C.J. Pressma is a graduate of Antioch College and holds an M.F.A. in Photography from Indiana University. He studied as a special graduate student with Minor White at MIT and with Henry Holmes Smith at Indiana University. In 1970 he founded the Center for Photographic Studies – an alternative school of creative photography. The Center provided a full-time learning experience for those seeking to explore photography as creative expression. Its two galleries provided monthly photographic exhibits featuring the works of local, regional, and internationally acclaimed photographic artists including Ansel Adams and Minor White.

In 1978 he was awarded a National Endowment Fellowship in photography. In 1979 Pressma embarked on a career as a multimedia producer and marketing communications specialist. In 1984, his seven part series Witness to the Holocaust, was released in the U.S. and Canada where it remains in distribution today. One of the first productions to use survivor interviews as the exclusive content to tell the story of the Holocaust, Witness to the Holocaust has received numerous national awards.

In December,2001 Pressma was awarded an Al Smith Fellowship by the Kentucky Arts council. Also In 2001 Pressma was selected as one of 84 artists worldwide for the landmark exhibition Digital Printmaking Now at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Pressma’s career includes numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Canada, and Ireland. His work is included in the collections of the Speed Art Museum, The University of Louisville’s Photographic Archive , and the National Gallery of Canada.

Sheila Fox, known as Godiva Goddess, is a self-taught mixed media artist based in Louisville, KY, with roots in Chicago, IL. Her artistic journey reflects a deep commitment to representing and empowering the Black community. Over two decades of drawing and seven years of painting contribute to Sheila's ability to bring the essence of Black women and men to life through dynamic, multilayered pieces that challenge conventional art norms.

With a background in welding and fabrication, Sheila's unique artistic approach incorporates wire, flowers, metal shavings, wall plaster, fabric, as well as traditional mediums like acrylic paint and oil pastel. Her work boldly addresses themes of history, race, power, and repression, highlighting the beauty and strength of Black individuals.

Beyond the canvas, Sheila seamlessly integrates her passion for styling hair, makeup, and fashion into her artwork, enriching her creative expression. Following a layoff in June 2023, she embraced a full-time career as an artist, balancing this newfound pursuit with her roles as a wife and mother of four.

Featured in galleries and exhibitions across cities like Louisville, Chicago, Nashville, Indianapolis, Ohio, and Atlanta, Sheila's art has found a home in the collections of institutions such as HBC Simmons College and various downtown Louisville restaurants. She was also the featured artist for the 2023 Keepers of the Dream Celebration produced by Kentucky Performing Arts. Sheila Fox's art serves as a powerful means of representation and empowerment for the Black community, sparking conversations and provoking thought.

Louisville native Amanda Thompson is an artist and educator with a passion for learning. An avid hiker and traveler, Amanda brings her love of nature and culture to the classroom. Connecting world knowledge to the experience of creating art has been both a personal and professional goal. Just like trying out new art mediums and techniques, engaging in diverse cultures is an adventure. Fostering such adventures gives us the opportunity to express student voice and choice throughout the creative process.

Amanda has been a Visual Art teacher at Western Middle School for the Arts since 2010. She joined LVA’s Children’s Fine Art Classes the same year. She was recently awarded the Baird Excellence Award Outstanding Teacher for Middle School 2023. She served as a Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence Teacher Fellow in 2022 and Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions fellow in 2020. In collaboration with LVA and PNC Broadway, her classes have participated in 3 separate art installations at Kentucky Center for the Arts for Blue Man Group, Little Mermaid, and Anastasia, the Musical.

While the world truly is her classroom, she earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky in 2001. After serving with AmeriCorps and beyond, she joined the University of Louisville. There she earned both a Master of Science in Human Resources in 2008 as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching in 2010. She is currently hoping to continue her education in the near future.

Jon Cherry is a Pulitzer Prize awarded American photojournalist whose work has spanned a wide range of photographic disciplines. His style has been described as deeply romantic, yet joyful. Born in Fort Liberty, North Carolina, Cherry now proudly calls himself a Kentuckian. Cherry aims to capture the spirit of America while developing his storytelling craft through analysis of the truths that define our time. Cherry can be labeled a generalist, reporting on topics from extremism and government to agriculture and conservation with the intention of blurring the lines between visual reportage and fine art photography.

Jacque Parsley is a Louisville-based artist with a lifelong passion for creativity. From a young age, Jacque was drawn to the world of art and spent countless hours embroidering, weaving potholders, collecting charms, and playing with paper dolls. The influence of fond memories has been integrated into her art through collage, assemblage, and embellishment. Her work incorporates a myriad of found or discarded objects, artifacts, ephemera, and vintage printed matter – presenting an iconography that creates a dialogue between the permanent and the transient.

Over the years, Jacque has established herself as a respected artist in the Louisville community and beyond. She earned a BFA, MA, and MFA in fine arts, and taught at the University of Louisville and Indiana University Southeast. For nearly 10 years, Jacque exhibited and mentored young artists at Liberty Gallery in Louisville, KY. She has exhibited her own work throughout the United States, Germany, and Mexico. Her work has received several awards, and can be seen in many private, corporate, and museum collections. Jacque’s dedication to her craft is an inspiration to others, and her art serves as a testament to the power of self-expression.

Sheryl Knight is the Head Coach of the 20-time National Champion University of Louisville Ladybird Dance Team and has been coaching the Ladybird Dance Team for over 20 years. Sheryl is a Professional choreographer who has choreographed over 80 national championship and world championship routines. Sheryl has coached dance teams on all levels from Junior high through college. Her choreography has helped clinch championships for teams on the Junior High, High School, College, and Studio All-Star levels. Sheryl continues to travel the country teaching master classes and training in all styles of dance. Sheryl also coaches the Louisville Male High school Dance Team.

Douglas DeWeese was born and raised in Louisville and has taught art in that community for Jefferson County Public Schools for nearly 27 years. Doug earned his Bachelor’s degree in Georgia, a Masters of Art in Teaching the visual arts from the University of Louisville and is a National Board Certified teacher.

Doug has taught at several public schools for JCPS. He has been a part of the visual art faculty at duPont Manual High School for 21 years where he teaches painting, drawing, and printmaking classes. He has been vital in modernizing and continuing high standards for the visual art magnet program and school, serving on the Admissions Committee, Instructional Leadership Team, Hiring Committee and former sponsor of the National Art Honor Society at duPont Manual High School.

He has also served on various test development committees and pilot studies for the College Board helping to realign and modernize the Advanced Placement Studio Drawing and the Advanced Placement 2-D Design Art exams that are currently utilized for students to earn college credit while in high school. He has read and scored visual art portfolio exams for the College Board as well. For many years, Doug has also taught Children’s Fine Art Classes (CFAC) classes for Louisville Visual Art (LVA) and volunteered for various arts organizations and activities in the community.

Ceirra Evans is a Louisville-based painter depicting Appalachia and the working-class southern narrative. She received her BA in interdisciplinary liberal studies from Spalding University. Her work has been exhibited in the United States and Europe. Ceirra’s work has been reviewed by Hyperallergic, The New Yorker and other publications. Her work is exhibited in 21c Louisville and is held in multiple private collections. Most recently, Ceirra's work was featured in KMAC's Triennial "Divided We Fall".

William M. Duffy is a lifelong resident of Louisville, KY. Learning from books and experimentation, Duffy taught himself to carve stone. After receiving multiple sculpture awards and many favorable reviews by professional art critics, he started working full-time as a sculptor in late 1980. In 1990, Duffy entered the annual Atlanta Life Co. National Art Competition and won the second-place sculpture award, placing behind world renowned sculptor, Elizabeth Catlett.

Although Duffy’s primary career focus has been creating table-top sized stone sculptures, he has also expanded his repertoire to include large public works. Among his commissions are: Red Geranium Enterprises, New Harmony, IN (Charlamagne, Painted Wood Bas Relief-1993); Farmington Historic Plantation, Louisville, KY (Slave Memorial Bronze Bas Relief-2003); Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Bardstown, KY (Mother Mary, Bronze Sculpture-2004) and IDEAS X-Lab, Louisville, KY (On the Banks of Freedom Slave Memorial Stone Benches-2021).

Duffy has always shared his talents by teaching, and over the past 40+ years he has taught all ages from every social and economic background. In February 1997, he received an official commendation from the Board of Education for "sharing his outstanding artistic gifts with students and staff in the Jefferson County Public Schools". In the beginning of 2018, Duffy was one of the first artists to be awarded Imagine Greater Louisville 2020 grants. One for his "Portraits of Pride" project, working with the West End School students on paper collages. The other, he received for his "In My Community" project, working with the New Albany, Indiana Griffin Community Center children on paper collages.

A graduate of Hanover College, Janet Clements Britt obtained a Masters in Art Therapy at the University of Louisville. A door opened for an art educator at St. Francis School in Goshen and she walked through. In many ways her young students became her teachers and together they grew. Nineteen years later, Louisville Visual Art became her second home and for the past 12 years she has worn many hats.

She’s taught CFAC classes, summer camps, directed enriching projects in many public schools through the TAG grant program, led art groups for children living at St. Joseph Children’s Home through Open Doors and is currently teaching K-6th Holy Trinity Clifton Campus students.

In meeting each child where they are, Janet gives her students quality materials, lots of love, and continues to grow with them!

Shohei Katayama is a Japanese American artist who explores the space between light and dark, life and death, beauty and danger, nature and man. His work includes line drawings, sculpture, and installation art. Utilizing his art as a catalyst for environmental conversations, his work examines the underlying patterns and forces of nature by showcasing unseen relationships in ecology. Katayama uses materials that embodies the philosophy associated with ecological examination. Through his work, Katayama demonstrates the entanglements that are present between such systems and illustrates the disruptions that can occur when individual components are manipulated.
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Katayama received his MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019. He is the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award by the International Sculpture Center, the Frank-Ratchye Fund for the Art at the Frontier Award, and a finalist in the 21C Artadia award, among others. His work has been exhibited nationally, and internationally at the Palazzo Mora in Venice, Italy; 5 Manhattan West Building in New York; Plaxall Gallery in Long Island City; Littman Gallery in Portland, OR, and more. Katayama has participated in the Facebook Artist-in-Residence Program; the Arctic Circle Residency in Svalbard, Norway; the Labverde Amazon Residency in Manaus, Brazil; the International Sculpture Center Residency at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton Township, NJ; Tough Art Residency Program in Pittsburgh, PA, and at the Asia Institute Crane House in Louisville, KY.

shoheikatayama.com

Clare Hirn received a significant scholarship to attend the New York Academy of Art – Graduate School of Figurative Art, located in Manhattan. The curriculum continues to focus on strong foundational skills for working “realistically” from life and the figure.

After graduating with her masters in painting and drawing in 1990, Hirn worked for a mural design firm in NYC, learning the techniques of working large scale. Upon returning to her hometown of Louisville, KY she pursued both mural work and her personal painting, participating and receiving awards in many regional shows. Hirn’s fine art murals and paintings grace many homes, businesses, and public spaces and have appeared in numerous publications.

John Begley served as director of the Hite Galleries at the University of Louisville and adjunct associate professor of art at the University of Louisville, where he coordinates the Hite’s master's program concentration in critical and curatorial studies. He was previously executive director of the Louisville Visual Art Association, which is devoted to supporting contemporary art and art education. Begley has served as a panelist and juror for such arts organizations and agencies as the Institute of Museum and Library Services,the Kentucky Arts Council, the Miami Valley Arts Alliance, the Florida Division of Cultural Arts, the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, Eastern Kentucky University and Western Kentucky University. He also serves on numerous community committees such as the Standiford Art Foundation at the Louisville International Airport, Metro Louisville's Downtown Design Review Overlay (DDRO) Committee and the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Public Amenities. His areas of expertise include advocacy, audience development and building participation in the arts, organizational development and strategic planning. In addition to his curatorial activities, he regularly exhibits his own artwork on the local, regional and national levels.

After graduating from Kentucky State University with a BA in Art Education, Kevin Ashford attend and received his Master’s in Education from Spalding University after settling in Louisville, Kentucky. He has taught art at Crosby Middle School for twenty one years and for Louisville Visual Art (LVA) for the last twelve years. Mr. Ashford is best known for his distinct hand painted surrealistic floral paintings in watercolor. These works and others can be seen on his website, blessed-artist.com.  

“Growing up as a black male, I was discouraged from pursing and developing my gift. I remember being told drawing would not put bread on the table. My God given talent was put on a shelf until an educator and a counselor my senior year empowered me. Now I am blessed to be able to feed my family and share my love, my passion, my gift through teaching,” Kevin Ashford aka the BLESSED ARTIST.

Jaylin Stewart is an artist from West Louisville who has dedicated her talents to victims of violence & the community by creating therapeutic artwork. Through her non-profit company, Adah School of Art she provides visual art instruction to children in the West End. Although primarily a painter, her three-dimensional installation, God Rest America, was at Scheherazade Gallery in 2019. In 2020 she kept busy executing chalk sidewalk murals in tribute to health care workers, created an indoor mural at the KMAC Museum, and created an iconic portrait of Breonna Taylor that was projected on Metro Hall during the protests in downtown Louisville. 

Chef Lee was the recipient of the 2019 James Beard Foundation Award for Writing for his book Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting Pot Cuisine. Lee has also been a six-time finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southeast. In 2018, Food & Wine Magazine named 610 Magnolia one of the country’s most important restaurants of the past 40 years. The Michelin Guide DC awarded Succotash a Bib Gourmand in 2019.

His philanthropic work includes the Lee Diversity Scholarship to support the Southern Foodways Alliance Oral History Workshop. In 2018, Chef Lee launched The LEE (Let’s Empower Employment) Initiative, which works to bring more diversity and equality to the restaurant industry.

Lindsey Ofcacek is both a co-founder and the director for The LEE Initiative, which launched in late 2017 and has a mission of addressing issues of diversity and equality in the restaurant industry. Since launching The LEE Initiative, Ofcacek has created several programs under its umbrella, including Women Chefs of KY; Restaurant Workers Relief Program; Restaurant Reboot Relief Program; Regrow; and McAtee Community Kitchen.