An LVA Exhibit for Louisville’s Metro Hall
October 8 – November 23, 2021
Three local artists, working in different mediums and each with their own unique perspective, bridge time and space in charting facets of the Black experience. Celebrated as a sculptor, William M. Duffy spent much of his earlier career as a printmaker, touching upon the deep reservoir of African American history. Known as a trailblazer in music education, with his camera Ed White captures people who occupy the space of the streets. Whether it be in neighborhoods or downtown business or municipal blocks, Ed sees them all as part of the same community; Citizens of Louisville. A good many of these images are of people going to the polls in November 2020, exercising the most cherished privilege of that citizenship. In the heightened imagery of MAD MOON VyBE we find real people upon which the artist has projected a myriad of cultural hopes and struggles.
Stairway: Chip “Kafele” Calloway aka MAD MOON VyBE is visual and audio artist who working in Louisville and St. Louis and a member of Healing Walls Project. He creates counter-cultural illustrations that “bring out the hip-hop head in all of us” calling his works “visual dope lyrics”, heavily influenced by black music, animation, and comics like the X-Men. These pieces are my thoughts, my hopes, my fears, and journeys”. Although not strictly an Afrofuturist, MAD MOON’s work is resonant of that aesthetic, full of imagination expressed through calculated distortions of form and color.
2nd floor hallway: Edward “Nardie” White devoted his life to leading the African-American drum corps he co-founded with wife Zambia Nkrumah in Louisville, Kentucky three decades ago. Together they inspired youth from their West Louisville neighborhood to thrive by connecting them with the art and cultural traditions of their African ancestors. After leaving this legacy to his predecessor, Mr. White has decided to pursue his lifelong passion of photography.
4th floor hallway: William M. Duffy's works have been featured in shows at Bellarmine University, Spalding University, and Jefferson Community College and can be found in numerous private, corporate, and public collections, including Phillip Morris USA, Brown-Forman Corporation, YUM! Brands, Inc., Humana Inc., The Louisville Orchestra, and the Speed Art Museum. In the area's exhibitions of African-American artists' work, his graphics and sculptures have been recognized often with purchase awards. Most recently, he was a key artist for “On The Banks Of Freedom”, a public installation that is part of (Un)known Project from IDEASX Lab.