Living the life of an artist in Paducah Creative City you never know what doors will open—at home or far away in a unique culture somewhere across the globe. In 2022, on the heels of Paducah’s 10-year anniversary as a UNESCO Creative City, opportunity knocked for ceramist/art educator Mitch Kimball to participate in the centuries old Fiesta de la Cerámica [Ceramics Festival] in Manises, Spain, a fellow UNESCO Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art.

^{Mitch poses with Manises ceramic artist Antonio Cordero.}

Known as Quilt City USA, home of the American Quilter’s Society (AQS) and a UNESCO Creative City for Crafts & Folk Art, Paducah is a fiber artist’s haven. Quilt artist and executive show director of AQS, Bonnie Browning, has curated an itinerary for experiencing all things quilting in Quilt City USA.

^{Bonnie Browning, AQS Executive Show Director}

Thanks to Paducah's designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Art, representatives from Paducah were invited to perform at the Jinju World Folk Arts Biennale in Jinju, South Korea last Fall. Organizer Lexie Millikan and musicians Josh Coffey and Seth Murphy reflect on the Biennale in their own words.

^{The Wheelhouse Rousters and Seth Murphy perform in Jinju, South Korea.}

Paducah's designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art opens opportunities to collaborate with other Creative Cities cities around the globe. Local artists Michael and Victoria Terra traveled to San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico, to build connections, install a custom work of art, and teach workshops. Read about their experience in Michael's own words and find out how a piece of Paducah art found its new home in Mexico.

^{The Terras visited a church in Zinacantán as part of their UNESCO Creative City tour.}

Paducah's designation as a UNESCO Creative City has opened doors throughout the world for Paducah artists. In fall of 2021, fiber artist and Yeiser Art Center Executive Director Lexie Millikan traveled to sister city, Jinju, South Korea, to participate in a Contemporary Craft Biennale. Read as Lexie tells about her life-changing experience, made possible by Paducah's rich connections through the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

^{Millikan in Busan, South Korea}

As one of the world's UNESCO Creative Cities, Paducah, Kentucky celebrates the art of quilting and the contemporary quilt artist year-round! In honor of the National Quilt Museum's 30th anniversary, CEO Frank Bennett reflects on the museum's mission and exhibition schedule for 2021.

Since opening freight house in 2015, chef Sara Bradley has been around the world and back sharing her passion for Paducah and farm-to-table Kentucky cuisine. You may know this talented creative from Bravo's Top Chef season 16, but there's so much more to her #PaducahCreativeCity story!

Seven local student musicians became ambassadors for Paducah at the Global Youth Concert in Icheon, South Korea, July 29-August 4, 2019. This international exchange program drew students from around the world to form a symphony orchestra!

Preservation-minded couple Ed and Meagan Musselman created a stir when they set out to restore the Art Deco architectural gem that was built by Luther Carson in 1939 as a Coca-Cola bottling plant. Envisioning a mixed use renovation, their creativity is shining through in this landmark building located at the heart of Paducah’s Midtown neighborhood.

Paducah and Jingdezhen, China are two of 37 UNESCO Creative Cities currently designated in the creative field of Crafts & Folk Art. Together, the cities have now created a one-of-a-kind, intercontinental connection through artist-in-residence programs.