How should Lexington spend a new fund for public art? Your feedback can help decide.
Lexington officials are looking for input on how the city should spend public money to fund more public art.
The Lexington Fayette Urban County Council approved an ordinance in 2018 that sets aside 1 percent of the amount the city borrows or bonds each year to a public art fund. The fund could generate as much as $300,000 per year.
An online public arts survey and a series of public meetings will hopefully give officials on the city’s Public Arts Commission a better idea of what people in Fayette County would like to see in more public art, said Heather Lyons, a member of the mayor’s office on the commission.
The commission has been charged with developing a master plan for how to spend the money.
“It’s public money, so we want the public’s input,” Lyons said.
Lexington officials are looking to use the money for art that moves beyond downtown murals and sculptures. Lyons said the commission is encouraging local residents to think about public art with “an open definition.” That includes murals or sculptures, she said, but it can also involve other art mediums, such as performance or digital art.
Councilman Bill Farmer Jr., a member on the commission who for over a decade pushed the council to pass an ordinance authorizing a public art fund, said the commission is out “to ask the public what their idea of public art is.”
Responses on the 13-question online survey — open until March 31 at https://civiclex.typeform.com/to/X9sHYK — will be used to identify local resident’s “priorities for themes, subjects, stories, locations, or purposes for public art in our community.”
A series of public meetings, which have been ongoing since November, will give residents a chance to voice their opinions in person.
Some of the meetings have been focused on reaching out to specific groups, Lyons said, although anyone is welcome to attend any meeting. The most recent meeting in mid-January in the Lyric Theatre was geared toward local artists, while the next meeting at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 4, at the downtown Portofino restaurant will be aimed at local business owners.
The final meeting on March 26, in Meadowthorpe Park, won’t have a specific theme and is open to anyone looking to voice their opinion.
Generally feedback so far has asked to commission to use art to “tell local stories and represent local ideas” throughout the county, not just in downtown, Lyons said.
After feedback is gathered, Farmer said the commission will consider the “nuts and bolts” of funding, building, maintaining and advertising the works of art.