Equal Temperament

Equal Temperament highlights the multifaceted nature of modern metalworking in a juried art show, accompanied by a variety of interpretive programming to showcase metal’s links with other artistic and historical forms. The show invites artists to submit works inspired by or including metalworking or forging that safely fit within a USPS Flat Rate Shipping Box. The works will be juried by an independent panel and showcased at the Kentucky Museum during a 10-month exhibition from July 2025 to April 2026.

Update, November 19, 2025

Five awards were given, named in recognition of the field's historical innovations:

• Kentucky Museum Purchase Award, $600   
  • Recipient Harlan W. Butt for artwork entitled: Hephaestus
• Ulfberht Award for the most puzzling work, $250   
  • Recipient Emily Budd for artwork entitled: Secret Monument
• Masamune Award for the most intricate work, $250
  • Recipient Abigail Poplin for artwork entitled: The Burden
• Yellin Award for the most functional work, $250
  • Recipient Nate Weiss work artwork entitled: Critical Interventions
• Brim Award for the most humorous or fantasy-like work, $250
  • Recipient Elizabeth F. Folk for artwork entitled: Puffy Fussy

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Important Dates:

October 11, 2025 - Hammer-In weekend and Exhibition Awards Reception. 

Recommended hotels near the Kentucky Museum / WKU are detailed here. 

April 30, 2026 - Exhibition closes. Works will be returned to the artists via USPS Flat Rate Shipping.

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Hammer-In 2025

In honor of our 10th anniversary, Dr. Liza Kelly and WKU students present "Sounds of the Forge," a musical performance featuring historical songs about blacksmithing or inspired by sounds heard in blacksmithing shops.

Join us at the Kentucky Museum for a free community event celebrating the metal workers' trade, including:

• Forge demonstrations.
• Tinsmithing demonstrations.
• Aluminum Pour demonstration and make-your-own pour.
• Basic Forge Skills Demonstrations.
• Opportunity to meet metalworkers and artisans, shop/commission, and discover Southcentral Kentucky's rich artisan community.
• Opportunity to learn about joining metal working associations and getting started in the trade.
• Learn about the Kentucky Forge Council and become a member.
• Kentucky Folklife Program Narrative Stage, including an interview with our Featured Blacksmiths.
• Cotton BBQ food truck.

Click here to learn more.

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Why Metalworking?

Metalworking is one of the oldest professions and artistic mediums in the world. Begun at least 3,000 years ago, when the Hittites of Anatolia began smelting iron, metalworking - and the profession of blacksmithing - continued as an integral part of human culture. Smiths created the everyday and extraordinary: from nails to hold homes and carts together, to the masterpieces of Renaissance cathedrals and modern sculptures.

Today, blacksmithing remains an integral part of Kentuckians’ lives – represented both in the home forge of independent smiths and local councils as well as the metal industries based in aluminum, copper, and steel that are growing the Commonwealth's economic prosperity. According to Kentucky’s Cabinet for Economic Development, since 2017, aluminum companies alone have provided over 90 new or expansion projects totaling $2.7 billion in investment in the state – and the now over 180 facilities provide 21,000 full-time jobs for Kentuckians.

Yet metalworking is also a creative outlet, providing a blend of economic impact and creative freedom not often seen in other fields. In September 2023, the New York Times published “Blacksmithing is alive and well in Kentucky,” which detailed this trend, profiling Kentuckian Craig Kaviar whose “functional art” of forged handrails was recently utilized by Crab Orchard Animal Sanctuary as well as featured on the HGTV show “Modern Masters” and at the World’s Fair in Japan.

Locally, the Kentucky Forge Council (KFC) has blacksmiths like Kaviar – employed by metalworking industry firms but also utilizing home forges to create metal and forge-inspired art seen throughout Southcentral Kentucky. More importantly, the KFC recently partnered with the Society for Inclusive Blacksmiths (SIBs) during an annual Hammer-In at the Kentucky Museum to showcase the increasing participation of women, people of color, and LGBT+ persons in blacksmithing. The opportunities for these artists in the field are growing, and Equal Temperament a nation-wide opportunity to shine a spotlight on this growing – yet historically and artistically rich – field. 

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