2023 JSP Program Report

Check out how JSP's arts and nature programs impacted our community and beyond in 2023!

Josephine Sculpture Park’s (JSP) arts and nature programs make our mission of connecting people to each other and the land through the arts come to life. JSP provides creative arts and nature education to the community and transformative opportunities to artists while conserving the beauty of Kentucky’s native, rural landscape.


Donate during JSP’s 7 Days of Giving, November 28 to December 4, to support JSP’s year round arts and nature programs in 2024. Your donations will be matched dollar for dollar by Richard and Anna Marie Rosen, who have very generously pledged $35,000 for our year-end challenge! JSP is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, so your donation is 100% tax deductible. Thank you!


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Josephine Sculpture Park & Art in Public Places Exhibitions



Josephine Sculpture Park features over 70 artworks along 2 miles of mowed trails across 40 acres of native meadows, fields, and forests. The Park is FREE and open 365 days a year from dawn to dusk. JSP is Kentucky’s only sculpture park!


More than 1,000 artists from around the globe have exhibited and/or performed at JSP since its founding in 2009, with over 40 visual artists undertaking residencies. Women and artists of color represent 55% of the works on exhibit and 65% of the resident artists. Additionally, the park supports and encourages new, diverse and underserved artists’ voices and art forms - such as graffiti and earth art - which are often created by lesser-known artists with exceptional talent. Artists in the exhibition represent 27 U.S. states and 15 countries.

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Art in Public Places (AiPP) is a program of Josephine Sculpture Park. Through AiPP, JSP curates and maintains about 30 public art installations at Expree Credit Union, West Sixth Farm, and in the City of Frankfort through the “Arts Downtown” exhibition. Learn more about JSP's overall Art in Public Places Program. Learn more about the Arts Downtown exhibition at visitfrankfort.com/art.



Together, the Park and our Art in Public Places exhibitions welcome over 130,000 annual visitors, including local community members and tourists visiting Frankfort from all over the world. In 2023, JSP installed 21 new artworks, 6 at the Park and 19 through AiPP. We continue to provide free, year round access to over 100 public artworks along 4.5 miles of trails across Frankfort/Franklin County! And in 2023, we paid artists over $60,000!

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Land Conservation

Conserving the 40-acre park property and restoring its native wildlife habitat are fundamental projects for staff, volunteers, and partners. We know that connecting with nature improves the social and ecological health of our communities and inspires long term action to care for the environment.


“We come to JSP to teach [Eleanor, our 5-year-old daughter] how art and nature can coexist and how to be a responsible citizen of planet Earth.”

- Justin McDaniel


Our land management approach includes letting select areas grow naturally, introducing more native plant species, and removing invasive plant species. Example key projects include reforesting sections of the park with thousands of native tree saplings, removing invasive plant species like Callery and Bradford Pear trees, and establishing three native wildflower and grass meadows. JSP is home to more than 80 native plant species! Explore this inventory of native and invasive plant species you can find at the park.




JSP's diverse habitat structures - a mix of meadow, young forest, and a pond - provide watering, feeding, and sheltering areas for wildlife like birds, rabbits, and deer. Native plants attract and provide food and shelter for wildlife such as butterflies and bees. The JSP Bluebird Trail hosts 11 nest boxes around the park and creates a safe nesting habitat for cavity nesting birds, like the Eastern Bluebird. In 2023, every nest box hosted a nest and 10 out of the 11 nest boxes hosted either tree swallows or eastern bluebirds. Angela Wilkins Ellis also documented a nesting flicker family’s stay at JSP this spring. Fun fact: 117 bird species have been observed at JSP! In 2023, we have continued to accomplish this work with the help of amazing partners like Wild Birds Unlimited, Frankfort Audubon Society, Kentucky State University, and Inside Out Landscape Design.



In the future, we plan to establish a conservation easement to secure the land in perpetuity. Learn more about JSP conservation.



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We believe that by increasing access to nature and providing creative experiences that cultivate visitors’ connection with nature and people, we are inspiring them to care for one another and the environment. Ultimately, we believe this work will help make the world a better place.


Volunteer Opportunities


We appreciate every volunteer at JSP. They are part of our story, our mission, and help make the organization and park what it is today. Folks volunteered over 550 hours in 2023, supporting JSP land conservation, park maintenance, and events! 



"Getting to...share information on a place I adore and hold so dear to my heart makes me really excited…I'm just excited to be able to be even more a part of a place that's brought me so much joy. I hope I can help others experience the same.”

- L.B., JSP Volunteer


“...honestly volunteering with JSP is super fun.”

- Loralyn McBrayer, JSP Volunteer


Become part of the JSP family, an inclusive community of creative people that care about the arts, nature, and one another - and do something about it! Learn more about volunteer opportunities here. If you'd like to join our team of amazing volunteers, please contact us. And if you have ever volunteered with JSP or are currently engaged as a volunteer: THANK YOU!



Field Trips & Community Tours


In 2023, JSP hosted 25 field trips that engaged 750 students in arts education, environmental education, outdoor picnics, and unstructured time to play, roam the trails, and connect with nature. We welcomed students of all ages from preschools to universities from across Kentucky, like Franklin County Public Schools' Wolves Den Summer Program (Franklin Co.), Frankfort Independent Middle School (Franklin Co.), Bourbon County Middle School (Bourbon Co.), Saint Martha High School (Jefferson Co.), Lincoln County Middle and High Schools (Lincoln Co.),  Bluegrass Community & Technical College (Anderson Co.), Centre College (Boyle Co.), University of Kentucky (Fayette Co.), and Kentucky State University (Franklin Co.).




“I chose JSP for this [field trip] experience because we are completing a unit on sculpture and I am excited to give the students real life experience with different forms of art. They will be keeping a journal of their responses to each of the pieces to help us kick off our unit on self- expression and discuss how people can react to the same work differently.” 

- J.M., Visual Arts & Media Teacher


More than 15 community groups self-organized tours in the Park! For example, Kentucky State University and University of Kentucky Extension professionals hosted a tour at JSP during their Kentucky Master Gardeners Conference, and the Frankfort Audubon Society organized an intro to birding tour with the Capital City Activity Center. Tours provide enriching opportunities for folks of all ages. 40 percent of community tours engaged seniors in the central Kentucky community.


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Music, Art, & Nature Events


This year, you all really showed up to support our music, art and nature events! These events are designed to amplify our mission and offer intergenerational opportunities to engage with the park in new ways.




This spring, we hosted 60 members at our new JSP Member Party, which featured art workshops, nature-based and exhibition tours, and sweet and savory treats for all ages. Memberships help keep the park free and open every day of the year!



This fall, we partnered with Lexington Philharmonic to host a sold-out crowd (750!) and over 50 volunteers at the 3rd annual Symphonic Stroll. This event is an immersive evening of music, art and nature during which LexPhil ensembles perform, paired with sculptures throughout the park. Symphonic Stroll also features interactive music making activities plus food and drink vendors.




This summer, over 200 attendees and sponsors garnered unprecedented support for land conservation at our annual Barn Raisin’ - Conservation, Culture & Cuisine fundraiser that featured music by The Local Honeys and premiere sponsorship, food and drinks by Chef Ouita Michel of Holly Hill. 



This winter, please join us on December 10 from 5-8pm for Joy Full, a free “gratitude gathering” to thank YOU for supporting us and celebrate the coming year - our 15th anniversary! - together. At the JSP event barn, we will celebrate a wonderful year & thank fellow donors, volunteers, partners & visitors. Enjoy grooves by DJ Always, Night Sky Tour with Starpointe Astronomy, fire dancing with Hearts on Fire, hot cocoa bar & cider, bonfires & sweet treats! Free and all ages welcome.


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Reflection


In 2023, our 25 partners made it possible to provide creative community experiences and transformational artist opportunities. 


All of these accomplishments have amplified our mission to connect people with each other and the land through the arts in 2023.


We have plans to have an even greater impact with our programs in 2024, which will move us toward our vision to be a leader that respects and reflects diverse voices and ideas through shared, creative experiences and responsible land stewardship practices. 


"I support all efforts to protect and enhance the landscape at JSP. Not only have sculptures bloomed upon this old farmland, native wildflowers and trees have sprouted back. They in turn provide food and cover to native birds. Your outing to the park is enriched with birdsong, bright wildflowers as well as captivating art. Please visit often and donate when you can to support this Kentucky treasure!"

- Joyce Bender, JSP Board Member



Announcing 7 Days of Giving




Half of our annual budget relies solely on direct public support, which means donors like YOU make our arts & nature programs possible and impactful. Donate during JSP’s 7 Days of Giving, November 28 to December 4, to support JSP’s year round arts and nature programs in 2024.


Your donations will be matched dollar for dollar by Richard and Anna Marie Rosen, who have very generously pledged $35,000 for our year-end challenge!


JSP is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, so your donation is 100% tax deductible.


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Thank you for an incredible year!


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