The Untold Stories of Town Branch Creek

Gatton Park on the Town Branch is a land-reuse project transforming an 11-acre asphalt parking lot adjacent to the Central Bank Center into a signature green space. The park is under construction and anticipated to publicly open Fall of 2025, with a projected 1,000,000 annual visitors. The park opening, coupled with Lexington's 250-year anniversary, is an unprecedented opportunity to address and honor the complex history of Town Branch creek, specifically exploring the history of African Americans, enslaved and freed, who were essential to the creation of the built environment and early commerce along the Town Branch between 1775–1920. The project will delve into the untold, human stories of those whose work led to the success of industries such as hemp, lumber, blacksmithing, carpentry, and distillery that sprung up along this important water body.

Gatton Park seeks experienced artists who can transform the untold stories of this site into an interactive public art piece(s) in summer 2025. The artwork will be installed adjacent to the uncovered Town Branch creek that runs through the site, with the selected section of creek approximately 400 square feet. The artwork should have a physical presence on the site with interactive elements strongly encouraged. Physical scale and media are to be determined by the artist and should be site-specific and scaled with sensitivity to the historic landscape. There is no application fee to enter.

The project budget is $250,000, all inclusive to complete the artwork including artists fee, prototype, travel, research, execution, insurance, taxes, site preparation, equipment rental, and materials. Finalists will be paid $3,000 upon delivery of a complete site-specific proposal, with an additional $1,000 travel stipend provided to finalists who conduct a site visit during the design phase. One artist or artist team will be selected to realize their proposal. Submissions must include a one-page artist statement describing public art experience, a current resume, and 6 digital images or a combination of images, video, and audio (totaling 6) of past public artwork with descriptions of size, media, budget, year completed, and location. Artists or teams must be able to legally work in the United States and be at least 18 years of age. Artists who identify as Black or African American, or of African American descent are encouraged to apply. For more information, contact Erica Cook at (859) 281-8420 or [email protected].