Produced by OH Art Foundation
3rd Annual Latinx Festival of the Arts
CARTOGRAPHIES OF BELONGING
Mapping Roots, Identity, and Healing
Guest Curated by Sergio Gomez
September 18th 2026 - November 15th 2026
About the Exhibition
Every person carries an internal map.
Some maps are shaped by geography, tracing journeys across borders, cities, and continents. Others are formed through memory, family stories, traditions, relationships, and experiences that become embedded within us over time. These personal cartographies reveal a complex terrain where heritage, identity, loss, resilience, and hope intersect.
Cartographies of Belonging brings together artists whose work explores the emotional, cultural, and psychological landscapes that influence how we understand ourselves and our place in the world. Through painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, installation, and other visual forms, the exhibition examines the many ways individuals navigate questions of home, identity, connection, and transformation.
Presented during Hispanic Heritage Month and as part of the Latino Festival of the Arts, the exhibition highlights experiences that resonate deeply within Latino and Hispanic communities, including migration, bicultural identity, cultural memory, intergenerational narratives, and the ongoing negotiation between tradition and contemporary life. At the same time, it recognizes that the search for belonging transcends cultural boundaries and speaks to a universal human experience.
Many of the works in this exhibition also explore the role of art as a vehicle for healing. Through creative expression, artists process personal histories, reclaim narratives, honor ancestral wisdom, and envision new possibilities for themselves and their communities. The resulting works become visual maps—not only of where we have been, but also of where healing and growth may lead us.
Together, these artists invite viewers to reflect on their own journeys and consider the invisible landscapes that shape their lives. In doing so, Cartographies of Belonging becomes both a celebration of identity and an exploration of the connections that unite us.
CALL FOR ARTISTS
The Oh Art Foundation invites artists to submit work for Cartographies of Belonging: Mapping Roots, Identity, and Healing, a curated group exhibition presented during Hispanic Heritage Month as part of the Latino Festival of the Arts at the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago.We seek artwork that explores themes of identity, ancestry, migration, cultural heritage, bicultural experiences, memory, family narratives, emotional resilience, healing, and the search for belonging. Artists are encouraged to reflect on the personal and collective landscapes that have shaped their lives and creative practice.The exhibition welcomes diverse interpretations of the theme. Works may address physical journeys across places and borders, emotional journeys of growth and self-discovery, connections to family and community, cultural traditions, or the process of healing through creative expression.Artists working in all visual media are encouraged to apply, including painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, printmaking, textile art, installation, and digital media.Presented during Hispanic Heritage Month, the exhibition centers perspectives rooted in Latino and Hispanic experiences while remaining open to artists whose work resonates with the broader themes of identity, belonging, memory, and transformation.Selected works will be exhibited at the Zhou B Art Center and featured as part of the Latino Festival of the Arts, celebrating the richness of cultural identity and the transformative power of art.
About the Curator: Sergio Gomez
Sergio Gomez is an artist, curator, entrepreneur, and arts advocate whose work has focused on fostering meaningful connections between artists, collectors, and communities. Originally based in Chicago and now working from the Miami area, Gomez has spent more than two decades supporting contemporary artists through exhibitions, educational programs, and professional development initiatives.
He is the founder of 33 Contemporary Gallery and co-founder of Art NXT Level, an international artist advisory program dedicated to helping artists build sustainable and fulfilling creative careers. Throughout his career, Gomez has curated numerous exhibitions featuring emerging and established artists from around the world, creating opportunities for dialogue, cultural exchange, and artistic discovery.
His curatorial practice explores themes of identity, personal narrative, cultural heritage, transformation, and the human experience. Through thoughtfully developed exhibitions, Gomez seeks to create spaces where art becomes a catalyst for reflection, connection, and conversation.
For Cartographies of Belonging: Mapping Roots, Identity, and Healing, Gomez brings together artists whose work examines the emotional, cultural, and personal landscapes that shape our understanding of home, identity, resilience, and belonging.