When you think of the world of fine arts and visual art exhibitions, it can be easy to picture a quiet white-walled gallery or a solemn museum space designed only for whispers and quiet reflection.
But experiencing art can also be something lively, electrifying, and filled with the same energy and connective emotion that went into creating it.
And that’s the aim of Oklahoma City’s Herencia, an annual exhibition of Hispanic and Latino art and artists that’s as much a community gathering and a high-energy celebration of the full scope of Latino culture as it is an art show.
Now in its third year, with the next installment of their annual event set for Saturday, November 1st in OKC’s Capitol Hill & Calle dos Cinco District, Herencia has evolved into one of the state’s largest arts events celebrating the heritage and spirit of the Latino community, with aims to grow into a year-round resource and hub for Hispanic creators of all kinds.
Named for the Spanish word for “heritage,” Herncia sprung from a small group of local Latino artists in OKC led by photographer Sharik Cervantes after finding it difficult to break through the noise of the arts community and to find a space to express their culture through their works.
Sharik Cervantes: It just kind of started off just from seeing kind of the lack of a space for Latino artists. You know, mutual friends, seeing everybody and being like “why don't we just do our own show then?” Like if there's not a show for us, let's do a show for us and make it.
We had a great turnout. Everybody's feedback was great. They're like “we love this, this was amazing, this is what we've been missing.”
For Herencia, I kind of wanted it to be just more culture. You feel like you're with family, you know, you just show up at a family event and you stay there for hours. And so I kind of wanted to bring that with Herencia as well.
Brett Fieldcamp: After a successful inaugural year in The Plaza, the Herencia event found a home in the Calle dos Cinco district, allowing Cervantes to bring the showcase – and its mission of encouragement through art and culture - more directly to the young Latino community of Southside OKC, where she was born and raised.
Sharik Cervantes: It's just making sure that those kids who are just like me, who are probably first generation Mexican-Americans or whatever it may be, I also want to give them the space down the street from them to walk down to Herencia or whatever art show is down there and be like “I can do something,” like “I can have my art in galleries and then expand from there.”
Brett Fieldcamp: But it’s not only the local and surrounding community that Herencia is aiming to appeal to. The show will also spotlight art and creators from all over with a theme designed to bridge distances, cultures, and experiences.
Sharik Cervantes: It's not just Oklahoma City or the south side of OKC. We have people who are submitting their artwork from California, Texas, Arkansas, from all over the country, really.
The theme of this year was “De Aquí y De Allá,” which usually is “ni de aquí, ni de allá,” which means “not from here, nor from there.” And this year, our theme is “from here and from there.”
So just kind of having this experience of belonging in two spaces, but not really belonging in them, so I think I just want to give the space for people to, like, network, meet each other, and be like “hey, like I'm here, I exist, this is my story, this is my artwork.”
Brett Fieldcamp: That duality of cultures and the lines that connect and strengthen them is something that Cervantes knows well from a childhood spent travelling easily back and forth from Oklahoma to Mexico in regular trips on which she developed and grew her photography skills.
But especially in a time when it’s becoming harder than ever for many to engage directly with the roots of their culture or to travel to and from Hispanic nations and homelands, she wants to use Herencia as a way to encourage engagement with identity and heritage in a space that’s open and welcoming through art.
Sharik Cervantes: Like, in my own personal experience, I am one of the lucky people who got to travel back and forth from here to Mexico so often and still be so deeply rooted into my culture. And it was a really interesting experience.
And it hit harder when I actually learned about some of my friends who desperately wanted to go back, but could never go back because, you know, they just don't have documentation to go back. I think there's a lot of erasure of them.
So I have people from different parts, like not just Mexico, but like Guatemala, Paraguay, like Honduras. And I'm just, like, it's amazing that they get to at least share their experience and their culture and everything with their artwork. At least they get to, you know, share their voices and be proud, too.
Brett Fieldcamp: That pride in the culture, heritage, and experiences that the Latino community shares is the focal point of Herencia, pulling the art out of those quiet, stuffy galleries and celebrating its ability to bring energy, urgency, and life to everything from the cars in the streets to the reverent memories of the departed.
Sharik Cervantes: We've got about 35 artists this year. We're going to have all the lowriders back out there. We're also going to have food trucks coming out this time.
And then since it is on the Day of the Dead, I want to do, like, a community altar, which is something I continue to learn about my own culture, just like how important and beautiful that part of our culture is too.
With lowriders, too, we brought those out specifically because I was like “dude, that's a whole different type of art. That's something I really want to bring.”
And so I want to have other people just experience that and, you know, just share love. And as long as you're there to appreciate the culture and learn from us, like, I'm here for it.
Brett Fieldcamp: Herencia 2025 takes place Saturday, November 1st in OKC’s Capitol Hill and Calle dos Cinco District.
For more, visit herenciaokc.com and follow @herencia.okc on Instagram.
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