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University of Kentucky Receives $150M Gift Toward New Arts District

  • By Matt Jones
  • 12/04/25

The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees recently received a $150-million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, according to a university news release, to build a new arts district on the campus in Lexington, Ky. The new district will feature a new College of Fine Arts building and a multi-hundred-seat theater, among other amenities. The gift is also the largest in university history.

Construction of the arts district involves relocating and constructing a new College of Fine Arts Building next to the existing Gray Design Building. The theater will host performances of dance, music, and drama. Finally, a newly constructed pavilion with a park will connect several blocks near the school’s existing School of Arts and Visual Studies Building.

“This gift will realize a vision to create an arts district on the western edge of our campus,” Eli Capilouto, university president. “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.”

Before construction can begin, the project will have to receive legislative authorization to issue bonds. The College of Fine Arts is also making plans to create programming for the new arts district and plan for the future of other facilities, like the university art museum.

“I’m anxious to authorize bonds so that construction can begin quickly,” said Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers. “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.”

According to the project’s website, construction has an estimated completion date of 2030.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

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