Hispanic Heritage Month exhibition ‘Hilos Heredados’ finds common thread among Latin cultures, queerness

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Hilos Heredados, a Hispanic Heritage Month exhibition at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, is exploring the complexities of identity and queerness while finding a common thread among Latin cultures.

The Hilos Heredados exhibition featured in the Dominion Energy Community Room at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond will be on display for guests to view from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until Saturday, Sept. 20.

The exhibition is curated by Alex J. Dimas, Ambrose Hernandez Godoy and Nathan Hosmer Nevarez. The trio also features their works in the collection.

“We all come from different places, but there are connective threads that link us all together in a big, beautiful tapestry of culture,” Hernandez Godoy said.

“The way a lot of people think artistically and creatively, there’s almost this sense of similarity within each other’s work that screams color and voice and abstraction,” Dimas said.

Hilos Heredados features works from Latin artists not only in Virginia, but across the country, including Chicago and New York.

The Hilos Heredados exhibition featured at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. (Photo courtesy: Lindsey West, 8News)

(Photo courtesy: Lindsey West, 8News)

Hernandez Godoy said the primary inspiration for the exhibition came from rejection. She said when speaking with other artists in the Richmond region, they couldn’t think of any other galleries hosting Hispanic Heritage Month exhibitions.

Hernandez Godoy said at the Visual Arts Center, they could "present art that in no other space could be presented because it would be too political or frowned upon or people wouldn’t want to really engage.”

Curators say it’s more important now than ever to show off Latin pride because of a tumultuous political climate.

“Because we didn’t get those opportunities presented to us, we really wanted to create the opportunity for others,” Dimas said.

The show features a variety of artist mediums, including photography, painting, ceramics, mixed media and textile fabrics. Each piece speaks to the artist’s heritage.

“Personally, I am very influenced by Mexican folk art,” Hernandez Godoy said. “My family’s Mexican. I grew up in Mexico, lived there, so visually I use a lot of those influences.”

Along with Latin heritage, queer culture is also explored in many pieces featured in Hilos Heredados.

“Growing up, I didn’t know I could be Ecuadorian while also being gay,” Hosmer Nevarez said. “Poking holes in that narrative and allowing for more nuances and complexity about the immigrants themselves or the children of the immigrants.”

(Photo courtesy: Lindsey West, 8News)

(Photo courtesy: Lindsey West, 8News)

Dimas said seeing the works come together feels “surreal.”

“Once you see it in person, how the works interact has been the most rewarding part,” Hosmer Nevarez said.

“It’s encouraging our Latino community that’s here in Richmond, kind of have them come out of the cut and have them hang out together in one space,” Dimas said. “We’re all just catching up for the first time.”

Curators want visitors to learn from the exhibition and feel comfortable asking questions about cultures or experiences that may be different than their own.

“People may be afraid to ask questions because they’re meeting someone who is different, meeting someone from a background they’re not so familiar with and my hopes and dreams are that people can come to an event like this and ask questions and not feel afraid of the answers they’re going to hear,” Hernandez Godoy said.

“This is what everyone needs. We need to see more Latin art. We need to see more queer art. We need to see more Central American representation,” Dimas said.