A new public art installation in downtown Lexington is honoring Kentucky’s LGBTQ history throughout June in celebration of Pride Month.

The Faulkner Morgan Archive, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing Kentucky’s LGBTQ+ stories, has installed street banners along Vine Street highlighting a range of individuals and organizations that have played a significant role in the state’s queer history. The project is sponsored by JustFundKY and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Mayor’s Office.

The banners feature trailblazing figures and groups including Amber Moon Productions, Charles Williams, The Fairness Campaign, Henry Faulkner, Jeffrey Wasson, Leigh Angelique, The Pagan Babies, Sweet Evening Breeze, the Tri-State Gay Rodeo Association, and The Lexington Women’s Collective.

“These banners provide a small glimpse into the broader narrative of queer history in this city and throughout the state,” said Josh Porter, assistant executive director of the Faulkner Morgan Archive. “Every single person walking or driving down Vine Street will be confronted with these images of queer joy!”

The initiative is part of the Archive’s mission to ensure that LGBTQ+ Kentuckians see themselves reflected in public history and foster a sense of belonging. With ongoing threats to LGBTQ+ visibility and rights, the Archive hopes to use history as both a tool of empowerment and resistance.

The banners are accompanied by a digital component that offers more detailed information about each honoree. Viewers can visit faulknermorgan.org/banners to read about the lives, activism, and cultural contributions of those featured.

“Looking to the past provides a unique opportunity to remind ourselves that queer people are in Kentucky and have always been in Kentucky and will forever be in Kentucky,” Porter said.

Founded in 2014, the Faulkner Morgan Archive holds over 15,000 items and 250 hours of oral histories documenting two centuries of LGBTQ life in Kentucky. Named after iconic Kentucky artists Henry Faulkner and Robert Morgan, the archive has become the state’s largest independent LGBTQ history organization.

For more information, visit faulknermorgan.org. The banner display is free and open to the public through the end of June.