LexArt: Lexington Arts and Crafts Society

Founded in 1935 during the height of the Great Depression by a group of artists and craftspeople banding together for mutual support. We centered our relationship to natural materials striving to create a more just and equitable society, where art and craft are valued and accessible to all. Our founders were dedicated to preserving age-old craft traditions in the making of beautiful objects of daily use, for ordinary people, and the personal and societal health that comes from doing so.

LexArt strives to infuse the arts into every aspect of civic life. We focus on inclusiveness and accessibility and find the most effective mechanism for providing opportunities for arts engagement is through our community partnerships and shared programming. We host a healthy studio instruction program, offering 130 classes and workshops each year in a broad range of disciplines. We operate publicly accessible maker-spaces in ceramics, metalsmithing, painting, weaving & woodworking and have multiple classrooms for other makers groups. We host numerous artisan fairs/markets throughout the year, promoting locally handcrafted goods. We have a monthly rotating gallery exhibition program, highlighting regional work at the intersection of fine art and craft. We seek to present and amplify the voices and experiences of those that contrast with our own and create a fertile and sympathetic space for people to come together, share, learn, and celebrate our common humanity.