We Belong Here: The Gutierrez Collection
Overview
Works by More Than 40 International Artists Explore Identity, Social Change, and Pop Culture
We Belong Here: The Gutierrez Collection is the first public exhibition of a collection of contemporary art built over the past decade by North Carolina–based collectors Onay Gutierrez and Jeff Childers. In their words, “The Gutierrez Collection aims to create a space where art becomes a platform for dialogue and understanding across a broad spectrum of identities and perspectives.”
We Belong Here features over 40 works created in the 21st century by over 40 international contemporary artists working in a broad range of media, engaged with current social, political, cultural, and personal issues. Artists include Anthony Akinbola, Saif Azzuz, Monica Kim Garza, Jeffrey Gibson, Hayv Kahraman, Beverly McIver, Zanele Muholi, Angel Otero, Deborah Roberts, Tavares Strachan, Mickalene Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley, among many others.
Gutierrez and Childers, who began their collection in 2015, describe their collecting philosophy as “revolving around the contemporary cultural landscape of their time through a cross section of artistic voices primarily from underrepresented communities.” As collectors, they prioritize artists who deviate from traditional or expected approaches to their medium, and who employ unique techniques to convey specific narratives. Their collection reflects contemporary ideas around mental health; LGBTQ rights; Latin/Latinx, African, and African Diasporic identities; as well as broader explorations of activism, protest, and civil disobedience.
This exhibition is made possible through the support of Onay Gutierrez and Jeffrey Childers and is co-organized with the Cameron Art Museum/CAM in Wilmington, NC. On view at CAM: April 23–September 7, 2025; on view at the NCMA Winston-Salem October 23–December 27, 2025.
NCMA Winston-Salem would like to thank our Sponsors:
Blanco Tackabery, Attorneys & Counsellors at Law
Onay Gutierrez and Jeffrey Childers
Exhibition Press
” We Belong Here is a wild show. It’s all over the place, but it never veers from its message of inclusivity, acceptance, and belonging. This is the stated aim of the Gutierrez Collection itself, but I wonder too if Gutierrez and Childers themselves also embody a version of “we belong here.” That collectors like them belong here—in the South, in North Carolina, in the art world. That art collectors who have a mission beyond financial investment belong here.” – Sommer Browning for Burnaway