At the Clearing – A Response to the Shooting of Breonna Taylor
“At the Clearing,” is a Breonna Taylor response piece by artist Kiptoo Tarus. Over 230 people interacted with it while it was located at the Carnegie Center by writing their prayers, hopes, poems, and lamentations, and adding them to the crevice of the piece.
The piece is currently available to view at The MET in Lexington on the corner of Midland Avenue and East Third Street.
“It’s really magnificent. I want people to come down and look at it up close and touch that old wood and see what it stirs in their heart because it is really wonderful,” said Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton in an interview with WKYT.
Unveiling the Story: Segregation to Celebration
On June 30th, 2023 we unveiled and dedicated “The Story: From Segregation to Celebration” with a special presentation by Reinette F. Jones, author of Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, from the Reconstruction Era to the 1960s.
In alignment with the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative’s mission of amplifying Black voices and stories, the Carnegie Center commissioned an original work of art by award-winning artist LaVon Williams. “The Story: From Segregation to Celebration” is a wood and oil paint relief located at what was once the entrance of the colored reading room, when the newly built Carnegie building was the Lexington Public Library in 1905. Mr. Williams’s work of art honors the struggle Black Kentuckians faced during segregation and celebrates the triumph of acclaimed Kentucky Black writers now writing the books found in libraries.
LaVon Williams, Marcus Wilkerson, Reinette F Jones, & Claudia Love Mair
