Lexington, KY - After more than a decade spent acting, studying, working and playing in Chicago and Toronto, Robbie Morgan decided that she was ready to settle back into the region where she grew up, moving to Lexington just under two years ago. With years of acting experience -
including a role in a one-woman play in Chicago -
and a general zeal for the arts, Morgan dove headfirst into Lexington's arts community, holding roles in three Balagula Theatre productions and spearheading the public art/fundraising project Change for Art within her first year in town. In October 2010, she was hired by LexArts to do something she had essentially already been doing on her own accord: to build relationships in the community and advocate for the value of the arts in Lexington as the organization's campaign manager and volunteer coordinator.
"I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by artists and arts advocates on a daily basis," Morgan said of her position. She added that the view out her downtown window, where she can "look out on our energetic little city and daydream," is another favorite perk.
Upon moving to Lexington, Morgan was inspired almost immediately by the life force behind the local arts community. One of the first projects she got involved in was Visual Block, an art performance and gallery show in November 2009 featuring photographs Richie Wireman had taken at the "Dame block," which had recently been demolished. Morgan, who had met Wireman years before, helped administer the sale of his work for the show and recalls being particularly impressed with the community's enthusiasm and support of the project. Months later, at Now What Lexington?, a community-driven event produced by local Progress Lexington, the wave of inspiration hit Morgan again.
"There was a certain passion I was witnessing," she said, adding that those events were the locus for much of the work she has done and connections she has made since moving back to the area. "Coming back and being entrenched in how committed people are to this city in various ways was really inspiring."
Spawning from conversations she participated in at Now What, Lexington?, Morgan started working her network in the arts community - a network that was somewhat limited at the time -
to pursue an idea that she wanted to see come to fruition. Within months, Change for Art, a public art project that engages local artists to decorate parking meters that accept donations for arts organizations, was rolling. The project has currently installed one meter at the Whitaker Bank ballpark and is set to roll out nine more by the end of the summer.
As an artist working for one of the city's leading arts organizations, Morgan has a unique perspective on the arts community's challenges. She cites the limitation of resources to implement local projects that would have a lasting impact on the community as her least favorite part of her job. She added that its important for Lexington to break down the silos that separate the various sectors of the arts community, but perhaps even more vital is the need to break down some of the longstanding myths that prevent the city from fully embracing and realizing its cultural vibrancy.
"We are an incredibly dynamic community, but we don't do a great job recognizing that, supporting it and promoting it," Morgan said. "If we keep breaking down silos and myths that are no longer true, and tell new stories about who we want to be and who we are, we can build a really dynamic city that includes everything, including the arts.
"We have a talent pool here already," she added. "We need to keep it here and build on it."