Mark Lenn Johnson,
President of Art Inc. Kentucky
Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Johnson has dedicated virtually his entire career to helping Kentucky's entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. After his initial career in banking, Johnson transitioned to the non-profit small and micro business/economic development industry, working in Community Ventures' Microlending program. From there, he was recruited to work at and later to directly oversee the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Small Business Services Division within the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. It was during this time that Johnson began pursuing his own aspirations of becoming an artist.
After spending almost ten years in state government helping entrepreneurs and artists, Johnson returned to Community Ventures to oversee its business and mortgage lending program and later, to start Art Inc. Kentucky, a non-profit business and marketing incubator designed to assist Kentucky artists build their businesses and sell their work. All the while, however, he continued to pursue and expand upon his own artistic endeavors - particularly in glassmaking.
In 2016 he was invited to show a collection of his abstract paintings at one of New York City’s largest art shows. Later that same year, he was also invited to show his creative photography work at an exhibit at the Louvre in Paris, France. And, in early 2017, Johnson was recognized by an international art magazine at a ceremony in Florence, Italy, as one of the world’s Top 60 Contemporary Artists of the Year.
In 2021, based on his Fountainfalls Waterdrop Series, he was named Photographer of the Year by Art Design Consultants in Cincinnati.
His work can be found in a number of private collections as well as on permanent display at Eastern Kentucky University's John Grant Crabbe Main Library.
Dominic McDaniel.
ASsistant manager
Dominic McDaniel is an artist from Hazard, Kentucky, whose interest in photography began at age 13. In 2019 Dominic received his BFA in Art with a concentration in Photography and a minor in Sociology from Morehead State University. During his time at Morehead State, his work was featured in several exhibits and publications and won several awards, including the Best in Show Award and the First Place in Photography Award at the Morehead State Student Art Exhibition in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. He served as the President of the Morehead State Photography Club for two years and organized the Annual Spring Showcase Student Art Exhibition at the Rowan County Art Center, sparking his interest in Arts Administration. Dominic received the Outstanding Junior Award and the Outstanding BFA Candidate Award for the Department of Art and Design for his work in the Photography Club.
After graduation, Dominic moved to Lexington to intern with Art Inc. Kentucky and was subsequently hired by the parent company, Community Ventures, as a receptionist. He spent three years honing his customer service skills and exploring textile and collage art. Dominic doubles as a receptionist and the assistant manager at the ArtHouse Kentucky gallery, and is working on his MA in Arts Administration at the University of Kentucky. His dream career would be running an arts center, as he loves working around art and artists and aspires to use art to benefit his community.
When he is not working, Dominic’s current interests are photography, collage, video games, going on walks, and spending time with his family and friends, particularly his nephews.