Buster’s is site of PRHBTN – an art and music event featuring works considered ‘prohibited’

By Matt Jordan
KyForward correspondent
 

The art and music event PRHBTN returns to Lexington this year with a show at Buster’s this Friday, Oct. 5. PRHBTN (pronounced “prohibition”) is a gallery show that features street art or other works considered to be prohibited in some way, be it socially unwanted or illegal. Following the art show is a concert featuring DJs and MCs from around the nation including headlining rapper Mac Lethal and remix artist Wick-It the Instigator.
 

While last year’s PRHBTN art show featured contributors from around the country, this year features a larger percent of artists from the Bluegrass. Gallery organizer and PRHBTN founder John Winters says this is due to the response from last year’s event.
 

“The artists this year are primarily from the Lexington area and surrounding counties,” he explained. “Last year we had artists from Chicago, Tennessee, and other states but this time around we received so much interest from the local community that we decided to keep it more locally focused. I would say that the artists are 80-90 percent local with a few artists coming from Louisville, Indianapolis, Morehead and a few other regional cities.”
 

Local artists contributing to the gallery show include infamous street artist Dronex, RicStep and Kurt & Kremena. Much like last year, the event will feature live painting demonstrations and interactive exhibits in addition to the gallery.
 

At night PRBTN offers attendees the chance to unwind with performances from musicians hand-picked by Winters. Some he had heard of through their studio work, but others like Wick-I The Instigator impressed him with their live show.
 

“I was turned on to Wick-It The Instigator through his mash-up of The Black Keys and Big Boi (The Brothers of Chico Dusty) and had the fortune to catch a set at Cosmic Charlie’s earlier this year,” said Winters. “[Wick-It] looked to be having a genuine good time on stage and the crowd was responding in kind. I knew right there that we had to have him at PRHBTN.”
 

Additionally, the concert will keep PRHBTN’s Lexington-centric focus with performances by several DJs and performers. Winters specifically highlighted local hip hop artist Nemo Achida as a local act that’s not to be missed.
 

“Nemo Achida is a local hip-hop artist that I’ve enjoyed watching progress over the past five years into one of the best new voices in modern hip-hop,” Winters said. “I have always tried to support local musicians for the reason that they’re from Lexington but I love being able to support Nemo as a great artist that happens to be from Lexington.”
 

In addition to their yearly event, PRHBTN also brought a little color to Lexington last month in a different way. In September the PRHBTN team helped bring German street artists Herakut to Lexington to paint two murals downtown on 156 Market Street and North Limestone and Sixth streets. While the duo behind the paintings won’t be showing any additional work at the PRHBTN event, there will be a time lapse video of their work over their week in the city.