2025 Poster Reveal
Black Swamp Arts Festival (BSAF) is pleased to reveal its 2025 poster in anticipation of this year’s festival, scheduled for September 5, 6, and 7.
This year’s festival poster features the art of local resident and artist, Kelsey Mackley-Limpf, and will be formally unveiled at a Poster Reveal event scheduled for 4pm - 7pm Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at Juniper Brewing Company, located at 145 S. Main Street, in downtown Bowling Green, Ohio. Event attendees will have the opportunity to receive an artist-signed copy of the 2025 poster.
Mackley-Limpf shared the following artist statement regarding the poster:
“As a packaging designer, I’m often presented with the challenge of creating a big splash with minimal print space, which has informed my personal style to lean toward clean simplicity. My Black Swamp Arts Festival poster reflects that while including elements I consider signatures of my style; vibrant colors, expressive type, and organic shapes. To me, the name Black Swamp is reminiscent of a location from a fantasy novel or video game, so I chose a color palette that felt mystical and trippy.
The fingerprint in the background symbolizes the intersection of humanity, art, and nature. Art is an essential part of the human experience, serving as a means of communication and self-expression for as long as we've existed. Our fingerprints resemble growth rings on trees, something I think is no small coincidence on the part of the universe. We rely on the richness and diversity of this region to sustain us, and in turn the region relies on us to preserve and protect it. I see BSAF as the ultimate celebration of these connections.
The cattails on each side of the poster curve and lean in towards the BSAF logo, representing not only the people that come to the festival, but also the dedicated community members who make it a possibility. The fact that this festival is 100% volunteer run and continues to be a standout event in the Midwest after 30+ years is nothing short of incredible and deserves to be recognized.
It has been so much fun embarking on this project, and I’d like to thank Carmen [Cano] and Jessica [Gibson] from the BSAF Marketing Committee for trusting me with this responsibility.”
~ Kelsey Mackley-Limpf
Born and raised in South Toledo, Mackley-Limpf comes from a large, blended family with eight younger siblings. A 2019 graduate of Bowling Green State University, she earned a degree in Visual Communications Technology. Since then, Mackley-Limpf has worked as a full-time designer and project manager with Damen Jackson, a packaging and brand design firm based in the Chicago area.
For the past four years, Mackley-Limpf’s primary client has been Owens Corning. She works at their global headquarters in Downtown Toledo, collaborating closely with the Packaging and Product Design team to develop impactful packaging and product graphics that reach diverse audiences worldwide.
Inspired early on by a deep exposure to the arts—thanks to her grandmother, Ann (Schira) Mackley taking her on visits to the Toledo Museum of Art and allowing her to explore works by Monet and Van Gogh in well-loved coffee table books while listening to classical vinyl records.
Mackley-Limpf has been an active volunteer on the BSAF Marketing Committee since 2022 and began serving on the Marketing and PR Committee for the Toledo Design Collective in early 2025. In September 2024, she married Jake. The couple lives in Maumee with their two parakeets, Dovah and Leo, and she is currently developing a freelance design and photography business.
All work for the BSAF, including the poster art and graphic design, is on a strictly volunteer basis. The festival would not be possible without the work of many dedicated volunteers in the area. Volunteers are still needed for this year’s festival, and information about volunteering at the festival can be found at www.blackswampfest.org/support.
The Black Swamp Arts Festival is a three-day, free live music and arts festival committed to providing quality art and music experiences. Held in downtown Bowling Green, Ohio the first full weekend after Labor Day, there are three stages of music, two art shows, Youth Arts, Artists at Work, Chalk Walk, and more.
For more information and to connect to the festival, visit www.blackswampfest.org, Black Swamp Arts Festival on Facebook and @blackswampfest on X, Instagram, and TikTok.
