Lexington, KY - Public art is important. It plays a central role in our most dynamic and vibrant cities. It improves quality of life for our citizens, and provides a public amenity that helps to attract businesses, highly skilled workers and visitors to Lexington. Public art helps us to celebrate our heroes, our history and our aspirations; it stirs our imagination and intellect, and adds whimsy and elegance to our community. While public art may seem like an unaffordable extravagance during hard economic times, we must embrace public art so that Lexington can take its rightful place as one of America's great cities.
A number of stakeholders play an important role in promoting public art in Lexington. LFUCG's Public Arts Commission advises the mayor and the Urban County Council on long-range plans for the selection, acquisition, placement and maintenance of public art and public monuments. The Urban County Arts Review Board reviews proposals for permanent visual artwork in public spaces. LexArts championed the wildly successful Horse Mania, and has sponsored murals, a sound sculpture downtown, and collaborates with other local groups to produce new public works of art. Finally, the Kentucky Museum Without Walls project through the UK Department of Art and the Gaines Center for the Humanities is compiling an inventory of public art in Kentucky, and has a developed an exciting new smartphone app called Take It Artside! Many other organizations also contribute to public art in Lexington.
Public art can be found in all types of buildings and spaces. Public art is the Cloud Gate in Chicago's Millennium Park, the iconic Tyler Davidson Fountain in Cincinnati, and the park bench sculpture of Boston's former mayor in the James Michael Curley Park. The 2010 Horse Mania project here in Lexington commissioned artists and students to transform 82 fiberglass horses and 57 foals into fanciful and whimsical visions of Lexington's horse culture. The Horse Mania project increased interest in downtown, gave World Equestrian Games attendees a lasting image of Lexington, and raised over $500,000 for the public art fund, local charities and arts education.
Many cities have embraced long-range planning to further their public art efforts. Recently in 2009, Louisville unveiled its own public art master plan, which reviewed the city's public art assets and programs, and included recommendations for developing and maintaining great public art in Louisville.
Securing adequate funding for public art is a crucial goal of any public art master plan, and there are a number of ways communities have financed public art. Some cities have adopted a "percent for art" program where a small percentage of public funds in capital improvement projects (CIPs), usually .5 to 2 percent, is allocated each year for new public art projects. Other cities raise funds for public art through various combinations of fees, taxes, grants and private donations. Some cities have even required that large private developments dedicate a small percentage of construction costs to new public art.
In the past few years, LexArts has initiated a number of public art projects, but more comprehensive public art planning is needed. We must bring together our arts organizations and governmental agencies to develop a vision and common goals for developing and maintaining world class public art in Lexington. These groups must also work together to build community-wide support for a stable and dedicated funding source for public art. The Urban County Council must do its part to provide leadership and support for these efforts. With cooperation and hard work, a public art master plan can help Lexington reach its potential as one of America's great cities.