Celene Aubry is director and print shop manager at Hatch Show Print (HSP), the 145-year-old letterpress poster and design shop in Nashville, Tennessee known for its iconic country music posters. In between poster runs, Aubry also enjoys analog photography, making cyanotypes and van Dyke photoprints specifically.
Founded in 1879, Hatch Show Print is recognized around the world for its nineteenth- and twentieth-century posters and billboards advertising the stars of country music, rock n’ roll, jazz, carnivals, circuses, and variety shows. HSP is still designing and printing over 700 jobs a year, using the shop’s original wood and metal type and hard-carved print blocks. Hatch’s limited-edition prints and posters for current shows and artists are created using the same type used to advertise carnivals, circuses, and vaudeville and minstrel shows in bygone years. Though the 145-year-old business is perhaps best known for its twentieth-century country music posters, the work the shop has put out over five generations in operation reflects changes in technology, communication arts, and commerce, as well as the evolution of popular entertainment.
HSP also offers a visiting artist program, a gallery showcasing print-centric art, and offering hands-on tours and workshops from the education space.
