The Kentucky Arts Council launches the Celebrating the Black Experience touring art exhibit this July. The fifth annual exhibit, presented by the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage (KCAAH), includes mostly Kentucky artists and some from Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, Benin and Zimbabwe. Media includes acrylic and oil paintings, fiber art, textiles, copper, drawings, and mixed media work with innovative materials.
Celebrating the Black Experience brings together a diverse cohort of artists whose work explores identity, memory, spirituality, resilience, and cultural continuity across the African Diaspora. The exhibition reflects a wide spectrum of artistic expression rooted in lived experience and collective history.
“This exhibition affirms the richness, complexity, and ongoing evolution of Black life and culture,” said Aukram Burton, Executive Director of the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage. “Each artist offers a unique lens into the Black experience — personal, historical, and global — inviting audiences to see, feel, and reflect in new ways.”
Through a partnership with the Kentucky Arts Council, 23 participating artists have allowed their works to travel from July 2026 to January 2027. Kentuckians all over the commonwealth are invited to explore this outstanding collection, be inspired by it, and join in celebrating the Black experience.
Traveling Exhibit Schedule
July 1-Aug. 1
Kentucky Museum
Western Kentucky University
1472 Kentucky St.
Bowling Green
Wed.-Sat. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Central
Aug. 5-30
Hazard Community and Technical College, Stephens Library
1 Community College Drive
Hazard
Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern
Sept. 2-27
Kentucky State University, Blazer Library
400 E. Main St.
Frankfort
Mon.-Thur. 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Sun. 2-9 p.m. Eastern
Sept. 30-Oct. 31
Berea Arts Council
444 Chestnut St.
Berea
Wed.-Fri. noon-5:30 p.m., Sat.10 a.m.-3 p.m. Eastern
Nov. 5-29
Kenton County Public Library, Erlanger Branch
401 Kenton Lands Road
Erlanger
Mon.-Thur. 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 1-5 p.m. Eastern
Dec. 9-Jan. 15, 2027
Murray Tourism, Convention and Visitors Bureau
206 S. 4th St.
Murray
Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Central
Kentucky Arts Council