The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees has accepted the largest donation in school history — $150 million from The Bill Gatton Foundation — to create a new arts district on campus.
However, some approval is still needed from the state legislature to move the project forward.
The funds accepted Tuesday will support a new arts district on the western edge of the Lexington campus. It will include a new College of Fine Arts building along South Broadway, near the Gray Design Building, as well as a performance theater for dance, music and theater with several hundred seats. A pavilion and connecting park will link South Broadway and Bolivar Street near the university’s School of Art and Visual Studies (SA/VS) Building.
“This gift will realize a vision to create an arts district on the western edge of our campus,” UK President Eli Capilouto said in a press release. “There, we can integrate art into an area of Lexington that is an increasingly vibrant and vital intersection of campus and city, town and gown.”
Gatton, who died in 2022, was an alumnus of UK. His previous gifts to the university total more than $200 million and have supported programs such as the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment; the Gatton College of Business and Economics, and the Gatton Student Center.
Capilouto said in the press release that construction for the new arts district would require authorization from the Kentucky General Assembly to issue bonds. Discussions with legislative leaders are underway. The state legislature returns to Frankfort in January to convene for the 2026 session.
Some Kentucky elected officials praised the donation in the university’s press release. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said the gift “will help not only the university but also Lexington and Kentucky, as it creates a vibrant, welcoming arts district for students, Kentuckians and visitors to enjoy.”
“Education and the arts fuel our economy and our workforce, and investments like these are how we keep working to build a bright future for generations,” Beshear said.
Republicans Senate President Robert Stivers, of Manchester, and House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect, applauded the donation.
“I’m anxious to authorize bonds so that construction can begin quickly,” Stivers said. “This expansion may be the impetus for more students pursuing a fine arts degree and perhaps working in the film industry, a growing industry made possible by Senate Bill 1 of the 2025 session.”
Osborne said Gatton’s “extraordinary generosity has transformed lives across Kentucky, and today’s historic gift continues that legacy.”
“His vision for education, community and the arts reflects the very best of our Commonwealth’s values,” Osborne said. “It celebrates our incredible heritage and makes way for an even more promising future. This arts district will not only enrich the University of Kentucky, but will also strengthen Lexington and our entire state.”
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
McKenna Horsley covers state politics for the Kentucky Lantern. She previously worked for newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia, and Frankfort, Kentucky. She is from northeastern Kentucky.
