Ciara

A barefoot young woman with dark braided hair and steel grey highlights wearing a shortened tee shirt is seated on a brick column of a front porch with a metal storm door.

Ciara LeRoy is the owner of Pretty Strange Design and the artist who painted the Black Lives Matter mural in downtown Lexington.

Narrative from original post:

On the first day of social distancing, Ciara made an embroidery that said “Stay ready.” She meant that both as “get enough to live on” and as “be ready for the good things that can happen.” For her, making art is a way to heal and learn, and teach others, too.

Two weeks later, Ciara is out of hoops—she shares this fact while laughing out loud about her own lack of readiness.

Audio Transcript

I’d like to live in an America that is governed by community, selfless leadership, and brotherhood, instead of governed by hate and fear.

I’d like to live in an America where we can truly believe the words in our Pledge of Allegiance that say “with justice and liberty for all.”

Lexington in the Time of COVID-19 is an artwork about people practicing social distancing at a time of a deadly virus. And also offering kindness.

Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova capture photographs at the periphery of American culture, where drag queens, discarded couches, and abandoned motel signs exist.