Since 2011, the group Prohibition has brought international artists to Lexington to do downtown murals while supporting street and graffiti art.

This year, Prohibition turned 13 and opened up its annual gallery at the Loudon House last Friday.

We paid a visit for this week's Arts and Culture, a segment we call Tapestry.

It's an exhibition of over 200 Kentucky artists.

Everyone's room in the state, the region from Lexington, all sorts of mediums.

Just a really big, wide celebration of Kentucky art.

Our gallery started off being very male dominated, very street art, graffiti focused.

And while the gallery is still street art, graffiti focused, the make up of our artists has so dramatically changed this year and in the past four or five years in particular, it is very female forward.

It is representing a lot of minorities as people of different backgrounds and lifestyles.

And so for us, it's important to show that we don't look at anyone's name, color, age, gender, orientation, whatever it is.

We pick everything based solely on art.

And so for us, it's important to have something that represents the whole of the community, the whole of the state.

We've been doing it so long because we feel like it really is a way for artists who either don't fit into a standard Kentucky gallery, you know, they don't paint horses or landscapes or bourbon barrels.

They might paint things that are risque or, you know, politically motivated.

And so we wanted to give them a place to show their art.

One of the reasons that we support and encourage nontraditional art subjects is because it is stuff that people want to see.

There is a market for it of people who who want to see nontraditional art subjects.

And so, you know, we do have some some nudes, some stuff that, you know, it's a little more edgy.

There are people making the art and there's people that want to see the art.

And we are in the unique position of not being a 100% retail gallery so we can cater to that, that different niche market.

We started partnering with Prohibition in about 2017 to host the exhibition because it's a lot easier when you have an actual dedicated space that's actual gallery space.

It is one of the highlights of my year.

On top of that, we also really like our focus on artists who are new artists who have in a may, may not be established yet.

And giving them a place where they can show their art with a low barrier to entry, a low fee.

It keeps growing every single year.

This year, at the opening, it was shoulder to shoulder upstairs and downstairs.

It was.

It was fantastic.

Prohibition has always been formed as kind of our love letter to Lexington as well.

Lexington has this little life and it's not little anymore, but there's this community of just absolutely amazing weirdos.

I don't know how else to, like, say it.

Like, it's just such a cool place to, like, you know, make music, make art.

You know, people who are, like, start crazy businesses or, you know, to create something in Lexington.

And there's a there really is this undercurrent of people who are gung ho to support, you know, the arts and creatives in this town.

If you'd like to see this gallery or support the artists, you still have time.

The gallery is open until November the 22nd.