LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — On Wednesday, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton dedicated the new sculpture downtown, "A Common Thread," commemorating the city's 250th anniversary.
“A Common Thread is a powerful illustration for this moment in Lexington’s history,” Mayor Linda Gorton said. “It’s a reflection of who we are, and what connects us. A Common Thread welcomes individuals as a symbol of unity and connection, inviting viewers to contemplate what binds us together as members of a community.”
The sculpture, according to a news release, is located in the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza and was created by artist Benjamin Ball of Ball-Nogues Studio.
“A Common Thread is a public sculpture, landscape, and collective act of imagination,” Ball said. It weaves together the voices of Kentucky’s poets laureate, the reflections of passersby, and the spirit of a city always becoming. Fragments of poetry mingle with mirrored glimpses of the surrounding streetscape—inviting viewers to see themselves as part of Lexington’s unfolding story. In this space of reflection, language, memory, and movement intertwine. The work becomes a loom for shared identity—a place where past and future, word and image, individual and community, are held together by a common thread.”
According to the release, the sculpture features the words of five local writers including, Silas House, Frank X Walker, George Ella Lyon, Jeff Worley, and Eva Alcaraz-Monje.
“I believe Lexington is creating a public art collection that celebrates our city’s history as well as one that celebrates our creativity, and a willingness to take a chance,” said Jim Clark, who served as a member of the selection committee for "A Common Thread. “That’s exactly what a public art program in a university town should embody.”
