Lexington, Kentucky
The experience is a digital pass available via smart phone and the VisitLEX website. Using GPS geofencing, users will go through 24 “stops” in downtown Lexington, where people can learn more about the I Was Here project and history of Lexington. Every stop on the pass is within a one-block radius, centering around Henry Tandy Centennial Park and the Old Fayette County Courthouse (Courthouse Square). VisitLEX has created a postcard-sized informational brochure for the Visitors Center with a QR code to link to the download pass site. Each pass includes video and a written description. Once participants complete the pass, they can stop into the Visitors Center and pick up an I Was Here print as a prize.
I Was Here explores the significance of memory, history and ancestry and how all three come together to begin the process of healing spaces wounded by enslavement. The project began with Ancestor Spirit Portraits illuminated in windows, mainly around the Old Courthouse Square in downtown Lexington. Since its launch in 2018, I Was Here has received local, national and international awards; created an integrated anthem; and expanded to other cities within Kentucky, including Louisville while developing a national presence in Washington DC and upcoming in New York City.
Although this project launches in Kentucky, the repercussions from slavery are not merely a 'southern issue'. It is a national wound that we, as fellow Americans, must heal. Central to the project is a blessing that augments the visual imagery. There is a prayer spoken at the epicenter of each site to sanctify the space.
