Artists Talk with LVA SPECIAL: April 13, 2025

Dr. Rob Quicke is the Director and Professor of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism & Mass Communications at Marshall University, West Virginia, and the author of Finding Your Voice in Radio, Audio, and Podcast Production.

Previously Quicke was a tenured Professor of Communication at William Paterson University of New Jersey, where he served as Chair and in leadership of the Communication Department.

In 2013, Dr. Quicke was recognized with the Outstanding Service Award from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System for his dedication to academic broadcasting. In 2020, Dr. Quicke was awarded the Joel Willer Award for Exceptional Dedication and Service to Electronic Student Media by College Broadcasters, Inc.  Dr. Quicke is also founder of The Dead Podcasters Society and has recently launched a podcasting program and lab at William Paterson University.

Dr. Quicke sat down for an interview when he visited WXOX/Artxfm during the 75th hour of Vinylthon 2025. Rb also recorded this interview for possible inclusion on his podcast, Quicke Takes.

Artists Talk with LVA: April 10, 2025

Morgan McGill & Haylie Fitzgibbon are featured in the 2025 Art in City Hall exhibition and will join us in the studio this week. Tune into WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Morgan McGill is a Louisville-based artist and designer who blends collage, printmaking, and painting to explore themes of empowerment and community. In both her studio work and public art, her work focuses on storytelling, particularly highlighting the ways women support and uplift one another. 

A graduate of the Hite Art Institute at the University of Louisville, McGill has studied and exhibited internationally. She was commissioned to honor Muhammad Ali with a mural for the 2021 Imagine Mural Festival and contributed to the We Don’t Wither exhibition at the Muhammad Ali Center in 2023. Her recent work with Bloomberg Philanthropies helped combat urban heat and improve pedestrian safety in Louisville’s Parkland neighborhood. She has been awarded multiple grants through the Great Meadows Foundation and the Kentucky Foundation for Women, using her art to document and share the stories of women throughout Kentucky.

Haylie Fitzgibbon is a printmaker and mixed media artist born and raised in Louisville, currently pursuing a BFA at the Hite Art Institute at the University of Louisville. Her work showcases themes of childhood nostalgia, love, and the blend of chaos and beauty of nature.

Both artists are featured in the 2025 Art in City Hall exhibit that runs through the remainder of the year.

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 20, 2025

The 2025 LVA Honors will recognize Annette Cable and Dr. Jabani Bennett and both joined us this week live in the studio. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Annette Cable (2025 Art Educator) grew up in the country outside of Columbus, Ohio and graduated from the Columbus College of Art and Design. As an illustrator, she has worked for commercial clients nationwide, including having illustrated 20 children’s picture books. She has worked for LVA for many years and has been a CFAC teacher, an Open Doors teacher, and a Summer Camp coordinator and teacher. She has been the LVA Education Director since 2016.

Her non-profit experience includes her work with many local museums and historic landmarks, including the Portland Museum for the past 25 years. From her drawing board and computer screen creating book illustrations to large murals, art classrooms, and community centers, creativity, community, and education encompass her teaching philosophy. 

Dr. Jabani Bennett (2025 Community Impact) served as the first Black woman director of the Women’s Center at the University of Louisville and as a student in 2007 was the student events coordinator at the center and led one of the few community-wide celebrations for LGBTQIA women on campus.

Dr. Bennett has shaped and provided oversight over numerous creative and inclusive learning and engagement programs for diverse learners across their lifespans. Her career as an award-winning arts educator in New York City and Louisville public schools informs her current projects in social justice, cultural equity planning, and empowering self-identified femmes and feminine-presenting women through the arts. 

In October 2024 through January 2025, The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage hosted her solo exhibition, And Say Hi To Your Mother: 30 Portraits of Black Women Culture Leaders.