I Was Here

I Was Here Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from I Was Here, Nonprofit Organization, Lexington, KY.

Through a synthesis of the arts and technology, the project is an invitation to examine our history and bring a new understanding to the concept of Nation Building. I Was Here: Reshaping the American Commemorative Landscape

Created by photographing contemporary African Americans as archetypal Ancestor Spirits, the Portraits invoke the Human Family - Man, Woman, Child, Mother, Father, Sister, Brot

her. These emblematic Ancestor Spirits Portraits ask us to examine who we are to each other, who we are as a nation and how we can work to heal the wound that enslavement created in our citizenship. The project is a synthesis of history, image, geography, and soundscape creating an opportunity for citizens of all ages to come face to face and heart to heart with a spiritual history rarely, if ever, encountered on the streets of America.

Our Nation Builder workshops began as a collaboration with Roberta Davis, Founder and Executive Director of Operation Be...
05/31/2026

Our Nation Builder workshops began as a collaboration with Roberta Davis, Founder and Executive Director of Operation Be You, Inc.. With support from LexArts, Visit LEX, and South Arts, the workshops spread to all 4 corners of Fayette County last year. This event at the Lyric Theater is a triumph in so many ways. Please join us!

Join us and our youth take center stage! You don't want to miss this!

Utilizing technology public art, interdisciplinary instruction and meaningful public presentation opportunities, I Was H...
05/29/2026

Utilizing technology public art, interdisciplinary instruction and meaningful public presentation opportunities, I Was Here equips students with tools for creative expression, self evaluation, historical inquiry and sustained civic leadership. Please join us on at the Lyric Theatre! Operation Be You, Inc. Youth Services

The next generation is helping shape the narrative.Through workshops and creative dialogue, students are exploring how a...
05/26/2026

The next generation is helping shape the narrative.

Through workshops and creative dialogue, students are exploring how ancestry and identity connect to the broader story of our country — and these conversations become part of the living archive of I Was Here.

We’re excited to continue this work during our upcoming Juneteenth event at the Lyric Theatre on June 19.

05/23/2026

I Was Here Nationwide at for international conference in Fort Lauderdale. This creative collaboration is a dream come true. 💜

05/23/2026

Please join us at the historic Lyric theater on June 19 for a youth lead nation builders presentation!

We’re excited to share that I Was Here co-founder Marjorie Guyon will be speaking at CODAsummit: Art, Technology + Place...
05/18/2026

We’re excited to share that I Was Here co-founder Marjorie Guyon will be speaking at CODAsummit: Art, Technology + Place in Santa Fe this September as part of the conversation, The Artist as Entrepreneur.

This discussion explores the roles artists hold within public art — as creators, collaborators, visionaries, and builders of new possibilities within civic space and community engagement.

We’re grateful to be part of conversations that continue to push forward the role of public art in shaping culture, power and place.

placemaking

05/16/2026
Public art can do more than decorate a space.It can reshape how we understand history.I Was Here brings monumental Ances...
05/14/2026

Public art can do more than decorate a space.
It can reshape how we understand history.

I Was Here brings monumental Ancestor Spirit Portraits into civic environments to acknowledge the people whose labor, creativity, and presence helped build the foundation of this nation. Through these installations, public spaces become places of recognition, reflection, and dialogue.

This work asks us to look again at the spaces around us — and to consider whose stories are remembered there.

05/13/2026

Nation Builders workshop 2. The Voice of the Lion 💜 thank you !

05/10/2026

Powerful afternoon in partnership with Operation Be You, Inc. and with support from
Briana Ga***rd Persley. We can’t wait to share their work on Juneteenth! Next workshop is June 6 💜

Address

Lexington, KY
40507

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when I Was Here posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to I Was Here:

Share