Kentucky Opera

Public Radio

Artists Talk with LVA: May 28, 2026

The 2026 art[squared] Online Auction Party happens on June 11th, and featured artists Douglas Miller, Uhma Janus, and Drew Scanlon will be in the studio this week. Tune into Artists Talk with LVA each Thursday at 10 am on 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com.

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.  He is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Bellarmine University.

uhma janus is a native of León, Guanajuato, México. Her work deals with the representation of the essence of reality by visualizing its elements as independent and in the dynamic interstitial space that is enlivened through their connection. Such representations are imbued with her interests in the fundamental, in the dynamism of complex systems, and in the disciplines of Geometry, Physics, and Microbiology.

uhma resides in Louisville, Kentucky. She can be found in her studio, writing at a coffee shop, exploring the urban air of Louisville during her walks, in mechanical, dance-like trances when rhythmic music compels her, and, overall, just being human.

Drew Scanlon attended the University of Florida, earned their Bachelor of Arts in Art History & Ceramics Certificate in 2020. After graduating, they spent a 2020-2021 as a Post-Baccalaureate student at West Virginia University. They then spent two years studying at Indiana University Southeast as a Post-Baccalaureate. They worked as the ceramic studio assistant at both IUS and UofL.

Drew just completed the MFA program in Studio Art at the University of Louisville. Additionally, they are an Instructor of Record at the University of Louisville, with experience teaching both Foundation 3D design and Intro to Clay.

2026 art[squared] Online Auction & Party
Douglas Miller, Uhma Janus, and Drew Scanlon

Public Radio

Artists Talk with LVA: December 4, 2025

Painter Valtcho Tonov and new Kentucky Opera CEO Ben Robinson discuss the production of All is Calm and Valtcho’s exhibit there on Artists Talk with LVA. Tune in each Thursday at WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com at 10 a.m.

Valtcho Tonov is a mostly self-taught artist born in Bulgaria in 1972. From an early age he was interested in drawing but began to take art seriously at the age of sixteen when his family relocated to Plovdiv.

After moving to the United States in 2001, he soon settled in Louisville, Kentucky. Valtcho has continued his studies under the tutelage of renowned artists such as John Michael Carter, Phil Starke and others. 

Kentucky Opera has appointed Ben Robinson as its new General Director and CEO. An accomplished singer, stage director, and arts executive, Robinson brings creative vision, operational expertise, and a deep commitment to opera as a community-building force. 

For Robinson, the appointment is also a homecoming. He began his professional career as a Kentucky Opera Studio Artist, performing on the stage he will now lead. His mother is from Kentucky, and extended family live throughout the region.Robinson and his husband, bass-baritone Michael Scarcelle, are relocating to Louisville.

Robinson's leadership has emphasized opera's role in fostering community dialogue. At Anchorage Opera, he created a popular concert conversation series that brought together diverse community voices to explore social issues through music. His commitment to building meaningful community collaborations aligns closely with Kentucky Opera's mission, particularly its Awakenings series, which uses opera to bridge divides and spark conversation across the region.

Winter Landscapes and All is Calm
Valtcho Tonov & Ben Robinson