Upcoming Exhibitions

Rough Gems 2026 Curatorial Training Program

Each year Rough Gems offers a platform for three new and emerging Denver-area curators to present an exhibition at Union Hall, complete with financial support, professional curatorial mentorship, and access to valuable resources. Selected 2026 exhibitions will take place in six week increments and each will include two community engagement events. The 2026 Rough Gems program is generously supported by Kenneth King Foundation.

Drexciya: Into the Deep

March 5 — April 18 | Guest curated by Sierra Jeter

Drexciya: Into the Deep explores a subaqueous Afrofuturist mythology rooted in African diasporic history, music, and remembrance. The Drexciya mythos originated from the Detroit techno duo Drexciya in their 1992 album Deep Sea Dweller, unfolding through aquatic soundscapes, album art, and speculative narratives that re-imagined survival beyond historical violence. At its core, Drexciya offers an alternative narrative to confront the trauma of the transatlantic slave trade, transforming erasure into joy, resilience and liberation.

While fictional, Drexciya has inspired a very real movement: the call for an ocean memorial through immersive and visual art that honors the estimated 1.8 million Africans who perished during the Middle Passage. Despite the Atlantic Ocean being the world’s largest unmarked grave of the slave trade, no international memorial exists. Through underwater photography, archives, immersive installations, projection mapping, and mixed-media works, this exhibition brings the Drexciya mythos to life, bridging the past and present for a more liberated future.