ABCs: Art, Books, & Coffee
Enjoy a mix of art exploration, book club conversation, and coffeehouse flavors during ABCs: Art, Books, & Coffee. Each gathering will center on a selected book & an artwork on view at Jasteka Cultural Center, connecting creativity, history, ideas, and personal stories, with plenty of coffee.
Free! Please register for each session below so we can buy you a coffee. Held every other month on the second Saturday, 10:30am-12:00pm.
Image: Lisa Anne Auerbach, Ideology and Utopia, 2018. Merino wool stitched onto stretched linen.
March 14th, 2026, 10:30am-12:00pm
ABCs: My Father’s Paradise by Ariel Sabar & Salted River by Vian Sora
Part history, part biography, My Father’s Paradise, tells the story of Ariel Sabar’s discovery of his family heritage and Middle-Eastern history. Artist Vian Sora was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq and now lives in Louisville. Through her abstracted paintings, she explores personal experiences, cultural histories, and the impacts of war and displacement.
Image: Vian Sora, Salted River, 2023. Acrylic and oil on canvas.
May 9th, 2026, 10:30am-12:00pm
ABCs: Mona's Eyes by Thomas Schlesser & God Whistle by Sanford Biggers
Mona’s Eyes explores five centuries of art history through the bond between grandfather and granddaughter. Exploring that same history, artist Sanford Biggers, draws attention to global identities and what artworks are deemed as “classics.”
Image: Sanford Biggers, God Whistle, 2024. Marble.
July 11th, 2026, 10:30am-12:00pm
ABCs: Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson & "The Young, The Brave, Bobby Hutton" R.I.P. Oakland, California by Henry Taylor
Through stories and recipes, Crystal Wilkinson invites us to experience the little-told heritage of Black Appalachia; while Henry Taylor recreates a photograph of Bobby Hutton, referencing a well-known 1968 event crucial to the civil rights movement.
Image: Henry Taylor, "The Young, The Brave, Bobby Hutton" R.I.P. Oakland, California, 2007. Acrylic, charcoal, and graphite on canvas.
September 12th, 2026, 10:30am-12:00pm
ABCs: Solito by Javier Zamora & We the People (detail) by Danh Vo
September will feature the book Solito by Javier Zamora and Danh Vo’s sculpture We the People (detail). This author and artist share the experience of fleeing their home countries as young children. Solito tells the story of Zamora’s harrowing journey; while Vo’s sculpture encourages us to reflect on varied meanings of liberty.
Image: Danh Vo, We the People (detail), 2011. Copper.