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A shared print media workspace and gallery that provides access

to equipment and classes for intaglio, relief, lithography, and screenprinting.

COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS & PUBLICATIONS

Since our opening in 2015, Calliope has worked with artists in the production of new hand-pulled editions in intaglio, stone lithography, woodcut, and screenprint. We do this on a limited, invitation-only basis, as often as we can. We've published works by artists such as Caroline Woolard (New York, NY), Micah Bloom (Minot, ND), Douglas Degges, and Sophie Radl (New Orleans, LA).

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C19: ART WORKS FOR KENTUCKY

19 visual, literary and performing artists with Kentucky ties are working with Calliope Arts to create images in relief, lithography, screenprint, and intaglio. We're publishing open editions of hand-pulled prints and selling them online via our web store. 

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CLASSES

Several times a year, we offer group classes in screenprint, woodcut, lithography and intaglio taught by local artists. All classes are kept small, so that we can accommodate all experience levels - even if you've never printed before, or are a seasoned pro. 

OUR PROJECT

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When we met at the University of Iowa in 2009, Rudy and I discussed the many ways a cooperative printmaking studio can expand and enrich the lives of artistic producers and collectors in a community. ​In 2013, we founded Calliope Arts as a mobile print workshop, and traveled around the Louisville Metro area giving workshops at local organizations. Throughout that time, we collected equipment and built our studio space in Louisville's Smoketown neighborhood.

 

Since our official opening of the studio in 2015, Calliope has created opportunities for professional and emerging artists and community members to learn printmaking processes, access the equipment they need to make their work, and collect prints from national, regional, and local artists. 

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"Indigenous peoples have always lived on the land that is now called Kentucky, and continue to live here today. The place we now call Kentucky is primarily Shawnee, Cherokee, Chickasaw and Osage land." -Kentuckians for the Commonwealth

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RUDY SALGADO & SUSANNA CRUM

Cofounders 

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Susanna Crum (she/her) and Rudy Salgado (he/him) live in Louisville, KY where they run Calliope Arts, a shared workspace that supports artists working in print media. Together they run a live/work property built in 1885 in downtown Louisville that includes their residence, Calliope's studio, River City Tintype wet plate collodion studio, a large kitchen garden, and a chicken palace. They met in 2009 at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, and moved to Louisville after receiving their MFAs in 2012. In 2013, Susanna received the inaugural M.A. Hadley Prize for Visual Art, which supported travel to print shops around the country to develop plans for Calliope's studio and educational programs.

 

As River City Tintype, Rudy makes images on metal and glass with the 170-year-old method of wet plate collodion photography. Susanna was Associate Professor of Fine Arts - Printmaking at Indiana University Southeast (2015-2022) and President of the Mid America Print Council (2018-2020), and now is Visual Arts educator at Kentucky Country Day School. Susanna and Rudy received numerous grants including Great Meadows Foundation artist  professional development grants. Recent artist residencies include Kunstarhuset Messen, Ålvik, Norway; Mildred's Lane, Beach Lake, PA; Edinburgh Printmakers, Edinburgh, Scotland; and Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA.

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FACILITIES & STUDIO MEMBERSHIP

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Experienced printmakers pay a monthly fee to use our facilities to work independently on projects. 

 

Rembrandt Pelican etching press (24″ x 48″ bed size)

Ettan etching press (24″ x 48″)

Trident etching press (12″ x 36″)

Fuchs & Lang lithography press (24" x 40")

Ferric chloride etching tank

UV exposure unit (up to to 24″ x 36″)

Screen printing vacuum tables (2)

Wash-out booth

Forced air print dryer

30″ x 40″ print drying rack

36″ Pexto plate shear (for custom sizes of copper and ball-grained litho plates, on sale in the studio)

Inking rollers (up to 10" diameter x 27" face length)

Three-season (outdoor) litho graining sink

Litho stone library

Hand brayers 

Flat file storage and lockers for studio members

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Portrait Studio 

We live in an era of disposable snapshots, which we take but seldom look at again. River City Tintype makes one-of-a-kind, heirloom photographs with metal and silver, using hand-coated plates and a process developed in the 19th century. Join us at Calliope's studio for a memorable experience and a photograph that will last a lifetime!

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CONTACT US

324 East College Street, Louisville, KY 40203

 

- open by appointment only -

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