Founded in 1991, the non-profit Montgomery County Council for the Arts (now known as the Gateway Regional Arts Center) is dedicated to promoting the arts and artists in Mt. Sterling and surrounding communities through programs and opportunities at its Gateway Regional Arts Center. It is supported by state and federal funding from the Kentucky Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts as
well as donations from friends of the arts. We have grown from a simple storefront gallery in 1997 to a 12,000 square foot multicultural center supported by dedicated membership of more than 1,000 individuals. The uniquely transformed building that has been a part of Mt. Sterling for generations as the former First United Methodist Church and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With the support of local and state government agencies, the Montgomery County Council for the Arts purchased the building in 2002 and began an ambitious $1.3 million renovation that was made possible with federal and state grants and the generosity of many local businesses and individuals. It formally opened as the Gateway Regional Arts Center on September 19, 2009 The resulting three-floor arts center now provides a large public performance hall, art gallery, gift shop, arts resource library, visual arts classrooms, music rehearsal rooms, artists studio space, offices and basement which includes a small performance cafe, dressing rooms and additional classrooms. Throughout the year, the Gateway Regional Arts Center provides monthly art shows in its gallery, as well as a variety of offerings in music, theater, and other visual arts. The Center also houses the Contemporary Kenyan Art Collection. A permanent exhibition that was a gift of The Ruth Hunt Wood Foundation. The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, provides operating support to the Gateway Regional Arts Center with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
