Vignette: 2021 Academy Outstanding Seniors

“God is the Greatest”, Tarina Henry, duPont Manual

By Keith Waits

Entire contents are copyright © 2021 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

How we measure academic development has been a somewhat controversial topic for quite some time now, but when we step into the arts the range of progress can be especially difficult to determine unless you know the student. If we follow a rubric for skills in draughtsmanship or understanding of color it can seem a dry and impersonal method to summarize what is expected to be a highly personal means of expression. These students were recognized in an awards presentation at the Opening Reception for the 2021 Academy at LVA Exhibition:

Academy at LVA student Elaina Render, a senior at duPont Manual, has many still life studies in her portfolio that allow us to track her earnest growth, but it is in her “Poe” that we see the cumulative results. The B&W pen and ink drawing is almost perfectly composed, a cleanly executed graphic illustration that displays a sensibility following in the footsteps of the legendary Edward Gorey.

Elaina was accepted into a whole roster of top schools, and has decided to attend Georgia Institute of Technology.

“Poe”, Elaina Render, duPont Manual

North Oldham senior Malva Wieck’s pencil study of a wrapped peppermint shows an attention to detail and accomplished comprehension of dimension. The thought of spending a few hours looking intently at a piece of candy might sound like the epitome of boredom, but that patient observation is an instructor’s dream. 

In the fall Malva will attend the “school of my dreams”: Amherst College, where she has been awarded significant financial aid and intends to double-major in Environmental Science and Art History.

“Minty Fresh”, Malva Wieck, North Oldham HS

Raegan Coots spent five years in the LVA Children’s Fine Art Classes (CFAC) and four in the Academy, all while staying on the Honor Roll and being consistently recognized for outstanding achievement at Trinity High School. His “Clipper Ship” has the straightforward narrative thrust that places us in the pages of a book; the vessel moving off the edge of the page suggesting a continuing story.

Raegan has been accepted into Indiana University Southeast where he expects to major in Fine Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design.

“Clipper Ship”, Raegan Coots, Trinity HS

In contrast to these first three young artists, Tarina Henry has come to the Academy at LVA in just her last semester before college, but she was clearly busy at the Visual Arts Magnet at duPont Manual and being a Governor’s Scholar. Her “God is the Greatest” is a stunning expression of islamic culture that shows off a very sophisticated use of color.

Tarina has committed to the University of Kentucky’s College of Design for Architecture. She has received a Diversity Scholarship and Provost Scholarship on top of KEES, Federal Pell Grant, and other financial support.

Since 1925, LVA visual art education programs have been not only training the next generations of artists but also building an arts rich education for future leaders in all walks of life. Congratulations to all Academy at LVA seniors!

The 2021 Academy of LVA Exhibition
May 7 - 20

Monday through Thursdays 1 - 4 pm

LVA Gallery
1538 Lytle Street
Louisville, KY 40203
(502) 584-8166

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“Watermelon Haze”, Tarina Henry, Academy at LVA and duPont Manual student

“Northern Lights”, Malva Wieck, Academy at LVA and North Oldham HS student

“Apple a Day”, Elaina Render, Academy at LVA and duPont Manual student

“Eagle”, Raegan Coots, Academy at LVA and Trinity HS student

Written by Keith Waits.
In addition to his work as Operations Director at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

Artebella On The Radio: May 6

Bette Levy & Kathleen Loomis are exhibiting new work together in PYRO Gallery’s new exhibition, "Reconfiguration". They joined us to talk about it on WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on Artfm.com.

Bette Levy views the creation of her art as a continuum where every work is influenced and enhanced by previous artwork. With each successive piece of art, she is incorporating gained knowledge and capabilities. She also believes her understanding of her artwork only becomes clear after the work is completed. Levy has no pre-conceived interpretation or meaning of her work other than its form. And this often changes over time as a result of life experiences and perceptions.

Kathleen Loomis thinks of “reconfiguration” slightly differently than Bette does – for her, it’s the finding of old things and giving them new life in art. She is a world-class pack rat, acquiring stuff from the street when she walks, checking out other people’s junk on trash pickup day, accepting discards from friends, even tearing apart old books that she knows nobody will ever want to read. Loomis likes to reassemble these disparate things and see what happens when they get into small groups and start to talk to one another.

PYRO’s new exhibition, RECONFIGURATION, featuring work by Bette Levy and Kathleen Loomis, opens on May 2 and runs through May 30. The gallery is open Friday and Saturday, from 12 to 6 PM and Sunday from 1 PM to 4 PM, and by appointment.

Artebella On The Radio: April 29

Kyle Citrynell, Vallorie Henderson, Ramona Lindsey, & Sarah Lindgren recently participated in a State of the Arts panel for LVA, and this week we will listen to portions of that conversation. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on Artxfm.com this Thursday at 10 am to join in.

As the COVID pandemic slowly begins to wind down and 2020 gains distance in our rear-view mirror, it feels like a time to take stock. How did artists fare in the time of pandemic and what has been their contribution to society in such difficult times? We also want to talk about what resources are available for artists and what the immediate future might look like in the “new normal” awaiting us all. For this conversation we welcome four highly respected professionals who have experience with these and other related questions: 

Kyle Citrynell has a national litigation and transactional practice in the areas of arts, entertainment, media, publishing, and technology, and intellectual property law. Kyle has litigated copyright, trademark, trade dress, trade secret and patent matters, and cases involving business torts and unfair competition, as well as employment and product liability. She has worked with for-profit and tax-exempt organizations from formation and as corporate counsel covering a wide variety of licensing, merchandising, distribution, and franchising transactions for any and all manner of creatives.

Vallorie Henderson is the Center Director, Kentucky Small Business Development Center in Berea, which is the first SBDC in the U.S. that focuses on the impact created by entrepreneurs working within the creative and tourism sectors of the U.S. economy. Vallorie has also served as Business Development Director of the Kentucky Arts Council and is herself a Working textile artist. 

Sarah Lindgren is currently the Public Art Administrator for Louisville Metro Government where she supports Arts & Culture initiatives within Develop Louisville, a city department that includes a range of land and community development programs.  

Sarah manages the city's External Agency Fund grants for arts programs, as well as public art collections and exhibitions. Recent projects include the city’s “Build Back Better, Together” initiative, and “Making It Public”, a series of public art workshops and opportunities, in collaboration with Forecast Public Art and Community Foundation of Louisville.

Sarah currently serves on Louisville’s Commission on Public Art, Arts & Culture Alliance Board, and Kentucky Arts Council Peer Advisory Network.

Ramona Dallum Lindsey joined the Community Foundation of Louisville in 2017 and is currently a Senior Program Officer where she is primarily responsible for several foundation efforts focusing on racial justice, community empowerment, and leadership development. Before that, she was at KMAC Museum as their Director of Education and Museum Educator. As a practicing mixed media textile artist, Ramona’s artistic practice and visionary background equip her to think outside traditional processes to coordinate, design, develop, implement, advise and manage philanthropic, civic, and cultural initiatives shifting decision making to those most impacted by systemic injustice. 

Artebella On The Radio: April 22

Hallie Dizdarevic is the Director of Creative Engagement has a long history with Commonwealth Theatre Center.  She began working with Walden Theatre in 2006 and Blue Apple Players in 2008. She is proud to have taught at every level of the Conservatory over the years, especially at the Imagination level which she developed and launched in 2013.  Hallie has also been responsible for developing many successful Outreach programs such as Connecting Cultures, Spanish Movement for Stories, and Resiliency; a drama curriculum intended to destigmatize trauma and introduce an arsenal of positive coping mechanisms to children who have experienced high levels of Adverse Childhood Experiences. Hallie is currently heading up a three year project funded by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art and the NEA that is intended to increase tolerance and understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim members of the Louisville community 

Denmo Ibrahim is a first-generation Egyptian-American playwright, actor, and entrepreneur who the San Francisco Chronicle called  “a tower of strength in the Bay Area theatre scene.” Denmo was one of 25 theatre artists nominated for the Rainin Fellowship (2020) and was a Sundance Theatre Lab Finalist.

Denmo joins the Connecting Cultures team as the playwright and lead actor in “Zaynab’s Night of Destiny”, an audio immersive play premiering later this year.

Artebella On The Radio: April 15

Andy Perez is the 2021 KY Derby Poster Artists and our guest this week. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Keith Waits talk with artists.

Andy Perez is a visual artist, Illustrator, and graphic designer. Originally from Kentuckiana, he received a BFA from The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2004. He now resides in Louisville, KY with his wife and daughter.

“My work has been featured in publications and galleries across the US. I work on a variety of projects including (but not limited to) editorial, conceptual, and advertising illustration. My work is mostly executed with collage and acrylic paint, along with other mixed media.” - Andy Perez