LEXINGTON, Ky. — Several properties in and around downtown Lexington have transformed from buildings into works of art.

Artists from around the world painted murals on the side of five buildings as part of the 10th annual PRHBTN Street Art Festival. PRHBTN, an abbreviated form of the word prohibition, was co-founded by the husband-and-wife team John and Jessica Winters and is a partnership with the Lexington Art League, LexArts and the Kentucky Arts Council. John describes the festival as an “annual celebration of art forms that have been criminalized, marginalized and under-appreciated in the mainstream, featuring public murals alongside an exhibition of street artworks in a space that complements the raw, powerful nature of the message and artistry of each piece.”

“The name originated because we felt like street artists and graffiti artists, folks of that ilk, were kind of prohibited from appearing in standard galleries and from being part of the art establishment,” John said. “That would be a kind of prohibition. We're in Kentucky, too, and since it’s bourbon country, we thought people would think the name is kind of funny.” 

The shortened version came along after John and Jessica decided the word was too long and decided to omit the vowels to make it more concise and easier to put on the flyers and stickers.

Since PRHBTN began, 27 artists from 18 countries have painted 29 murals in and around downtown Lexington. This year’s festival was a homecoming for artist Alexandra Pangburn. The Lexington native and University of Kentucky graduate moved to Denver, Colorado, in 2017, and it was there where she began large-scale art pieces and murals. She painted a mural at 417 Jefferson St. for the festival in 2019. The festival was on hiatus in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so Pangburn returned this year to add art to the side of Lowell’s North Lime at 111 Mechanic St. The three-day project is a team effort with Rochester, New York-based artist Justin Suarez of Aerosol Kingdom.

Street artist and Rochester, New York, resident Justin Suarez, of Aerosol Kingdom, works on a mural at 111 Mechanic St. in Lexington as part of the PRHBTN Street Art Festival. (Spectrum News 1/Brandon Roberts)

“This mural pays homage to Kentucky’s cattle industry,” Pangburn said. “Everybody knows about horses and bourbon, but Kentucky’s cattle industry is huge as well. I added the flowers because I have a passion for flora and fauna and try to incorporate that into many of my murals.”

Suarez said he and Pangburn spent an entire day completing the mural’s two large flowers. One of the bulls on the mural has an ear tag with the number 859, a nod to Pangburn’s hometown area code.

Another local artist, Joe King, painted a mural 40 feet wide on the side of a warehouse at the intersection of 4th and Jefferson streets near Transylvania University. Called The Pythia in Agate, King said he wanted to paint something for PRHBTN for quite some time and was happy to get this year’s festival opportunity.

Artists Alexandra Pangburn and Justin Suarez work on a mural at 111 Mechanic St. in downtown Lexington as part of the PRHBTN Street Art Festival. (Spectrum News 1/Brandon Roberts)

“This design was so fun and challenging that it’s hard for me to walk away,” King said. “If I could work on this painting for the rest of the year, I gladly would. Not because I think she needs more work but because the experience was just so great. The weather was beautiful, and the members of the community that gave me so much encouragement and gratitude made the week unforgettable.”

A third mural added this year is by artist Key Detail and is on Bruce Street and serves as the backdrop of a playground adjacent to Harrison Elementary School. The native of Minsk, Belarus, and resident of New York City, has had his work featured in multiple magazines and books and paintings are included in many private art collections throughout the United States and Europe.

The fourth mural at 472 Southland Drive is by Patch Whisky, who has clients such as Absolut Vodka, Mellow Mushroom and Warner Brothers motion pictures.

A fifth mural is by New York City native and Baltimore resident Gaia and is located at 161 N. Limestone St. in Lexington. Gaia has produced works on all six inhabited continents.