AEDRI (Arts Emergency and Disaster Research Initiative), led by Dr. Leah Hamilton, is the University of Kentucky's research lab in the Department of Arts Administration within the College of Fine Arts. AEDRI is dedicated to developing research to enhance disaster resilience and emergency readiness in the arts sector. The research lab centers on the intersections of arts administration, emergency management, and disaster sociology.

AEDRI is currently engaged in the following nationally and university-sponsored initiatives:

• Kentucky Heritage Emergency Response Network (KHERN), funded by LYRASIS (Performing Arts Readiness Project), the Foundation of Advancement in Conservation, and the Sustainable Futures Design Lab with UK Trust Hub.

• Between Two Rivers: Safeguarding the Future of Greenup County’s Arts and Culture, a project supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts

• Arts and Cultural Heritage in Protected Areas: Management Strategies, Sustainable Tourism, and Crisis Impacts, with research partners at the University of Perugia and University of Macerata (Italy), funded by the UKinSPIRE Fellowship program.

Thank you to the following Kentucky Arts in Disaster study participants who have agreed to be publicly recognized:

Kirk Banks, Master in Residence/Ceramics, Appalachian Artisan Center

Wathetta Buford (posthumously), Bowling Green African American Museum 

Brent Björkman, Director/Clinical Professor, Kentucky Museum & Kentucky Folklife Program at Western Kentucky University 

Dee Davis, President of the Center for Rural Strategies/Publisher of the Daily Yonder 

Beth Dobyns, Past President, Mayfield-Graves County Art Guild 

Lacy Hale, Artist 

Melissa Helton, Literary Director, Hindman Settlement School

Grace Henderson, Teaching Artist 

Valerie Horn, Director, Cowan Community Action Group 

Don Jenkins, Director, Little Shepherd Amphitheater 

Dr. Liza Kelly, Professor of Music, Western Kentucky University

Kim Kobersmith, Journalist/Content Writer 

Nicole Musgrave, Folklorist, Media Maker, and Teaching Artist 

Yoko Nagomi, Interdisciplinary Artist and Cultural Consultant

Doug Naselroad, Master Luthier and Founder, Appalachian School of Luthiery

Mimi Pickering, Director of the Community Media Initiative, Appalshop 

Jesse Ray Sims, Fine Artist and Illustrator

Alan White,  Assistant Professor of Theater, Western Kentucky University

*If you participated in the study and would like to be listed as a contributor, please email Leah Hamilton - l.hamilton@uky.edu