Art Throb

Keelan O’Sullivan, writer, curator, and executive director of Institute 193, joins host Kate Savage to discuss Casey Joiner’s exhibition "Housekeeping," a dreamlike photographic meditation on family, grief, and the architecture of memory. Keelan explains how Casey’s images—rooted in the experience of losing her father and inheriting the family home—balance personal specificity with universal resonance, offering moments of...

In my conversation with Jeremy Kisling we talk about the importance of creating a sense of belonging for young people at the Lexington Children's Theatre.  Jeremy emphasizes the universal need for all individuals to find spaces where they can be authentic and free from societal expectations.  The discussion also explores the role of theatre in personal development, community engagement and the future vision for the theatre&apo...

Joe Farrell, veteran director with a distinguished 60-year career, and actor Joe Gatton, well-known in the Lexington theater scene, join host Kate Savage to discuss their upcoming production of Conor McPherson’s "The Weir" at the Antagonist Theatre. The conversation explores the play’s haunting Irish folklore, its setting in a rural pub where ghost stories are shared to impress—and ultimately reveal—the inner lives of the...

Dr. Vicki Bell, Professor of Music Theory at Asbury University, and Dr. Stephen Bolster, retired Chair of Music at Berea College, join host Kate Savage to share their story as newly appointed co-artistic directors of the Kentucky Bach Choir. Vicki and Stephen recount decades of collaboration, their combined musical backgrounds, and the unique advantages of co-directing a choir—such as sharing responsibilities, blending their skill ...

​Marina Ubaldi Ritter and Lucinda Zoe, members of the Carrot Cake Collective, join Art Throb host Kate Savage to talk about about their efforts to document the history and recipes of the beloved Alfalfa Restaurant in Lexington. The conversation explores the impact of the restaurant's closure during the pandemic, the importance of preserving its legacy, and the community that formed around it. They discuss the challenges of cre...

Margaret Price, award-winning writer and recipient of the Kentucky Arts Council's Al Smith Fellowship, joins host Kate Savage to discuss her new novel Where Stillness Speaks, inspired by decades of research into the mystical world of Kentucky’s Shaker communities. Margaret shares the story’s origins, from a chance encounter with a local storyteller to deep dives into Shaker journals and the secrets of Pleasant Hill. She reflec...

Kevin Nance is a writer and photographer in Lexington. His books include EVEN IF and MIDNIGHT, both collections of photographs and haiku; GENEVA’S GARDEN: FOUR SEASONS OF BEAUTY IN LEXINGTON’S GRATZ PARK, a book of photographs; and most recently SMOKE, a poetry collection just out from Accents Publishing,

As an arts journalist, Kevin writes for Lexington’s online arts magazine Undermain and has also written for the Washing...

Seth Tusker, son of the late artist and educator John Regis Tusker, joins Kate  to recount the creation and evolution of the Mythos Experience—an immersive, reflective art encounter originally inspired by his father’s work. Seth shares the story of how the program moved from its first pop-up in a church sanctuary to being embraced by Lexington’s schools, and how the experience centers on guided journaling, self-discovery, and conne...

Celeste Lewis, longtime manager of the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center (PMDAC), joins host Kate Savage to reflect on more than a decade of transformation at this Lexington cultural hub. Celeste traces the building’s evolution from a retail block to a multi-use arts center, noting key milestones like the closure of beloved venues Alfalfa’s and Ann Tower Gallery, changes in gallery spaces, and how the center navigated challenges—incl...

Michael Morris is a photographer and designer living in Louisville, KY and working in marketing.
​He is a self-described introvert who is much more comfortable writing to people than talking to them, who uses photograph and exploration as a way to force himself to try and connect more with the world.
He began exploring Kentucky in late 2011 with an old Hasselblad camera, some black and white film and a thermos full of coff...

Sarah Porter, Music Program Specialist at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, and Becky Soules, Director of Collections and Education, join host Kate Savage to explore the profound influence of music and craft in Shaker life. Sarah delves into the unique, unifying role of Shaker music—sung daily in a cappella unison, often accompanied by dance, and integral to both worship and work—sharing insights on its history, regional influences,...

Noa Gimelli, expert in female economic participation and chair of the Fund for Greater Lexington, joins host Kate Savage to discuss the ambitious vision behind incubating transformational projects for Lexington—including a proposed Visual and Performing Arts Center downtown. Noa explains how the Fund’s advisory group mapped local needs into five pillars—arts and culture, youth, green spaces, housing, and transportation—leveraging c...

Drew Barr has directed productions of new, modern, and classical plays and musicals for theaters across the United States and around the world. He directed the Dutch-language premiere of the National Theatre of London’s War Horse, which opened at Amsterdam’s Royal Carré Theatre before a year-long tour of the Netherlands and Belgium. For the National Theatre, he also directed the Australian premiere of War Horse, which ran in Melbou...

Lina Tharsing and Liz Swanson, Lexington-based artists featured in the Lexington Art League’s “Axis Mundi” exhibition, join Kate to discuss the deep thematic roots and personal resonances behind their work. Liz reflects on her fascination with the ethereal—clouds painted atop near-forgotten architectural renderings, exploring temporality, memory, and the shifting value of creative artifacts. Lyna shares how profound loss and dreams...

About Ghost Music
It’s only been a month since Dawn’s musician husband, Clark, suddenly died. When his former student shows up with missing pages from Clark’s unfinished book, voices from the pages are reawakened. A portal from the past cracks open, transporting us back to German Romanticism and renowned pianist Clara Schumann. As she desperately tries to preserve the dignity of her husband, the brilliant composer Robert Schuma...

Georgia Henkel, a recently retired Lexington-based artist, joins host Kate Savage on Art Throb to explore her unique approach to art through the use of organic materials. Georgia delves into her lifetime of collecting bones, body parts, and other found objects from nature, as currently showcased in her collaborative exhibition "Axis Mundi" at the Loudon House. The show, which is ongoing until the 16th of May, features her...

Constance Grayson is an artist and a retired attorney having spent the latter part of her legal cereer as an advocate for children in the foster care system.
She recently started Kids Place Lex, Inc as a not-for-profit organization with a mission to provide free quality art classes for foster care children and at-risk youth in Fayette County and contiguous counties.
These classes are taught by art educators and profess...

Jacob Herrera Wachal is an artist and educator from Lexington, Kentucky, as well as a founding member of Liquified. Liquified is a performing arts collective specializing in projected time-based installations as an accompaniment to live music. Their performances are grounded in the techniques pioneered by avant-garde liquid light acts of the 1960’s such as Light Sound Dimension and The Holy See, who quickly found popularity when pa...

Kate Savage, host of Art Throb, engages in a vibrant discussion with Lee Carroll and Connie Milligan, co-founders of the Greenroom Exchange. Lee, a career musician, and Connie, a social worker passionate about social change, share their work with the nonprofit organization that brings international artists to the Bluegrass. They delve into their upcoming event featuring Kodo, a renowned Japanese Taiko drumming group. With a perform...