After the success of the inaugural CeLOUbrate Print, we at Portland Museum under the steadfast leadership of artist and educator Erica Lewis blew the lid off for year two. While putting together a print show, arts programming, and maker fair were already a lot to offer, how about some more? For 2025 CeLOUbrate Print marked the return of citywide woodblock carving workshops and the big day of steamroller printing, debuting alongside them Line Byline, an exhibition of original research covering Louisville’s print history, and Carrying The Message, a panel discussion between print figures of past and present. Read on below to learn all about this unforgettable CeLOUbration!
Not the reading type? Don’t worry, we thought of everything. Check out the video above from Sergio Cabrera of Momentos Media, who also provided the photos to follow in this event recap, and get a visual recap of the year’s printmaking festival.
WOODBLOCK CARVING WORKSHOPS
Why go through all the trouble of bringing in the steamroller if people don’t have anything to print with it? We could keep a few pre-carved blocks to show people the process with, sure, but what’s the fun in that? Instead, for the two months leading up to CeLOUbrate Print we offer workshops all over the city of Louisville where attendees are given all the supplies and instruction needed to make a woodblock of their own. For 2025 we hosted EIGHTEEN different workshops, all for completely free! To see all the locations, and a photo from each, follow the link below:
LINE BYLINE EXHIBITION AND ZINE
In partnership Portland Museum, three amazing interns from UofL, and Chad Kamen from the University archives, Erica Lewis curated Line Byline: The Community Makers & Messengers of Louisville Print History, an exhibition covering our city’s history with the print form and its role in social change. Utilizing original research drawing from primary sources housed in Louisville’s premiere archives, Line Byline featured original artifacts and reproductions from publications dating from the 19th to 21st centuries. Read the full curatorial statement from Lewis here:
Once it was time for the exhibition to close, we didn’t want to leave all we learned from it in the minds of its visitors only. As such, in partnership with Kudzu Jelly and with generous support from the Snowy Owl Foundation, we once again under the leadership of Erica Lewis created the Line Byline zine! At over 100 pages, the zine contains all of the exhibit’s text nuzzled within striking visual design utilizing scans from the featured publications. Follow the link below to access it digitally, and ask around for a physical copy, they’re all out there somewhere!
CARRYING THE MESSAGE PANEL DISCUSSION
Carrying the Message: The Power of Local Press occured the night before CeLOUbrate Print and was a lively panel discussion on the liberatory potential of local press between leaders and historians of Louisville’s historic news outlets. It was expertly moderated by Dr. Mark Mattes (UofL English & Hot Brown Press) and included Aukram Burton (The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage), Jose Neil Donis (alDía en América), Spencer Jenkins (Queer Kentucky), and Mary Johnson (The Disability Rag). The hour-long discussion was also live-translated into ASL and Spanish language!
CELOUBRATE PRINT
Steamroller Printing
With refreshments on deck from Tommy’s Pizza and Shippingport Brewing, the steamroller got to printing at 10AM and stayed busy until closing time at 5PM! People returned from the workshops blocks-in-hand while others brough massive masterpieces that there’s no other opportunity to print all year. Multiple printers took the wheel, and canvas ranged from paper to felt to even shirts! Huge thanks to NUCOR for providing the steamroller through their sponsorship, we made the most of it!
Printmaking Activities
CeLOUbrate Print is about much more than just woodblocks and a steamroller though, it was a gathering for Louisville’s entire printmaking community! Free activities for visitors run by these community members included silkscreen, pamphlet-binding, marbling, botanical cyanotypes, and more!
Thank you to all the many people who made this ambitious event possible, and to everyone you participated in it! See you all next year!
