Black Artists

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Artists Talk with LVA: June 12, 2025

The 2025 art[squared] Online Auction to benefit Louisville Visual Art is ALMOST HERE! Featured artists Shayne Hull, Tomisha Lovelry-Allen, & Douglas. Miller were in the studio this week. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artx.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Douglas Miller is a professional artist whose drawings are exhibited regionally and in galleries across the United States. Among other awards, he has received the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship from the KY Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, Douglas does freelance illustrations as well as private and corporate commissions. His artwork is in the collection of the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, the University of Louisville, the Speed School of Engineering, and numerous private collections around the world. Douglas lives and works in Louisville, Kentucky.

Tomisha Lovely-Allen is a self-taught artist from Louisville, KY.  She has been a passionate creator for as long as she can remember.  She earned a full scholarship at Northern Kentucky University and graduated with a Bachelor of Accounting and an Associate in Business Administration in 1998 and earned a Certified Public Accountant license in 2002. 

Tomisha has had the privilege of participating in art shows at the Portland Museum, Wayside Expressions Gallery, Maker’s Crucible, Kore Gallery, Roots 101 Museum (curated by Ashley Cathey), and most recently at the Arts Center of the Bluegrass. She also was chosen to illustrate a historic Kentuckian woman in the “Bluegrass Bold” children’s book project along with 35 other female artist, exhibit at the Arts Center of the Bluegrass Show  “The Art of Being Black: Conversations and Experience,” and be grant recipient to the Fund for the Arts '“Black Artist Grant”. 

Shayne Hull is a Louisville-based painter and sculptor. His work has been shown in over 155 exhibits since 1992, including 25 solo exhibitions, and can be found in the permanent collections of Brown-Forman, 21C Museum, and the Kentucky Arts Council.

Hull has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute, College of Art; a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Texas A&M University; and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from the University of Louisville.

Among many accolades, Hull was previously named one of Louisville’s Top Visual Artists by Louisville Magazine and has received multiple awards, including the prestigious Al Smith Fellowship.

The 2025 art[squared] Online Auction is June 26 at Louisville Visual Art. For tickets and more information. CLICK HERE.

Public Radio

Artists Talk with LVA: March 20, 2025

The 2025 LVA Honors will recognize Annette Cable and Dr. Jabani Bennett and both joined us this week live in the studio. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Annette Cable (2025 Art Educator) grew up in the country outside of Columbus, Ohio and graduated from the Columbus College of Art and Design. As an illustrator, she has worked for commercial clients nationwide, including having illustrated 20 children’s picture books. She has worked for LVA for many years and has been a CFAC teacher, an Open Doors teacher, and a Summer Camp coordinator and teacher. She has been the LVA Education Director since 2016.

Her non-profit experience includes her work with many local museums and historic landmarks, including the Portland Museum for the past 25 years. From her drawing board and computer screen creating book illustrations to large murals, art classrooms, and community centers, creativity, community, and education encompass her teaching philosophy. 

Dr. Jabani Bennett (2025 Community Impact) served as the first Black woman director of the Women’s Center at the University of Louisville and as a student in 2007 was the student events coordinator at the center and led one of the few community-wide celebrations for LGBTQIA women on campus.

Dr. Bennett has shaped and provided oversight over numerous creative and inclusive learning and engagement programs for diverse learners across their lifespans. Her career as an award-winning arts educator in New York City and Louisville public schools informs her current projects in social justice, cultural equity planning, and empowering self-identified femmes and feminine-presenting women through the arts. 

In October 2024 through January 2025, The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage hosted her solo exhibition, And Say Hi To Your Mother: 30 Portraits of Black Women Culture Leaders.

Public Radio

Artists Talk with LVA: November 7, 2024

Dr. Jabani Bennett will be participating in Open Studio Weekend Nov. 16-17 AND opening her solo exhibit, “And say hi to your mother”, at the The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage’s Elmer Lucille Allen Gallery. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each week to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Dr. Jabani Bennett (she/they) served as the first Black woman director of the Women’s Center at the University of Louisville and as a student in 2007 was the student  events coordinator at the center and led one of the few community-wide celebrations for LGBTQIA women on campus.

Dr. Bennett has shaped and provided oversight over numerous creative and inclusive learning and engagement programs for diverse learners across their lifespans. Her career as an award-winning arts educator in New York City and Louisville public schools informs her current projects in social justice, cultural equity planning, and empowering self-identified femmes and feminine-presenting women through the arts. 

Public Radio

Artists Talk with LVA: November 16, 2023

Michael Coppage speaks with us about his installation Ancestral Memories (The Rotunda of the Ancestors), a series of photographic murals created in partnership with Louisville Visual Art and Mural Arts Philadelphia. Ancestral Memories is on permanent display in the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Michael Coppage is originally from Chicago, Ill and now resides in Cincinnati Ohio. He studied at Memphis College of Art and obtained a BFA degree with an emphasis in sculpture. He continued his education and obtained an MFA degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) with an emphasis in sculpture and mixed media.

In October he unveiled his installation Ancestral Memories (The Rotunda of the Ancestors), a series of photographic murals created in partnership with Louisville Visual Art and Mural Arts Philadelphia. Ancestral Memories (The Rotunda of the Ancestors) is on permanent display in the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage.