When Leadership Kentucky, an educational organization that brings together leaders from every industry across the Commonwealth, came to The MET in Lexington’s East End, Art. Inc. Kentucky president Mark Johnson never imagined that the tour he gave to participants would result in the largest sale yet for his ArtHouse Kentucky gallery.
Each year, Leadership Kentucky recruits top executives to visit different economic development projects like The MET, nonprofit Community Ventures’ award-winning mixed-use commercial and residential project located at the corner of Midland and East Third Streets. While there, Leadership Kentucky attendees got a look at Art Inc. Kentucky’s initiatives aimed at helping artists and craftspeople launch and grow their businesses. In addition to the retail gallery, Johnson showcased the affordable workspace called the Artists’ Studios, as well as the Artists’ Village, an innovative live-work village for creatives that connects them directly to the historic East End neighborhood.
Attending the 2024 session of Leadership Kentucky was Rick Wurth, CEO of CHNK in Covington. Known at its 1882 founding as the Covington Protestant Children’s Home, it was the result of the vision and generosity of successful businessman and civic leader Amos Shinkle and his wife, who were in their day keenly aware of the need for loving and compassionate care for the orphans living in the shantytowns lining the banks of the Ohio River.
By the late 1970s, the facility’s focus had shifted to providing residential treatment for youth in the custody of the Commonwealth of Kentucky due to abuse, neglect, or other high-risk family situations. In 1990, the name was changed to Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky, and today, known simply as CHNK, they offer trauma-informed mental health and addiction treatment services to thousands of children, adolescents, adults, and families all across Kentucky, most low-income and relying on Medicaid to cover treatment costs.
CHNK’s main campus and residential facility sits at the edge of Devou Park in Northern Kentucky, high above the city of Covington with a breathtaking panoramic view of the Cincinnati skyline. When planning for the construction of the Children’s Home, Shinkle wanted nothing but the best for the children in need, so he enlisted the help of Samuel Hannaford, architect of both Cincinnati’s Music Hall and City Hall, to draft the plans.
Wurth is quick to note the stigma that can be attached to being poor or parentless, and the damage that it can do to a child’s self-esteem, both in Shinkle’s time and yet today.
“Perhaps none of those children would have chosen to come to an orphanage, but if you had to, Amos Shinkle crafted one of the most blinged-out orphanages in the country,” notes Wurth. “That’s the way he was wired. He never wanted the kids here to feel in any way ‘less than.’ And today, when the kids coming to live here pull up and see that view, and this building, we tell them ‘If you think the property looks good, just wait until you step inside and meet the staff and experience the programs. Those are equally impressive.’”
Wurth’s passion for helping people—many who, for financial reasons, have nowhere else to turn—is evident. Under Wurth’s leadership, CHNK’s treatment lines have greatly expanded. CHNK recently opened a fourth treatment facility just five minutes away from their headquarters on the hill.
As Wurth toured the ArtHouse gallery, he was taken with both Art Inc. Kentucky’s mission and the array of Kentucky artists represented there. Making an on-the-spot decision to support both the mission and the creatives by decorating CHNK’s new facility with ArtHouse purchases, Wurth placed a Facetime call to Crystal Leugers, CHNK’s Chief Programming Officer, who “walked” through the entire gallery with him, collectively weighing the many options.
“If I had the ability to purchase all of the art at ArtHouse, I would have,” notes Wurth. “It was all so inspirational and beautiful. But there are space considerations, and of course budget constraints.”
CHNK purchased art across a wide range of genres and mediums with the goal of providing beautiful and relaxing backdrops for patients undergoing treatment. While their styles vary greatly, ArtHouse artists Ken Burney and Lakshimi Sriraman both work primarily in acrylics. Burney’s chosen painting features horses and jockeys, while Sriraman sold two complementary and colorful abstracts. Wurth and Leugers selected soothing nature photographs by Jennifer Stavinoha and Earl C. James, while Mike Egan’s dimensional art made from upcycled wood is represented by both wall hangings and 3-D works. Mixed-media artist Frank Leake, who creates bold art often utilizing “discarded” materials, had several pieces chosen as well.
In an interesting twist that connects CHNK to the Thoroughbred industry, Racing Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally, conditioner of the legendary John Henry, was a resident of the Covington Protestant Children’s Home from a very young age. McAnally and his siblings were placed there in the 1930s following the death of their mother. McAnally has parlayed his life experience and lessons learned growing up in the orphanage into a phenomenal career in horse racing. The trainer often achieved positive results with horses that other trainers thought hopeless, by understanding and connecting with their brokenness to ultimately bring out their best.
According to Wurth, Ron and his family have continued to be faithful financial supporters of CHNK through the years. Recently, Ron’s daughter and niece, along with CHNK, have established the McAnally Family Foundation. In addition to honoring the siblings, the Foundation will establish a reliable stream of income to fund innovative and creative therapy options that Medicaid will not cover, including Equine Assisted Therapy.
Using horses as the catalyst, Equine Assisted Therapy fights back against anxiety, ADHD, eating disorders, addiction, depression and other mental health conditions in both adults and children and is thought to help patients build confidence, self-awareness and empathy. CHNK hopes to work with New Day Ranch, a provider of such services, located just a short drive away in Verona. New Day Ranch was established on a farm once owned by jockey Steve Cauthen, best known for sweeping the Triple Crown series at the tender age of 18 aboard Affirmed, in a hard-fought battle against his fierce rival Alydar with jockey Jorge Velasquez in the irons.
Always open to out-of-the-box ideas that provide not only therapy but that may lead to potential career paths for young CHNK patients, Wurth sees value in fostering a deeper relationship with Art Inc. Kentucky and its affiliated creatives. Much like interacting with animals, according to goodtherapy.org, the process of creating art can help people in treatment explore their emotions, address emotional conflicts, improve social skills and raise self-esteem.
Wurth is determined that CHNK programming will make great headway in combating the toxicity and division that he sees happening in society right now.
“For me, the golden thread that connects all of this is that I believe that human beings are hard-wired for an encounter with the beautiful. That’s why we search for God, that’s why we seek love and marriage—because we are wired to search for that which is beautiful,” explains Wurth. “Human beings that devote their lives to the care of those who have been hurt, is an encounter with the beautiful. Encountering these majestic beasts called horses is an encounter with the beautiful. The ArtHouse Kentucky gallery is absolutely an encounter with the beautiful. They may be different manifestations, but they spring forth from the same wellspring.
“We are deeply grateful to Rick and the CHNK Behavioral Health team for their support and for incorporating our artists’ artwork into their space,” said Johnson. “It’s an honor to have their pieces displayed in an environment dedicated to healing and hope. Knowing that the art will be part of the atmosphere where CHNK serves its clients makes this collaboration especially meaningful.”
For more information about CHNK, click here. If you are an artist seeking to start or grow your business, learn more about Art. Inc. Kentucky by calling 859-231-0054 ext. 1023 or visit http://www.ArtIncKentucky.org.
