Artists Talk with LVA: May 22, 2025

Drew & Vincent

Vincent Young has curated Queer Convergence: Figurative Abstraction in Contemporary Art at Hite Institute’s Schneider Hall Galleries. he and two of the artists in the exhibit, Lalana Fedorschak & Drew Scanlon, join us to discuss it. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Vincent Young is a Louisville native who earned a BA in Art History at the University of Louisville. He is currently finishing his MA in Curatorial Studies..

Drew Scanlon earned their Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Ceramics Certificate from the University of Florida in 2020. They spent a 2020-2021 as a Post-Baccalaureate student at West Virginia University then spent two years studying at Indiana University Southeast as a Post-Baccalaureate. Currently, they are in their second year of the MFA program in Studio Art at the University of Louisville. Additionally, they are an Instructor of Record at the University of Louisville, teaching Intro to Clay.

Lalana Fedorschak is an artist exploring experiences within individual and social bodies. They hold a BFA in Ceramics from Northern Arizona University and an MFA in Ceramics from Ohio University. Lalana is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Louisville, and formerly held teaching positions at Vincennes University and Indiana University Southeast.

Artists Talk with LVA: May 1, 2025

Dr. Angela Hagan & Dr. Debra Clary

Debra Clary will be the keynote speaker at the LVA Centennial Luncheon on May 9. She and LVA Director Angela Hagan join us this week to discuss the power of education. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM / Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Dr. Debra Clary is an executive with three decades of leadership experience with prominent companies such as Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, Jack Daniel’s, and Humana. Her broad-based functional expertise spans from global operations & marketing, strategy development, human resources, to corporate board and investor relations.

Debra has translated her message into the theatrical realm as a testament to her creativity and passion. She wrote and performed the play 'A Curious Woman' off-Broadway in 2023, showcasing her ability to communicate and engage through multiple mediums.

LVA Executive Director Dr. Angela Hagan grew up in southeastern Illinois, but claims Louisville as her adopted hometown after moving here in 1997. Her academic and career path, which has never taken her far from the Ohio River Valley, has related to the ecosystem supporting healthy, vibrant, thriving communities.

 For over a decade, she worked in leadership functions including development, marketing and communications, and community engagement for nonprofit organizations focused on affordable and fair housing, education, youth development, and art (KMAC Museum) before spending a decade at Louisville-based Fortune 60 health plan Humana, where she led functions and teams in member engagement and community health strategy and insights.

Artists Talk with LVA: April 3, 2025

Sara Olshansky is the recipient of the 2024 Bill Fischer Award and will open a solo exhibit at The Quonset Hut on April 5. She discussed all of this in the studio this week. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Sara Olshansky is a Louisville-based artist interested in exploring addition and erasure of imagery on a single picture plane to demonstrate alternatives to linear Time, primarily through landscape painting. She also freelances as a writer for regional publications and has curated exhibitions locally. She is the recipient of the 2024 Bill Fischer Award for Visual Art There will be an opening reception Saturday, April 5, from 5 - 8 pm at The Quonset Hut for From Beneath and Far Below New Paintings by Sara Olshansky.

In 2017, she attended Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona where she participated in contemporary, Spanish fine art practices and engaged with international art institutions across Europe. Olshansky is represented in several public and private collections across the United States and has exhibited regionally.

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.

Artists Talk with LVA: March 12, 2025

It's almost time for LVA Honors & LVA Executive Director Angela Hagan joined us to talk with two of this year's Honorees: Chuck Swanson & Juliet Taylor. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Dr. Angela Hagan became the Executive Director of Louisville Visual Art in September 2024. For over a decade, she worked in leadership functions including development, marketing and communications, and community engagement for nonprofit organizations focused on affordable and fair housing, education, youth development, and art (KMAC Museum) before spending a decade at Louisville-based Fortune 60 health plan Humana, where she led functions  and teams in member engagement and community health strategy and insights.

Chuck Swanson is an artist, primarily a painter, but he is also one of the pioneer gallerists in Louisville, having opened a gallery on Bardstown Road in 1982 and then in 1998 on East Market Street in what would eventually become the celebrated NuLu neighborhood. For the record, Swanson opened the space near Market and Clay well ahead of the rechristening of the area, so he must be counted as one of the reasons why the once-neglected and depressed environs became a hot spot for redevelopment.

Juliet Taylor is an interdisciplinary artist working with quilting & wearable art. She was a featured designer in the 2024 KMAC Couture and was a part of the Material Obsessions exhibit in the fall of 2024 at KMAC Museum. Most recently she has worked as the lead fabricator on the SPARK sculpture scheduled to be unveiled on the LVA building in February 2025. Juliet was a student in LVA’s Children’s Fine Art Classes and at DuPont Manual Visual Art Magnet.