Keep Lexington’s creative scene alive this holiday season: Buy from local artists
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A local art gallery is positioning itself as a place of respite for this potentially tumultuous holiday season.
ArtHouse Kentucky is the art retail gallery for Art Inc. Kentucky, a nonprofit organization in Lexington that gives local artists the tools and education resources to be a successful business owner. With 57 artists currently represented in the retail gallery, founder Mark Johnson said the staff tries to keep the atmosphere relaxing for all patrons.
“There’s been a lot of stuff going on in the political world, and there’s a lot of division out there,” he said. “I think here, art tends to be a common factor. There’s no blue and red in here — there just tends to be beautiful art. All that stuff out there in the real world, you can leave it at the door.”
Name of Business: ArtHouse Kentucky
Founder/President: Mark Johnson
Location: 576 East 3rd Street Suite 120, Lexington, Ky 40508
The gallery started out as a small gift shop in the historic Lyric Theater in January 2020, but moved to an independent space in June 2021.
Hours: Monday: Closed. Tuesday-Friday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Christmas Eve: 10 am - noon
Merchandise and mission: The gallery sells original, handmade art made by Kentucky artists. It works off of a 70/30 commission split, with the majority going to the artist.
Johnson, a Lexington native and glass artist, had trouble finding a gallery that would take a chance on him in his early career. After finding his way into a few Kentucky galleries, word spread.
He was invited to multiple international exhibitions, including one at the Louvre in Paris, France. Johnson founded Art Inc. Kentucky to help guide the next generation of Kentucky artists.
“I just wanted to pay it forward — my good fortune. Someone took a chance on me and took me under their wing. I want to just pass that on,” he said.
What is unique about this organization: The gallery represents work from artists all over the state, including those associated with their sister programs – The Artists Studios, which offers studio space for rent; and The Artists Village, a live/work community for creatives in Lexington.
“All of that is designed to kind of capitalize upon the history of the arts in this community, especially with the Lyric Theater being here, and to give people another reason to come into the East End,” Johnson said.
2024 holiday season: Johnson said the past two months have been the most successful in the gallery’s three-year history. While the holiday season is typically the busiest time of year, he said there has been a noticeable increase in business from October 2023 to October 2024.
“We’ve probably had our biggest two months ever. So hopefully it continues to get even better. We’ve only been here three years, so there’s not a whole lot of track record, but there’s still incremental growth,” he said.
This year, the gallery wants to push more resources towards online marketing. Online purchases have continued to grow, but Johnson thinks the gallery could be more successful on the website.
How would he judge a successful holiday season? If more of the gallery’s artists see an increase in sales.
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 10:16 AM.
