LEXINGTON, Ky. — ReImagine Lexington, a community art and design competition, is now open to the general public for the first time, expanding beyond its 2025 pilot that was limited to University of Kentucky students.

Fayette Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to achieving smart, sustainable, and equitable growth through advocacy, education and research, is hosting the contest and offering a $500 cash prize to the overall winner.

The competition invites Lexingtonians to reimagine vacant and underdeveloped spaces throughout the city, asking participants to think critically about how the community should grow. Participants must locate their projects within the Urban Service Boundary, a boundary line that contains nearly all new development in Lexington while leaving the remainder of the county as rural, natural, or agricultural land.

Submissions are accepted from Tuesday, April 7 through Friday, June 26. Participants can choose to reimagine greenfields, brownfields, or surface parking lots — but not sites containing existing homes or businesses. Fayette Alliance strongly encourages submissions in its proposed infill and redevelopment boundary, an area where the nonprofit believes Lexington should prioritize new housing and commercial projects.

Artists may work in any medium, including paintings, digital art, 3-D dioramas, poetry, and prose. Submissions should be accompanied by a one-page explanation of how the design serves the community and who it would benefit most. Artwork should be submitted as a 1920×1080 JPEG file to Ethan Wallace at ethan@fayettealliance.com.

After the submission window closes, all pieces will be publicly displayed on the Fayette Alliance website for voting. The public can vote once per person from July 1 through July 17, with the most-voted piece receiving the $500 prize. A public gallery reception will follow the voting period.

The contest reflects Fayette Alliance's philosophy that the question for Lexington's future is not whether to grow, but how and where to grow. Research shows that Lexington has enough land to meet its growth needs if it prioritizes "Missing Middle" housing, infill, and redevelopment.