SHOP TALK

Shop Talk is a celebration of the communal spirit shared by printmakers. Not one artist or studio is an island. As printers, we rely on one another for wisdom, inspiration, progression of skill, and camaraderie. The historic Portland neighborhood of Louisville is the city’s oldest and has long been a place full of artists, musicians, travelers, and craftspeople passing through on the Ohio River. Those port-town days of Portland connected resident and traveling artists near and far for collaboration, distribution, and more, and in celebration of this spirit exhibit curator Shannon Delahanty asked Louisville printmakers to pick an out-of-town “print pal” to be shown alongside them. Shop Talk connects printers from nearby and far away to showcase diverse techniques, subjects, and perspectives to honor artists’ contributions to their communities.

Portland Museum has a rich legacy in bringing humanities and art programs to surrounding families and visitors – including letterpress classes in its Beech Grove Press studio. Starting in a supply room of the museum back in the 1970s, this little studio has grown through the ongoing support of artists and printers, and it will soon find a new home on Portland Museum’s expanding campus. To the east is the beautiful Victorian house that will become Kentucky’s first children’s museum: AHOY. To the west is a brick fourplex currently being renovated to house the new and improved Beech Grove Press along with a fully furnished artist residency. This building will be called The Lighthouse.

Stay tuned for future programming utilizing this exciting new space!