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, 2026
Kentucky Museum
Western Kentucky University
1472 Kentucky St.
Bowling Green, Ky.
Wed.-Sat. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Central
Aug. 5-30, 2026
Hazard Community and Technical College, Stephens Library
1 Community College Drive
Hazard, Ky.
Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern
Sept. 2-27, 2026
Kentucky State University, Blazer Library
400 E. Main St.
Frankfort, Ky.
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, 2026
Berea Arts Council
444 Chestnut St.
Berea, Ky.
Wed.-Fri. noon-5:30 p.m., Sat.10 a.m.-3 p.m. Eastern
Nov. 5-29, 2026
Kenton County Public Library, Erlanger Branch
401 Kenton Lands Road
Erlanger, Ky.
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, 2026-Jan. 15, 2027
Murray Tourism, Convention and Visitors Bureau
206 S. 4th St.
Murray, Ky.
Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Central
The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage aims to enhance public knowledge about the history, heritage, and cultural contributions of African Americans in Kentucky and the African Diaspora. In addition to preserving the traditions and accomplishments of the past, the Center serves as a vital, contemporary institution that provides space for exhibitions and performances of all types.