The J.D. Wilson Gallery, named after a Mt. Sterling native who now lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is a huge supporter of the arts and wanted to give back to his hometown. This gallery houses the Ruth Hunt Wood Collection. An artist herself, Ruth Hunt Wood spent a lot of time in Kenya working with the locals and creating art. She would then bring back their artwork to sell and return the funds to support their tribes. She was instrumental in creating a program, The Ruth Hunt Wood Foundation, which began in 2001 with the goal of advancing the appreciation and preservation of contemporary Kenyan art. In collaboration with the Department of Art at UK, 10 artists were selected from Kenya to come to the University of Kentucky and work with students, staff and community. The artists would then create a body of work for an exhibit and she would choose a piece from each to add to her collection. She donated the collection to us. We now house the largest collection of Contemporary Kenyan art in North America. 

Also featuring a large collection of traditional handmade Kenyan jewelry, not pictured.