The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage is collaborating with the Kentucky Arts Council to bring the annual art exhibition, Celebrating the Black Experience, to locations across the commonwealth. Join curators Aukram Burton and Julia Youngblood as they present two visual artists from the exhibit, Nahla Joy of Louisville and Derek King Jr. of Lexington. This free webinar will take place Wed., June 4, 2025, 11 a.m. to noon Eastern.
Nahla Joy is an African painter whose work is rooted in memory, identity, and place. Raised in South Louisville and carrying an Arabic name, she brings a unique perspective to Kentucky’s art scene. Joy specializes in acrylic cityscapes that reimagine familiar environments through a lens of surreal optimism, using bold color and layered compositions to explore what it means to find water in a metaphorical desert. She earned her BFA in 2024 and is currently pursuing her MFA at the University of Louisville. During her undergraduate studies, she was honored with the Winthrop Allen Memorial Prize in Creative Art. Her work is currently featured in a group exhibition in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
Derek King Jr. is a multidisciplinary artist based in Lexington, Kentucky, whose work brings vibrant narratives to life through the human figure. With a BFA in drawing and painting from the University of Kentucky, King combines visual storytelling with cultural critique, focusing on Black American identity, family life, and subcultures including hip hop, anime, and American cinema. King’s art fuses personal experience with broader social commentary, preserving a distinct pictorial style across various media. He has held solo exhibitions throughout Kentucky and participated in group shows across the Midwest. In addition to his gallery work, King is active as a tattoo artist, muralist, graphic designer and commissioned artist.
