LuigART Makers Spaces

North Limestone Community Development Corporation / LexArts

Funding Received: 2013
Lexington, KY
$425,000
Funding Period: 1 year and 5 months
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Design & Architecture, Film & Media, Literature, Music, Visual Arts, Other | Housing | Urban
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December 30, 2013

NoLi Vibrancy Map (working draft)

Updates
We have finally moved in our first member of the LuigART Makers Spaces--and not so coincidentally, she happens to be our first Artist-in-Residence: Rachel Hockenberry, the Director of the North Limestone MusicWorks.

We’ve completed the initial designs for a new project: The NoLi Vibrancy Map. This map will be a walkable, wayfinding asset guide that shows all of the cultural vibrancy indicators (as defined by ArtPlace) in the NoLi Corridor. In addition to showing all of the indicators, it will also serve as a way to get the North Limestone Business Association back up and going.

We finished out our year of Night Markets with this month’s Holiday Edition, which was designed in cooperation with Local First Lexington, Lexington’s local business alliance. It was a great success! The 4 Night Markets for this year brought an estimated $50,000 into the local economy, 70% of which was directly to North Limestone businesses.

We’re extremely proud to say that we’ll be continuing the monthly Night Markets in 2014, starting up in the Spring.

Recent Wins
1. A proposal from the University of Kentucky suggested a new Colt Trolley (a free, trolley-based public transit system) route that would include a stop in the NoLi neighborhood. If this proposal is enacted, it would bring a significant asset into our neighborhood.

2. The Community Ventures Corporation, a neighborhood non-profit, has secured a $5 million loan fund to provide access to low-income home ownership opportunities. We’re very excited to begin conversations with them about a partnership for the LuigART Makers Spaces.

3. Lexington’s Councilman-At-Large, Steve Kay, hosted a very provocative discussion on Gentrification and Displacement at West Sixth Brewing this month. It was the first in what will now be a regular, open conversation about the issues that are impacting our city on a personal level.

Insight/Provocation
As we’ve been building out our Vibrancy Map, we’ve learned the value of asset gathering. For us, having all of our neighborhood assets represented on a single document helps us increase engagement from the greater community, and shows what a vibrant and compelling community we live in. We’re excited for the map to go to print, so we can increase the exposure of some of our lesser-known businesses.