Artists Talk with LVA: October 09, 2025

Amelia Acosta Powell and Emily Tarquin are the new Artistic and Managing Directors of Actors Theatre of Louisville, and they are coming to our studios to discuss the future of ATL. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM / Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Emily Tarquin (they/them) is the new Managing Director at ATL. They are currently pursuing an Executive MBA at Bellarmine University (expected December 2027). As an Interim Managing Director in the theatre industry, Emily oversaw multi-department operations, stewarded financial resources, and developed systems to strengthen long-term sustainability.

Amelia Acosta Powell (she/her) is the new Artistic Director at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. Previously, she has been honored to serve as Associate Artistic Director at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Line Producer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Artistic Associate & Casting Director at Arena Stage. She is a steering committee member of the Latinx Theatre Commons. 

World premiere of FDR's Very Happy Hour is October 15 - 26 at Actors Theatre
written by Regan Linton, directed by M. Graham Smith

Artists Talk with LVA: May 2, 2024

Kentucky College of Art + Design (KyCAD) BFA Candidates Kelsi Haberman, Jesenia Avila-Ugalde, & Lizzie Hill talk about their thesis exhibit.

On View: May 10-July 31, 2024 , Opening Reception: May 10, 5 pm -7:30 pm

849 Gallery 849 S. 3rd Street 

Gallery visits are by appointment only Please email gallery@kycad.org

Jesenia Avila-Ugalde

Artist and designer, Born in Mexico City, raised in Louisville, KY

I like new technology and machine work, but I also enjoy analog work like painting, building, and working with people in the community— literally building a community. It’s a multifaceted thing.
I also focus on certain colors, like CMYK vs RGB. I also work with fluorescents, which reflect more light than they absorb. I love that concept because I think as people we should reflect more light/positivity than we absorb.

​​Kelsi Haberman

Interdisciplinary Artist From Louisville, KY

Modifying found objects like etchings on windows. Experimentation and willingness to take a risk, not knowing if you’re going to fail There’s an element of play

Lizzie Hill

Artist From Elizabeth, Indiana (rural town)

I use a lot of accessible materials from my home, including repurposed materials, textiles, natural materials, plants, and items associated with comfort, home, and memories. I focus on tactile/textural memories of mundane things.

Artists Talk with LVA: April 25, 2024

Jose Perez IV & Dara Jade Tiller

Louisville Hivemind Artist Collective presents TO BATTLE: A Fight Play by José Pérez IV
Directed by Jess De La Rosa April 25 - 27 at Lincoln Performing Arts Elementary.

JOSÉ PÉREZ IV is the Resident Fight & Intimacy Director of Pittsburgh Public Theater. He has been writing and directing his fight theatre plays since 2010. Recent credits at Pittsburgh Public (BILLY STRAYHORN, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM IN HARLEM, ROBIN HOOD), Actors Theatre of Louisville (DRACULA), Cleveland Play House (FRANKENSTEIN), Vermont Stages (BREAKFALLS). Other recent productions of his plays: VERY BERRY DEAD (Semifinalist 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival) Saginaw Valley State University & Pittsburgh premiere in July 2024, OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE presented by Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Artistic Director, Big Storm Performance Company. MFA Performance Pedagogy University of Pittsburgh, BFA Drama NYU. JosePerezIV.com

DARA JADE TILLER (she/her, Actor/Co-Producer) has  worked in professional theatre and film in Chicago, New York and across the United States. She has been seen in numerous commercials, both regionally and nationally, and has many stage, film, and television credits. Recently, she played Jamie Bell's wife in the award-winning film, Donnybrook and can be seen in Midway to Love now playing on The Hallmark Channel. She was most recently seen in Dracula: a Feminist Revenge Fantasy by Kate Hamill at Actors Theatre of Louisville. She has also worked extensively on the other side of the camera and stage in production and casting. She served as Managing Director of Woodford Theatre in Versailles, Ky and on the Board of Directors of Theatre 502. She is a part-time Theatre Instructor at the University of Louisville and offers private coaching and workshops for all ages and experience levels. Read more at darajadetiller.com

Artists Talk with LVA: June 29, 2023

Pyro Gallery celebrates its 20th Anniversary and 4 members, John McCarthy, Keith Auerbach, Kathy Loomis & Elmer Lopez join us in the studio this week to discuss the past, present, & future of the co-op gallery. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Fueling The Fires of Creativity: 20th Anniversary Exhibition at Pyro Gallery

June 30 through July 30, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 15, 2023, 6-9 pm
Gallery Hours: Friday and Saturday 12-6 pm, Sunday 1-4 pm

John McCarthy is an artist, ceramic sculptor, and art educator. His sculptural pieces are hand-built and highly manipulated to create organic shapes with an emphasis on texture and subtle, naturally glazed surfaces.  McCarthy has used stoneware firings to produce one-of-a-kind compositions that are striking and durable, whether used indoors or as exterior garden sculpture.

Photographer and artist Keith Auerbach is a native of Louisville, Kentucky. For nearly 15 years his photographs appeared in LEO WEEKLY (Louisville Eccentric Observer). In 2007 he published “The Photographic Humor of Keith Auerbach,” which won a Book of The Year (IPPY) award from the Independent Publishers Association. He has won many additional awards and competitions including an International Photography Awards "Lucie."

Kathleen Loomis asks “Why do artists make art?  For me, it’s not to produce beautiful images and objects, although I hope some of my work has a bit of beauty.  By contrast, I’m a commentator. 

 Some of my comments are loud and brazen, speaking out when our society seems to be taking wrong turns.  Some are indirect, mourning the people who fight our wars and suffer from depredation.  Some are wry, taking on the tropes and cliches of mass communication and American culture.

 I work primarily in fiber, either with a needle in hand or a needle in a sewing machine.  This constant reminder of traditional female domestic pursuits lends an edge to what I make – the hand that rocks the cradle and does the laundry can also pull a voting lever. “ 

Elmer Lopez is a Spanish American artist with over 17 years of specialized experience using a variety of mediums and techniques. He studied art at duPont Manual High School in Louisville, Kentucky where he was accepted into the Visual Arts program. After graduating, he majored in Studio Art and minored in Business at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Elmer also studied abroad at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin in Germany, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute of China, and Shanghai University in China; learning new customs, cultural techniques and mediums, which he implements in his work today.

Artists Talk With LVA: October 20, 2022

Shauntrice Martin & Ada Asenjo are part of the first Curate Purchase Inspire cohort with LVA and they talk about their projects as they reach their conclusion. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com Thursday at 10 am to hear all about it.

Shauntrice Martin is a mother, abolitionist, and artist. She was born and raised in Louisville, KY and currently serves as a lobbyist. Her artwork has reflected a tumultuous yet triumphant trajectory. The use of acrylics, textile, sculpture, and photography blend in her pieces to create sometimes haunting images of the lives Black and Indigenous people could have lived if white supremacy never existed. She created Chahta Noir as a resource & outlet for artists to develop, network, and BE.

Shauntrice is the inaugural Speed Art Museum Artist-In-Residence. Her photo journey is available via SPEEDxWEST. Shauntrice's museum solo exhibition "Something in the Water" opened at the Speed Art Museum in December 2021.

Her exhibit, Sweet Fire, is being installed at Play Cousins Collective and will officially open to the public in December 2022.

Ada Asenjo was born in the Dominican Republic where flowers bloom all throughout the year. Pressing flowers is something she has enjoyed doing most of her life! Pressed foliage has been used to elaborately embellish gifts and items for ages. Each petal and leaf is intricate beyond comparison, yet they are often overlooked. By juxtaposing different elements, their exquisite details become apparent.

Our existence is transient, and everything hinges on what or who came before. Nothing happens in isolation. I feel I must convey this hopeful message of the flowers: Today we live in Joy and Love.

Her exhibit ,Somo De Aqui y Afloramos, opens November 5 at La Casita Center