Karla Batres Gilvin

As Director of Community Impact, Karla (she/her) is responsible for all projects, initiatives, and events focused on creative placemaking/keeping, community outreach and engagement strategies, place-based work, and public art consulting, education, and community planning. Karla Batres Gilvin moved to Cincinnati in 2011 to obtain a BFA in Sculpture from the Art Academy of Cincinnati. While there, she acted as a coordinator for the Community Education Department, instructed art classes for Camp Art Academy, and met her future collaborator and life partner Bradly Gilvin. Subsequently, Karla taught undergraduate fine art classes and co-founded the art collaborative Batres Gilvin, while obtaining an MFA from UC DAAP. In 2020, Batres Gilvin was presented an Emerging Artist Jump Start Award by ArtWorks. In turn, Karla co-facilitated Give A Minute Cincinnati, a Greater Cincinnati community arts project. Additionally, Batres Gilvin co-created Artworks’ first mural-in-the-round, Casa Colina, and was awarded the Artist-in-Residence at the Contemporary Arts Center and The ArtWorks V² Gallery in 2021. Prior to joining ArtWorks, Karla was the Community Programs Administrator at the Contemporary Arts Center where she worked with artists and organizations to research and develop community-focused programs.

As a practicing artist, educator, and community arts facilitator Karla believes in art as a tool for connection. She values the importance of collaboration, an awareness of intersectionality, and an emphasis on accessibility + inclusivity. She currently lives with her partner and daughter on a Northern Kentucky farm surrounded by art, family, cows, donkeys, and her beloved dogs. She takes pride in being a daughter of immigrants and loves traveling to see her family in Mexico when life permits.