LexArts Finance and Equity Presentation

Abraham Lincoln mural in downtown Lexington. Source: Carol M. Highsmith

In Tuesdat, September 24th’s Budget, Finance, and Economic Development (BFED) Committee Meeting, President & CEO of LexArts Ame Sweetall presented an overview of LexArts’s finances and their efforts toward investing in diverse artists and arts organizations.

LexArts is the combined united arts fund and cultural council for Lexington. They use a combination of LFUCG funding and private fundraising to invest  in other arts organizations in Lexington and in their own programming. Their goal is to create new opportunities for Lexington residents to engage with local arts, and to provide local artists with opportunities to create and showcase their work.

Vice Mayor Dan Wu placed this item in Committee after LexArts faced blowback for an incident involving the selection of all white artists for an art placement project with Commerce Lexington. LexArts did not select the artists, but shared the announcement on Facebook and drew criticism for a historic lack of investment in artists of color. In placing the item in committee, Vice Mayor Wu also cited concerns about the organization’s finances.

Finances

The presentation did not include any information about their previous fiscal year budgets, but does show a detailed chart of their $2.7 million revenue goal for FY25, and a list of grants they are awarding to various arts organizations in FY25.

LexArts's FY25 Revenue Plan. Source: September 24th Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee packet.

Councilmember Dave Sevigny asked LexArts about their cash flow and history of late payments to artists.

• LexArts provided their FY25 Budget, but did not provide further financial documentation.

• When asked by Councilmember Sevigny how LexArts was working toward making payments to artists faster, Sweetall said that whenever LexArts gets their quarterly payment from the City, that money is used immediately to pay artists.

In FY24, the City allocated $50,000 to support a Grants Specialist position to help LexArts apply for and secure more grants. Several Councilmembers asked questions on how this position helped the organization.

• Sweetall told the Committee that their specialist helped identify roughly 50 additional grants that LexArts had never applied to in the past, but was unable to specify how many of those 50 the organization applied to.

• Their Grants Specialist left the organization recently, and LexArts is not refilling the position in the foreseeable future due to funding.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in LexArts

The presentation also outlined work LexArts has undertaken to support diversity in Lexington’s arts scene, including creating a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee on their board and utilizing their Artist Registry to connect artists of color with funding and work opportunities.

When asked by Councilmember Jennifer Reynolds how the organization was increasing outreach to diverse artists, Sweetall highlighted the work of their now-permanent Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee of the organization’s Board. The DEI Committee is targeting specific diverse neighborhoods in Lexington to engage with through community events. They are also seeking assistance with Global Lex for ways to communicate with multilingual and culturally diverse artists.

You can review the full presentation slides starting on page 30 of this packet.

You can watch the meeting recording archive on LexTV.

Disclaimer: CivicLex has been a grant recipient of LexArts on a number of occasions for various programs, including a $1,500 in FY25 for a Civic Artist in Residence program pilot.