Ashley Cathey

Ashley Cathey is a curator and multidisciplinary social change artist, artivist and muralist. Her large, oil and acrylic portraits centralize the experiences of black bodies during and after the African Diaspora. Cathey is the Founder of a new initiative “The Healing Walls Project” to help amplify BIPOC artists through public art in Louisville and surrounding cities. Most recently she became Creative Director of Visual Arts at Creatives of Color Collective (C3), an incubator for BIPOC creatives of all disciplines sponsored by the Fund For the Arts. Cathey’s self-taught artistry started to emerge ideas of feminism through the lens of women of color; who have influenced her through the art of music, dance, and spoken word. These influences allowed her to display her emotions on canvas and in public spaces. Her work has gained local and global recognition from the supporters of her movement. She curated the exhibit “Black Before I was Born: a meditation on identity”. Cathey’s progression has opened up a new project for Black Artists with Louisville Visual Arts and The Community Foundation of Louisville. Cathey’s activism in a time of uprising has influenced her to use her vibrant artistic style to continue to spread awareness for black artists in the Louisville area and beyond.