Lexington, Ky. - Eye-catching, inspiring public art can appear in some very practical, mundane incarnations.
Take, for instance, the lowly bus stop.
Yvette Hurt did. The environmental attorney and Lexington resident saw an opportunity to bring color and imagination to the city's streets - and in a form that she hoped would reduce pollution by increasing interest in public transit.
Four years after Hurt and neighbor Scott Diamond formed the non-profit Art in Motion (AIM) new shelters have been appearing along LexTran routes.
Bottlestop
Lyrical Movement
The first, on Versailles Road, features walls fashioned from the green bottles of that local soft drink favorite, Ale 8 One. , a Gary Bibb sculpture, draws the eye to a new shelter on the corner of Elm Tree Lane and Third Street - diagonal from the soon-to-open renovated Lyric Theatre. The shelter currently hosts murals by local artists Louis Augustus Jones and Denise Estelle Brown with contributions from students at Ashland Elementary and Sayre School.
Bluegrass
A third shelter was dedicated today. , funded by the LFUCG Corridors Commission and LexTran is located on a corner of Newtown Pike across from the Fayette County Health Department. The $10,000 design, donated by EOP architects, evokes the region's namesake flora with a roof supported by blue steel pipes. This shelter also features frames to accommodate changing displays of works by local artists.
Garden Shelter, funded by the University of Kentucky and LexTran, was chosen through a design contest that brought over 18 entries from top design firms. The structure is nearing completion at the corner of Linden Walk and Euclid. Designed by Prajna Design & Construction -a product of the UK College of Architecture- the shelter was inspired by the sheds found on many central Kentucky horse farms. The bus stop will sport a "green" roof planted with blooming sedum and a "green screen" of planted ivy. Local businesses contributing to the living aspect of the shelter include Michler's Greenhouse and Kelly Nurseries.
Several other projects are in the planning stages as part of a $150,000 Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) grant LexTran received in partnership with AIM and each will involve a design contest:
- Southland Drive in partnership with Good Foods Co-op, shopping center owner Sandy Levy and the Southland Drive Merchant's Association;
- Leestown Road in partnership with Councilperson Tom Blues, the Meadowthorpe Neighborhood Association and developer Dennis Anderson;
- Main Street in partnership with the Fayette County Public Schools and the Mentelle Neighborhood Association.
AIM and LexTran continue to receive ideas and requests for other projects, Hurt said. Those include building a shelter in conjunction with the planned new LexTran offices on Loudon Avenue, and renovating the 1960s-era bus stop located on Alexandria Dr. in front of Gardenside shopping center.