The Blue Grass Trust in Lexington, Kentucky sponsors the annual visual art contest for historic preservation, one of the many events they sponsor as part of the celebrations planned for Historic Preservation Month each May. When the announcement concerning the Blue Grass Trust visual art competition is released, area high school art teachers immediately help their students get ready to enter the contest. This visual art competition is an example of a partnership in historic preservation with strong support from the regional community. The Trust provides educational materials about preservation issues to local groups and schools, including lessons on local history and advanced units on architectural history, community growth, and development. The main topic of the contest is historic preservation, and many students venture out into the community to research their sites before they begin studio work. This article is about historic preservation as subject matter in art class, and the cooperation that exists between some schools and various institutions, and resources for secondary art teachers. Here, the author describes how historic preservation and urban planning can encourage students to consider important questions about their own culture and themselves as they learn more about other times, places, and cultures. (Contains 5 figures and 5 notes.)