The Kentucky Gallery Reimagined

Bert Hurley (American, 1898-1955)
Pages from Loose Nuts: A Rapsody in Brown, 1933
Black pen and ink, crayon, watercolor, and graphite on wove paper
16 15/16 × 13 5/8 in.
Gift of Dr. Wade Hall and partial purchase 2001.6

Mary Mize (American, born about 1834)
Quilt, 1850-1855
Cotton
75 1/4 x 71 x 1/2 in.
Purchased with funds from the Alice Speed Stoll Accessions Trust and gift of Shelly Zegart 2006.3

The Kentucky Gallery at the Speed

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SPRING 2024 – ONGOING

Location: Kentucky Gallery, South Building
Curator: Scott Erbes

When the Speed’s 5,600-square-foot Kentucky Gallery first opened in 2016, it became Kentucky’s only art museum space dedicated to presenting and interpreting the state’s many artistic traditions. In the years since, the gallery has welcomed thousands of visitors, including many students, teachers, visiting scholars, and groups from other museums across the United States.

Now almost eight years since its creation, the gallery deserves an innovative reimagining to create spaces and experiences that are more inclusive, more engaging, and more relevant for our many guests. How will we do it? By looking thematically at Kentucky art and its creators—past and present.

Imagine an area filled with all kinds of Kentucky-made works of art, seeing how they were made and feeling the materials from which they were created. Or imagine an area dedicated to the Ohio River, learning how it has connected and influenced the diverse people, cultures, objects, and artwork associated with Kentucky, from ancient Indigenous communities to the work of today’s artists. You’ll leave the gallery knowing how the Ohio served as a passage for people and goods; as a boundary, especially between slavery in Kentucky and freedom across the River’s shores; and as an inspiration for artists past and present.