Creatives at Work Artist Residency | Kalie Chapman
Introducing Calie Chapman, the third Artist-in-Residence in our Creatives at Work program. Kalie will spend six weeks at Kautex during August and September, creating new work inspired by her experience of the manufacturing plant.
The residency will conclude with an exhibition at ArtSpeak Gallery, on display September 9- 12. A public workshop is also in development that will take place during this week!
Check on this page for progress photos, reflections, and event announcements as Kalie’s residency unfolds!
ABOUT
Kalie Chapman
Kalie (KAW-Lee) Chapman (she/her) is a Windsor-based poet and multi-media artist. She holds an MA in English Literature & Creative Writing from the University of Windsor where she recently defended her multimodal thesis, Stem (2025), on mental illness and science poetry. Kalie has been published in the poetry anthology Where the Map Begins (2024), in critical journals (The Mid-Atlantic Review and IMPACT), literary magazines (The Gently Mad), and several chapbooks. She has also written and directed short productions for book launches under Black Moss Press.
Kautex
At Kautex, we are driving the future. As a Tier One automotive supplier with more than 30 plants in 13 countries, Kautex designs, develops and manufactures traditional and hybrid fuel systems, advanced cleaning solutions for assisted and autonomous driving, engine camshafts and plastic industrial packaging solutions. A leader in the design and manufacture of automotive plastic fuel systems, Kautex is pioneering solutions for the era of new mobility by expanding its portfolio to offer thermoplastic composite and composite-metal hybrid battery enclosures and underbody protection.
2701 Kautex Drive, Windsor, ON
EXHIBITION
SKETCHES OF an automative supplier
September 8th – 12th – ArtSpeak Gallery
Geared-up in PPE, a visual poet steps into a local gas tank manufacturer. With the initial drive to simply collect stories of the people working the plant, she now emerges from her residency with a new-found knowledge of the mechanics behind making/producing gas tanks & the human engineering that fuels it.
.WORKSHOP
A Workshop in Visual Poetry
September 12th, 3:30-5:00pm – ArtSpeak Gallery
Join Creatives at Work Artist in Residence, Kalie Chapman, in a workshop in visual poetry. Creatively explore your senses & push the boundaries of storytelling with the interactive workshops on: how to play with the shape & form & placement of words on a page.
OPEN STUDIO
a part of Kautex employee safety day
September 19th – Kautex
Employees of Kautex were able to reveal Kalie’s visual poem in her on-site studio at Kautex, as part of their Safety Day celebrations. They filtered through from the factory plant to the conference room in a conveyor-belt fashion, and were able to talk with Kalie about her artwork. Many of Kalie’s inspiration for her poems within the canvas came directly from stories of and conversations with the employees.
NOW ON DISPLAY
In October 2025, Kalie installed her large-scale Visual Poem at Kautex Inc. Inspired by conversations with Kautex employees, Kalie’s work now hangs proudly inside the manufacturing plant, protected in a custom frame crafted by Kautex’s own team. This moment reflects the core of the Creatives at Work program, fostering lasting connections between Windsor-Essex Workforce & Artists.
