Although she says her Guatemalan heritage has not been front and center in her work, Campbellsville artist Azucena Trejo Williams was intrigued at the prospect of a traveling exhibit composed of works by Hispanic, Latin American and Latinx artists in Kentucky.

“This is a facet of who I am, and I haven’t had the opportunity to do this before,” she said. “I’m honored to be a part of a group that has similarities to my own background, an exhibit that represents our cultural difference and celebrates our residency in Kentucky.”

The exhibit, titled “Our Kentucky Home: Hispanic/Latin American Visual Art in the Commonwealth,” features 36 works by 20 Hispanic or Latin American/Latinx artists, representing a variety of subjects and mediums. The exhibit opened in November at The Carson Center in Paducah, and is now at the Murray Convention and Visitors Bureau through Jan. 28. It is scheduled to visit eight other venues through November 2022. Among those stops through the commonwealth will be the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort, where “Our Kentucky Home” will be on display Sept. 12-Oct. 5, 2022, during Hispanic Heritage Month.

The goals of this traveling exhibit are to share Hispanic/Latin American/Latinx experiences in Kentucky, demonstrate diversity through various media, styles and themes, and recognize the dynamic expressions these Kentuckians contribute to the cultural landscape.

Trejo Williams’ work is titled “I was told I take up too much space.” and is a vinyl letter installation piece.

“This was something that was actually told to me,” Trejo Williams said. “I couldn’t let it go. It was marginalizing. It had a negative tone. I started doing research on marginalization.”

As an installation piece, the content may evolve over the course of the exhibit’s travels around the state, depending on the location and what Trejo Williams feels needs to be said. The general message, though, is one of marginalization.

“The language in the installation piece is me putting voice to people who are marginalized,” Trejo Williams said. “With this piece there is some discussion, some teaching involved. You have to consider what I’m saying and work backward from there. Where did it come from? What am I speaking of?”

In addition to having work in the exhibit, Trejo Williams will also be a host for the exhibit via Campbellsville University, where she is an associate professor of art and design. Our Kentucky Home will be at the university’s Pence-Chowning Art Gallery Aug. 16-Sept. 8.

The university has hosted the arts council’s Makings of a Master exhibit in recent years, and Trejo Williams said this will continue a cooperative relationship the university is grateful to have.

“It’s always great to partner with the Kentucky Arts Council and highlight the support we have from the state,” she said. “This particular exhibit helps us diversify who we are showing in our galleries.”

She said the school would use the exhibit’s visit as a teaching tool as well.

“We love to work across disciplines with other departments, like the school of music, theatre, political science and the language department,” Trejo Williams said.

The broader goal of “Our Kentucky Home” is to exhibit the artists’ work in all regions of Kentucky, as well as bring awareness to diversity in the commonwealth. That is a lesson Trejo Williams said she hopes the exhibit will deliver at each stop along the way.

“My hope is that this exhibit will illustrate the contributions Hispanics make to Kentucky culture, and to help raise awareness around both the experiences of an often marginalized community and the injustice of marginalization.”

Artists whose work will appear in “Our Kentucky Home,” listed by name, county, work titles and medium, are:

Isabella La Rocca González, Boyle, Untitled 1 and 3 from the series “En los tiempos del coronavirus,” photographic archival pigment print

Elizabeth Mesa-Gaido, Rowan, “Then & Now: Toothpaste and Toothbrush,” organza, linen, photography (photo credit: AFP/Archivo Bohemia)

Cintia Segovia, Calloway, “Queso,” “2564 Millas al Sur,” and “Piña Navideña,” photography

Mercedes Harn, Fayette, “Red Horse” and “Guacamayo,” acrylic on canvas

Manuel Hernandez Sanchez, Jefferson, “Mi abuelita y la familia” and “Corazón Mestizo,” oil on canvas

Leandro Lozada, Jefferson, “Milk,” photography

Luis David Fuentes, Franklin, “Roof of the Havana Cathedral” and “Three Cuban Women,” photography

Thomas Meyer, Jefferson, “City of Louisville Skyline” and “Louisville meets Maya,” pen and ink, digital

Sydni Crass, Madison, “Abuela’s Fabric” and “Shades of Orange,” paint, watercolor, marker

Clay Mata, Jefferson, “Ocelotl” and “Vive y deja morir,” acrylic, spray paint, artificial flowers on canvas

Isabel González, Jefferson, “Tranquility” and “Alyssa,” photography

Rachel Nuñez, Jefferson, “Para Una Vida Mejor/For a Better Life” and “Hasta Pronto/Until Next Time,” printed illustration

Sebastian Duverge, Jefferson, “Three Dancers,” watercolor on tile mosaic

Deyanira Esmeralda Martin, Fayette, “Affied” and “My Colorful Horse,” fabric, glitter, metal, crystals, plastic flowers, yarn, paint, tie fabrics

Mari Mujica, Shelby, “Girasol #2 and #3,” digital photography

Isvara Torres, Jefferson, “Beauty, Passion, Poverty,” oil and acrylic on canvas

Azucena Trejo Williams, Taylor, “I was told I take up too much space.” vinyl letter installation

Edwin Ramirez, Jefferson, “Corazón de el Ohio/Heart of the Ohio,” PLA, foraged natural materials on dry moss

Uhma Janus, Jefferson, “Ether’s Mollusk Raid,” “Witnessing Canopy” and “Spiny Meanderings,” acrylic ink on paper

Alma Martinez Torres, Jefferson, “An Interlude under the Shade” and “Sunkissed,” ceramic, fabric, wood

Venues that will host the exhibit are:

Jan. 5-28

Murray Tourism, Convention and Visitors Bureau, 206 S. 4th St., Murray

Feb. 4-March 12

Boyd’s Station Gallery, 203 E. Pike St., Cynthiana

March 16-30

Art Center of the Bluegrass, 401 W. Main St., Danville

April 2-28

Boone County Public Library, Main Library, 1786 Burlington Pike, Burlington

May 1-30

Butler County Arts Guild, 115 W. Ohio St., Morgantown

June 1-29

The Kentucky Museum, 1444 Kentucky St., Bowling Green

July 8-Aug. 14

Appalachian Center for the Arts, 218 2nd St., Pikeville

Aug. 16- Sept. 8

Pence-Chowning Art Gallery, Campbellsville University, 205 University Drive, Campbellsville

Sept. 12-Oct. 5

Kentucky State Capitol Rotunda, 700 Capital Ave., Frankfort

Oct. 8-Nov. 14, 2022

LexArts Gallery, 161 N. Mill St., Lexington

Hosting venues and dates are subject to change.

For more information about the exhibit and to view a slideshow of the artwork, visit the arts council website at artscouncil.ky.gov.