Donyalle Jackson

CPI Fellow, 2026-2027 Cohort

Sacred Earth

Donyalle Jackson is a multidisciplinary artist born and based in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was raised in the vibrant West End community. Growing up in this environment deeply influenced her creative perspective and sparked her early love for artistic expression. Her artistic journey developed through a mix of lived experience, personal exploration, and formal education. She earned a BA in Visual Arts from the University of Louisville as a first-generation college graduate, concentrating in painting and fiber arts with a focus on Art Education.

Today, Donyalle’s practice centers on public art, community engagement, and creative education. She regularly collaborates with artists, community leaders, and organizations such as the Speed Art Museum, Boys & Girls Club, Bridge Kids International, Louisville Free Public Library, and Louisville Visual Art to create programs and projects that use art as a tool for healing, connection, and empowerment—particularly for minority youth.

Her work is rooted in her experience as a Black woman from the South and often explores spirituality, emotional depth, and the transformative power of creativity. Through murals, workshops, and collaborative projects, she aims to create spaces where people can reconnect with their inner light and recognize art as a catalyst for personal and collective change.

For her CPI project, Donyalle is interested in exploring themes of food justice, sustainability, and community care, particularly as they relate to neighborhoods that experience limited access to fresh and nutritious food. Her project, “Nourish: Art, Sustainability, and Community,” will be a curated exhibition that brings together local artists to explore the complex relationship between food justice and creative expression.

Exploratory Project Interests

Nourish: Art, Sustainability, and Community” will serve as both a visual dialogue and a call to action, shedding light on the importance of food accessibility, the environmental and social consequences of food waste, and the power of community-driven solutions.

Through painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, and interactive installations, artists will engage with themes such as the abundance of food waste juxtaposed with hunger, the cultural significance of food in underserved communities, and sustainable practices that can create lasting change.

In partnership with a local nonprofit, this exhibition will not only showcase art but also function as a space for education and engagement. The project may include artist talks, community discussions, and workshops on food sustainability, emphasizing ways to combat food deserts and support ethical food distribution. Donyalle is also interested in collaborating with the organization to incorporate donation opportunities, food drives, and possibly even live demonstrations of their food redistribution efforts.

At its core, “Nourish” aligns with the mission of activating the power within our own communities. This exhibition will center voices that are often unheard, bringing visibility to the resilience and creativity within the West End.

This project is an opportunity to uplift, educate, and inspire. By merging art with advocacy, “Nourish” will cultivate a deeper understanding of food justice and sustainability while celebrating the strength and ingenuity of the community. “Nourish” is not just an art show—it is a statement, a movement, and a reflection of the power communities already possess to change today for a better tomorrow.

Skylar Davis

CPI Fellow, 2026-2027 Cohort

Skylar Davis is a mixed media artist and photographer based in Louisville, Kentucky, with over 18 years of experience. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Photography from Eastern Kentucky University in 2012. As a queer Appalachian woman, her practice centers storytelling, visibility, and the power of marginalized communities to control their own narratives. Her work blends photography, audio, and textile-based methods, drawing on intergenerational knowledge passed down from four generations of women in her family.

Skylar’s previously funded projects include 100 Women, Pillow Talk, and Stitched Histories—community-focused works that uplift women and LGBTQ+ Kentuckians through visual and narrative art. She is currently developing We Exist, a statewide photography and audio project documenting LGBTQ+ Kentuckians across 50 counties, which will be archived with the Faulkner Morgan Archive.

In addition to her artistic practice, Skylar is an experienced organizer and founder of Period Y’all, working at the intersection of art, advocacy, and social justice across Kentucky.

For her CPI project, Skylar is interested in exploring themes of belonging, visibility, and care for LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized communities. In the current political and cultural climate, it is easy to feel as though the world is hostile toward LGBTQ+ existence. Skylar is interested in how curated, publicly accessible art can counter that feeling by creating moments of affirmation, celebration, and support, especially in spaces where people may not expect to encounter themselves.

Exploratory Project Interests

Through a CPI project, Skylar is most curious about exploring themes of belonging, visibility, and care for LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized communities. In the current political and cultural climate, it is easy to feel as though the world is hostile toward LGBTQ+ existence. Skylar is interested in how curated, publicly accessible art can counter that feeling by creating moments of affirmation, celebration, and support, especially in spaces where people may not expect to encounter themselves.

Skylar is drawn to work that centers lived experience and emotional truth, whether through joy, tenderness, or resilience. Rather than focusing solely on harm or struggle, she is interested in uplifting narratives that allow LGBTQ+ people to be seen as whole. Skylar wants the primary audience for the work to be the people most impacted, with art that feels accessible rather than distant or academic. Supporting LGBTQ+ and other marginalized artists is central to this interest.

Ultimately, Skylar sees a CPI project as an opportunity to create space for reflection and connection. She is curious about how art in community-facing spaces can offer reassurance, foster belonging, and remind people, especially those who feel targeted or unseen, that they are not alone and that their lives, stories, and creativity matter.