Student art highlights moments of injustice in history

Shelbyville, KY (April 18, 2022) — The Shelbyville Conference & Welcome Center is pleased to be the site of the Shelbyville Community Remembrance Project Coalition’s visual arts and digital arts contests. The student art will be on display in the lobby of the Shelbyville Conference & Welcome Center, 219 7th Street, Shelbyville, Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 4 PM, between May 9–20, 2022.

The digital and visual art contests, which are open to students at Martha Layne Collins High School, Shelby County High School, and Big Picture Learning Academy, are in conjunction with an essay contest held by the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. More than $10,000 combined in scholarship money has been raised and donated from local sources to be awarded among the two contest winners. 

The student’s visual or digital entry will highlight a time, event, or issue in history when an injustice was evident. Entries, which can be any sort of visual or digital art, must be accompanied by a short written explanation addressing the issue, why it is important to the artist, and what the artist plans to do as a result of this study and art creation.

“This is such an important project that ShelbyKY Tourism did not hesitate to jump on board,” said ShelbyKY Tourism President & CEO Janette Marson. Marson continued, “We are excited to see the student’s visual art detailing this very serious and timely topic. We hope the public comes to view this art show.” 

To assist their work toward their projects, the students were provided a tour of the bridge where local lynchings took place and saw the Soil Collection Jars that hold soil from the location where six men were lynched in Shelby County between 1878 and 1911. Students also visited the former jail on the corner of 5th and Washington Street, read the historical markers in the jail yard, and visited the courtroom inside the old court house, where these men never got their fair trial.

ShelbyKY (Shelbyville, Simpsonville, and Shelby County) is the Saddlebred Horse Capital of the World. With dozens of bespoke lodging options as well as familiar brand-name hotels, ShelbyKY is perfectly positioned for ease of access to Kentucky’s two largest cities, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and outdoor adventure. With world-class dining at classic favorites like Claudia Sanders Restaurant and new staples such as The Red Lion at Science Hill, and coupled with Kentucky’s only designer outlet mall, there’s much to see, do, and taste in ShelbyKY.

Media contact: Debra Locker – debra@lockerpr.com // 859.536.0282