Lexington, KY - Could this economic crisis be good for the arts? As we refocus, rethink, reorganize and reprioritize, there is a growing understanding that the creation, consumption and appreciation of art are essential traits of a thinking, creative and competitive community.
In an effort to collect some of that energy, this is the first of a series of interviews with local arts-friendly business leaders that will explore how these individuals engage in the arts. The articles will also share their thoughts on how the arts benefit local culture, business and economical development.
We launch the series with a conversation with Marni and Phil Holoubek. Marni, a local activist, is in part responsible for the Legacy Trail, an exciting new bike trail that will go from downtown Lexington to the Kentucky Horse Park and will be ready for the World Equestrian Games. It is now fully funded with over $7 million. Phil is president and CEO of Lexington Real Estate, the developer of Main and Rose and Nunn Lofts.
Could each of you briefly describe your contributions to the arts?
PH: My passion is for public art because I think that built environment is so critical in creating a community that is attractive to the types of people we need to recruit to this town - specifically knowledge-based young professionals. If we're going to recruit those types of people to Lexington that help Lexmarks and Toyotas of the world stay in our city, we must have a world-class downtown that includes public art. So with our recent projects at Main and Rose and Nunn Building, we've got art outside hanging from the building, in plazas, in residential lobbies, that you can experience holistically. Our new project at the corner of Main and Vine will have a great gateway public art element to it as well, and we really want people to be surrounded by art in the downtown area.
MH: And as I've been working on the Legacy Trail project, my team members tease me that the whole reason why I'm building this trail is just to put public art on it. The trail is a nine-mile trail, which begins at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden and follows the Third Street Corridor out by the North YMCA through Lexmark property, and then it very quickly goes into farmland owned by the University of Kentucky Research Farm, and its final destination is the Kentucky Horse Park. So along the way, there are lots of different stories that can be told. You know, it goes from a very downtown kind of city-centered experience to a very serene, pastoral, open agricultural experience. We're getting ready to go into a private fundraising campaign in order to include public art that will really make the trail true to its name: Legacy Trail.
Sounds like you're talking about engaging the arts in a well-rounded manner, experiencing the arts in a more tangible way, and making it more accessible to more people. This is very important because we're moving as a community toward something beyond the traditional notions of "supporting the arts." Would you care to elaborate?
PH: For so long, the notion of supporting the arts was something that was removed from the actual experience of the art, sort of untouchable and very formal, you know - let me write a check to support organization A or B. That doesn't get it done in my book.
Let me try to elaborate what I mean by promoting a holistic experience; let's talk about the downtown public library for one moment. A holistic experience to me is when you walk through the front door of that public library and you see that giant clock hanging from the ceiling. That is phenomenal. You're experiencing it as part of going to the library. Conversely, that same public library has a gallery by the front door that is shoved into a corner, and if you want to experience that art, you've got to go into a separate room. As a result, we've lived here ten years and I've gone into that room one time. I want to get away from the segregated experience of art and move closer to the holistic experience of art.
MH: Yeah, I agree with Phil, and I think that's one of the reasons why we push so hard for public art. An even more perfect example is 21C Museum Hotel in Louisville; the experience in this establishment breaks down that barrier between art and life. You literally have to walk through a gallery to get to the restaurant, and if you don't experience art at 21C, then you basically have your eyes closed.
Have your contributions encouraged more experiences with art in Lexington? What has it done, for instance, for Main and Rose? What kind of responses have you had from either the people that work for you, with you, or that occupy the building? How do you know that what you are doing is effective?
PH: I think it sits very clearly in people's minds. The average citizen and the residents, when you see that investment that was made in public art, it says these people spend a lot of money on the overall project in making it a first-class project where I would want to live. I'll tell you one other story. Our partners in Main and Rose were so happy with the main sculpture by Rod Lindauer that was put on the Main Street Plaza that when we needed to add a door to the retail alley, they suggested to us, let's spend an extra several thousand dollars making the door itself a piece of art. And now when you drive down Main Street and are by the great local retailers Dunkin Donuts and Jimmy John's, just to the right of Jimmy John's, you'll see this great door that's a piece of art.
Who makes these decisions in your circumstance? Who chooses which artist to support and which art speaks loudest?
PH: We, as an ownership group, jointly make decisions for the lofts. But more generally, everybody in this town needs to be making those decisions. And not that everybody in this town just gets to make those decisions; everybody in this town has a personal obligation to make those decisions.
MH: I think that there's a perception that you're not allowed to make final decisions about art, because it's got to go to a committee or a commission or some organization that doesn't necessarily exist, when really everybody is capable of making those decisions and just biting the bullet and putting whatever they want out there.
We need to become a city where more people are making art, more people are participating in the creation of art works, creating new audiences to view the work and new arenas and forms for displays for these art works, and I think that's what you're both doing, or should I say, what you've both done. What are your future plans?
MH: Well, I think there needs to be a systemic change. There is a perception that you have to follow the traditional ways to become an artist, and I think I'm hoping that change happens. I don't have all the answers. I don't know exactly how it can change, but I'm just praying that there is a systemic change so that those emerging artists are able to find their voices being heard. And are having their work seen, because I think some of the more controversial art works are being pushed to the side. I think there's a large audience that wants to hear them but doesn't know how to reach them.
PH: It's very obvious that my wife is the expert, because she speaks very strategically about art. I speak on a project basis, so I want to share one more idea for a public art project. I'm sure many people have noticed the parking meters have been taken down and been replaced by solar parking stations. Those parking meters are available. We're working to create an art project that's called "A Time for Change." And it would be made up of all sorts of these used public parking meters. And one of the exciting things is there is so much change going on in our city right now, it's a very appropriate time to have "A Time for Change" theme with an art project. We've even batted around the idea of keeping the parking meter change receptacles usable so that people can donate money, and the money is taken out of the meters and used to help support the arts in some way. If you are interested in such a project, I would encourage anyone to call either of us at our downtown office, which is 859-225-3476.
Let's turn for a moment to an important and often sensitive issue for those engaged in the arts in Lexington: the difference between engaging the local artist versus the non-local artist. I personally find a great deal of benefit in encouraging our local artists, but also see that we learn and grow from experiencing national and international talent. Do either of you have an opinion you'd like to share on that?
MH: I think that there is a tremendous amount of talent locally. We're really lucky to have so much talent. I think sometimes it's hard to find. And I think if you have a project, you're looking for that specific piece that's going to fit the project, not necessarily an artist. Of course, there are some times where commissions are made. But I think that pieces should be chosen; my personal feeling is that pieces should be chosen based on where they are going to be put and how they are going to be used, and then you find the artist that best does that, whether it's local or a national artist.
PH: We try to be supportive of local businesses whenever we can and are very thankful to Business Lexington for their support of Local First Lexington. And that carries over to the arts as well, so I'm a fan of supporting the local artists whenever we can, and I think we're a small enough town that everybody can know those local artists. When you know the local artist, that art takes on an emotional component that it may not take on to such a high degree if you don't know that artist. So for a variety of reasons we are big supporters of the local artist scene and local artists.
In closing, could you direct your comments to the notion of collecting our energies, collecting ideas from, for instance, the two of you, collecting ideas from other arts friendly businesses in Lexington. What can we do, in your opinion, to understand more fully our collective voice, so that we can move forward, especially as we recover from this crisis?
PH: I think social networking has become just so pervasive that tools like Facebook are very, very important. In fact we were recently at a conference in Miami where they talked about the CentrePointe project and how quickly a local group had mobilized to discuss that project. So I mean, we're getting national recognition for how quickly we mobilize as a group. An entity like the Legacy Center could be that clearinghouse to gather all of that community feedback on the arts.
MH: I agree with what Phil is saying, and the Legacy Center is a private center that was set up by the Knight Foundation to assist the East End and also the Legacy Trail. They are a public input group, and so anybody who has any interest in helping with the public art initiative on both projects, on any of those projects, can call the Legacy Center or find them online at legacycenter.ning.com.