Artists Talk with LVA: July 23, 2026

Kris, Britany, Luckett, & Tatiana

Girl Crush opens at KMAC soon, and this week, Kris Thompson, Brittany Baker, Tatiana Rathke, and Luckett Davidson join us in conversation about it. Tune into Artists Talk with LVA each Thursday at 10 am on 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com.

Kris Thompson is the Development & Special Projects Manager at  KMAC Contemporary Art Museum. Girl Crush opens on July 30th, with a ticketed reception from 5 - 8 pm.

Tatiana Rathke is an interdisciplinary visual artist and photographer based in Louisville, Kentucky. She is currently creating work around connection, collaboration, and nature. She graduated from Bellarmine University with a degree in Communication and a minor in Art, and has worked professionally as a Product Photographer, Design Assistant, and Project Coordinator in Film Production. 

Britany Baker attended Xavier University in Cincinnati on full scholarship and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and painting. Since then she has trained in scenic arts and has worked for theater, film, and corporate clients. In the fine art realm, she has received multiple grants, maintains a studio practice, exhibits regularly, and spends time with art wherever she goes. She has been a designer and creative director in media and agencies and is currently the creative director for WingspanRPM.

Luckett Davidson works in a variety of media: embroidery, fiber collage and figure exploration; watercolor; colored pencil; ink; creek stone, and digital media. She studied fiber with Alma Lesch and Lida Gordon and received her MA in fiber from the University of Louisville in 1994. She is also a leadership development coach, illustrator, and writer. Her college guide series “Stand Strong” is available from Carmichael’s and Amazon.

Girl Crush exhibit at KMAC

Kris Thompson, Brittany Baker, Tatiana Rathke, and Luckett Davidson

Artists Talk with LVA: July 10, 2025

This week, we talked with Licia Priest, the winner of the 2025 Bill Fischer Award for Visual Art. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Licia Priest: I Am We Crafting Community in Paper Tole is at KMAC Museum through August 17th, 2025

Priest is a bold interdisciplinary artist whose work blends painting, photography, digital media, sculpture, and even scent and sound. Rooted in personal reflection and cultural reclamation, her vibrant, layered pieces draw on childhood memories, travels to Zimbabwe, and a deep connection to textiles.

This body of work is an ongoing investigation into identifying and analyzing African & African-American cultural similarities & differences due to the African Diaspora.  Priest’s artistic practice explores perceived views versus the realities of Africa. Through an onsite immersion in African culture, similarities & differences are captured through photography.

Intrigued by traditional “craft” techniques, Priest utilizes them to express ideas, feelings and vision thereby creating “fine art” that appeals to the mind and touches the emotions . African art does not draw such a clear delineation & thus she, of African roots seems more drawn inherently to that way of viewing art, despite being a product of African-American heritage.

The process used in this body of art is called, Paper Tole. First comes  photographs, then manipulation of the imagery through color changes, merging imagery, altering line, space & shape. Next duplicates of the image & use of up to 40 layers occurs, cutting each layer out by hand , stacking shaping & coloring the edges & then assembling the work. This is a fresh new approach to a very old “craft”,  to create a level of depth & complexity in the work that echoes the depth & complexities of African & African-American cultural norms.

2025 Fischer Award Winner/I Am We exhibit at KMAC

Licia Priest

Artists Talk with LVA: March 20, 2025

Julien Robson and Natalie Weis joined us this week to discuss Rounding the Circle, their book about the Al and Mary Shands collection. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 a.m. to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Rounding the Circle: The Legacy of Mary and Al Shands is a handsome hardcover volume, rich with full-color photography, that celebrates the art collection and philanthropy of the two late Louisville collectors.

The book's four essays (authored by Julien Robson, director of the Great Meadows Foundation; Peter Morrin, former director of the Speed Art Museum; John Yau, celebrated poet and art critic; and Natalie Weis, arts writer) chronicle Mary and Al's collection, the 2023 exhibitions at the Speed and at KMAC Museum, the sculpture preserve established on their Crestwood estate, and the creation of the Great Meadows Foundation. This non-profit has given more than $1M to Kentucky artists. It also includes short recollections by 12 artists impacted by Al or the foundation.

Trained as an artist at Bath Academy of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art, Julien Robson has held curatorial positions at the John Hansard Gallery at the University of Southampton (1984-1989), Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky (2000-2008) and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum (2008-2012).

Natalie Weis is a writer and creative director based in Louisville, Kentucky. As an arts writer she has been featured in Dwell, Hyperallergic, Sculpture, Collectors, Burnaway, Ruckus, and on NPR. 

For over 13 years in the advertising world, she was a creative director who developed strategy and has written award-winning campaigns for brands including Maker’s Mark, Utz, Monogram, Carrier, GE Aviation, OhioHealth, The Speed Art Museum, Louisville City FC, Bardstown Bourbon Tourism, and The Library Foundation.

Rounding the Circle: The Mary and Al Shands Collection

Julien Robson & Natalie Weis

Artists Talk with LVA: April 11, 2024

From 2023 KMAC Couture

KMAC Couture is April 13 so this week we had 4 of the designer/artists in the studio with us: Juliet Taylor, Mallory Quisenberry, Edwin Ramirez & Trevor Decuir.

Tune into Artists Talk with LVA every Thursday at 10 am on 97.1 WXOX-FM or stream on

KMAC Couture is a wearable live art runway show presented by KMAC Museum. It is the signature fundraiser for KMAC Museum that provides funding for the Museum's educational programs and exhibitions. This event offers a unique way to experience art and fashion. KMAC Couture features and supports emerging and established artists, costumers, designers, and milliners through the extraordinary presentation of original couture pieces of wearable art and conceptual fashion designs. For tickets click HERE

Juliet Taylor is an interdisciplinary artist working with quilting wearable art. This is her first time with KMAC Couture.

Mallory Quisenberry is a fashion designer the founder of Green Folk Collective which features her “handcrafted slow fashion designs. This is her first time with KMAC Couture.

Edwin Alberto Ramirez is a Multimedia artist, costume designer, DJ, & pro dog trainer.

Trevor Decuir is a queer fiber artist just beginning to display work publicly.

Edwin and Trevor are working together on this KMAC Couture.

2024 KMAC Couture Artists

Juliet Taylor, Mallory Quisenberry, Edwin Ramirez, & Trevor Decuir

Artists Talk with LVA: January 18, 2024

Lori Larusso joined us in the studio this week to talk about her current exhibits in Dallas, TX and Danville, KY s well as the new monograph about her work, “Confected Landscapes”.

Lori Larusso is an American visual artist working primarily with themes of domesticity and foodways. Her body of work encompasses paintings and installations that explore issues of class, gender, and anthropocentrism, and how these practices both reflect and shape culture. Larusso’s work is exhibited widely in the US and is included in various public collections such as KMAC Contemporary Art Museum, 21c Museum, and other noteworthy private collections. She has been awarded numerous residency fellowships including Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Sam & Adele Golden Foundation, and MacDowell where she received a Milton and Sally Avery Fellowship. She is a recipient of the Kentucky Arts Council’s Al Smith Fellowship, Kentucky South Arts Fellowship, and multiple grants from the Great Meadows Foundation and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. She currently lives and works in Louisville, Kentucky, and is represented by Rubine Red Gallery in Palm Springs, and Galleri Urbane in Dallas, TX.

Confected Landscapes monograph

Lori Larusso