LexArts FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
161 North Mill Street
Lexington, KY 40507 CONTACT:
www.lexarts.org Jim Clark
859.255.2951 t President & CEO
859.255.2787 f
LexArts and Leadership Lexington Inaugurate Downtown Public Art Program with Concordia by DeWitt Godfrey
Lexington, KY June 26, 2012 – LexArts, in partnership with Leadership Lexington Class of 2010, is taking a big step toward establishing Downtown Lexington as a leading regional venue for public art with the commission and installation of Concordia, a steel sculpture created by internationally recognized artist DeWitt Godfrey. Concordia is situated on the roof of Lexington’s Downtown Arts Center on East Main Street.
The $70,000 project represents a two-year effort by Leadership Lexington and LexArts, and the result of public polling that commissioned five artists to create public art works inspired by their time spent in Lexington. Concordia is the first of these artworks to be realized, and will be installed on July 1, 2012.
The airy steel sculpture will form a fluid assemblage of round forms nested unexpectedly atop the roof of the Downtown Arts Center. Godfrey, a professor at Colgate University and a Yale University graduate, is both a Fulbright and Luce scholar and has exhibited his work in leading venues around the world. His public sculptures can be found in leading American cities such as San Francisco, New York City and Houston and in the corporate headquarters of companies such as Oracle Corporation, JP Morgan Chase and Estee Lauder Group.
In explaining his inspiration for Concordia, Godfrey said, “The Downtown Arts Center forms a plinth for the proposed sculpture, nestled into the corner formed by the roof and the wall. Much in the same way that the Arts Center augments, strengthens and shoulders the larger community, the form of the sculpture references the buttress, an external support meant to shore up, reinforce and sustain the structure it leans against; both necessary and dependent on each other, in a communal relationship.”
“Great American Cities have great public art,” Lexington Mayor Jim Gray said. “Establishing Lexington as an innovative sponsor of public art underscores the level of cultural vibrancy and quality of life that are so important in attracting good jobs to our city.”
“This is a very big deal for Lexington,” noted Jim Clark, President & CEO of LexArts, “Less than a year after the installation of Bill Fontana’s Surface Reflections, we now have a second major permanent public artwork by an internationally recognized artist enhancing a rejuvenated downtown. As we look to the future of public art in Lexington, our challenge will be to build a sustainable program – one that will commission local, as well as nationally recognized artists.”
“This project is the result of the Creative Cities Summit in 2010 and is a wonderful example of civic accomplishment made possible by public/private partnerships such as LexArts and Leadership Lexington,” said downtown Councilwoman Diane Lawless. “I look forward to this and future installations as we establish Downtown Lexington as a dynamic urban gallery.”
About LexArts –
LexArts is a nonprofit community organization that works for the development of a strong and vibrant arts community as a means of enhancing the quality of life in central Kentucky. Through its annual Fund for the Arts, LexArts raises millions of dollars in support of local arts. In turn, LexArts underwrites the operating expenses for a variety of Partner Organizations, offers affordable exhibition and performance space for arts organizations, as well as competitive grants for community outreach projects. www.lexarts.org. Major support for LexArts programs and services is provided by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, provides operating support to LexArts with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Leadership Lexington –
Leadership Lexington is a leadership development program sponsored by Commerce Lexington Inc. and directed toward individuals who demonstrate leadership qualities. The program gives participants the opportunity to better understand our city and to prepare for the challenges it faces by meeting with and learning from today’s leaders. Leadership Lexington is an educational opportunity that broadens perspectives and allows participants to gain increased understanding of community dynamics and public issues.
For more information contact Nathan Zamarron 859-255-2951 or by emailing
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