bayne is a senior at Christian County High School, a member of the National Art Honor Society and a student member of the Hopkinsville Art Guild. In a news release, she says art has always meant a great deal to her, and she has always drawn to capture the world around her.
In the fall, Bayne will be attending Western Kentucky University to major in art and minor in education, with the goal of becoming an art teacher at a Kentucky school.
Gieseke is the visual arts department head at Christian County High School and was the recipient of the school’s 2026 Teacher of the Year Award. Along with teaching a variety of art classes, Gieseke played a key role in working with students to create a public art installation at Jeffers Bend Environmental Center and the “Welcome to Hopkinsville” mural in the downtown area.
Council Education Coordinator Kelly Selfe says Bailey’s technical talent and artistic voice are remarkable, and seeing her desire to become an art educator herself brings this award full circle. Then, she also added that having her mentor, Paula, recognized alongside her highlights the powerful impact that arts education has on students and the community’s cultural future.
