In a unique collaboration between Kentucky Opera and Louisville Visual Art, students enrolled In The Academy of LVA during the spring semester were engaged in a contest to create artwork inspired by Kentucky Opera’s Brown-Forman 2018/19 Season — "The Magic Flute," "Enemies, A Love Story," and “Rigoletto." The winning submission best represented the upcoming season.
Congrats to Madelynn Hicks, a 17-year-old junior at North Oldham High School, who studied under teacher Sunny Ra. She will be awarded a $250 cash prize by LVA. Additionally, Kentucky Opera will make a commemorative season poster to feature this winning submission.
LVA and Kentucky Opera greatly enjoyed collaborating on this incredible opportunity for a high school student's works to be selected!
All of us at Louisville Visual Art bid a fond farewell to Sunny Ra, a local artist who has been involved with us for many years as a teacher. She will shortly be on her way to take up the post of Museum Educator for K-12 and Community Programs at The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College in upstate New York.
Sunny is a Louisville native who received her BFA from the University of Pennsylvania and earned an MFA from Hunter College CUNY. She exhibited with LVA in 2014 and taught Painting and Developing Concepts in our Academy program for high school students. Additionally, she was an instructor for the Governor’s School for the Arts.
We are extremely grateful to have had Sunny as an important part of our family for the last several years, and we wish her the best in her new adventure!
Each year, Louisville Visual Art hosts a gallery exhibit of the work from The Academy of LVA in the late spring/early summer. Each student has work on display, providing them a chance to see their work in an exhibition and to share that experience with their families. Students have the option to sell their own artwork, with 80% of all sales going directly back to the student artist and 20% going back to LVA to help provide scholarships for future students. Students can also list their work as NFS (not for sale).
LVA's CFAC & Academy Director Annette Cable, Wilma Bethel, LVA Executive Director Lindy Casebier, Andrew Preston, and William Duffy presented awards to Academy graduates.
Claire Mundy received the Community Award, sponsored by Preston Arts Center and presented by their store manager, Andrew Preston.
Payton Sprau received the Portfolio Award, sponsored by Artist & Craftsman Supply and presented by teacher Wilma Bethel.
River Skipworth received the Vision Award, sponsored by LVA and presented by teacher William Duffy.
LVA Board Chair Marti Kuehn enjoyed the perfect weather with Board Members Wilma Bethel, Lisa Huber, and Executive Director Lindy Casebier.
Another productive semester of LVA's Academy!
Art brings everyone closer!
Another productive semester of LVA's Academy!
A great crowd gathered to celebrate the 2017-18 Academy of LVA success stories. Join us again for more:
Upcoming Events May 20 from 2-4 PM: CFAC Middle School reception June 3 from 2-4 PM: CFAC Elementary School reception
May 9-16: The Academy of LVA (High School) exhibition May 20-30: CFAC Middle School exhibition June 3-13: CFAC Elementary School exhibition Gallery hours: Mondays - Thursdays from 12-4 PM or by appointment.
Children's Fine Art Classes (CFAC), founded in 1925, has remained the cornerstone of Louisville Visual Art's program. Jackie Pallesen came onboard as CFAC director in 2011, and it wasn't long before she charted a path of innovation that brought that program, and all of LVA's education department, online and into the 21st century.
She did it by building a management team, one that recognized that the long-term future of non-profit arts centered on the expansion of education programming, and brought innovation to the table. Her first step in that process was hiring Sarah Davis to be CFAC director.
"It's easy to understand what an amazing impact Jackie has made on LVA when you see the numbers rapidly growing under her leadership," Sarah observes, "but I think the most significant thing she contributed to LVA is harder to quantify. Jackie made sure programming was meaningful and thoughtfully executed."
"Both LVA, as well as the entire Louisville community, have been fortunate to have her for the past six-and-a-half years, and I can't wait to see how she brings this same energy and passion to her new students," says Sarah.
Once the CFAC selection and registration process was a mountain of paperwork that descended upon the LVA office twice a year. Now it functions in a streamlined manner through an almost entirely online registration.
Recognizing that the CFAC high school curriculum demanded an upgrade, and needing to address the needs of students preparing for college, Jackie led her team in researching what other visual art programs for ages 14-18 were doing around the country. In 2015, they launched The Academy at LVA, an ambitious advance for the Louisville community.
When Kroger prepared to launch a mural initiative for their Louisville market, it was Jackie that took charge of the project, acclimating Kroger executives to a process of issuing the Call to Artists, reviewing portfolios and original proposals, and the final selection of artists for each location over the last 2 1/2 years.
One reason for Jackie's enthusiasm for the Kroger Mural Project was that it provided a first step in realizing a long-developing desire for LVA to initiate a larger mural initiative - one that would encourage community leaders and local businesses to invest in local artists and the expansion of public art.
Lindy Casebier, Executive Director of LVA, expressed appreciation for her leadership and laying a solid foundation for the next successful chapter in the life of the organization.
There have been a long line of innovative leaders in the education department; Peg Smith and Linda Sanders come immediately to mind. Talented people move in and out of non-profits all the time, but if the hope and ambition is that you leave the place better than you found it, then Jackie Pallesen's time at LVA was certainly well-spent. The organization, the programs and the people involved can only be grateful for that legacy.
LVA Academy Painting 2 student artists worked on a final independent project that reflected what they have learned over this semester with instructor Sunny:
Inspired by artist Kehinde Wiley, Painting 2 student artists in The Academy of LVA used their own unique stories as a backdrop to their self-portraits. Photos by instructor Sunny:
Academy Drawing & Painting 1 students worked on a Value Study project on a recent Saturday afternoon in our Clifton Center classroom with instructor Leslie!
Our Academy-level Painting II class builds upon instruction from Drawing and Painting I, focusing on the study of portraits and still life utilizing both acrylic and oil paints. The curriculum provides opportunities for experimentation with painting on a variety of different textures and provides further knowledge of a variety of tools, including palette knives and specialty brushes. This course is a comprehensive study of the principals of composition, staging, line, pattern, value, tone, and color theories. Emphasis is placed on the creative process from concept to completed work.
