Sculptures honoring Lexington black jockey created by local artist, UK students
LEXINGTON, Ky (WTVQ)- The legacy of a black horse jockey is being honored in Lexington through a major arts project.
On Saturday, LexArts partnered with Lexington artist LaVon Williams and University of Kentucky students to finish up three cast iron sculptures honoring thoroughbred jockey Isaac Murphy.
“We’re just super excited about this opportunity and sharing this great story really with all of Lexington and visitors to Lexington,” says Ame Sweetall, the president and CEO of LexArts.
Williams created wood carvings- and the students helped create the molds to turn the carvings into huge cast iron sculptures.
Each sculpture weighs thousands of pounds each and will be placed in the Isaac Murphy Art Garden near downtown.
Funding came from collector bottle series sells- with proceeds going back to LexArts for the project.
“It’s a really big work. And just the theme and the ideas and the way it came out was just amazing, if to me,” says LaVon Williams, the artist.
A dedication is set for February.
