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Lugo, originally from Puerto Rico, moved to Fayetteville two years ago with her son. She never expected to move out of Puerto Rico, especially as a single mom. But curiosity got the better of her prompting her to move to Fayetteville.
Not long after relocating, she found a position teaching art within Cumberland County Schools.
While painting murals for local Fayetteville Puerto Rican restaurants, she also submitted pieces of art to different local shows. So when she heard about the Fayetteville Arts Council mini-grants, she knew she had to apply, hoping to help extend her series or artwork highlighting Puerto Rican women.
Lugo's exhibit, "Inmarcesible," featured eleven acrylic paintings on display in Puerto Rico. These pieces highlighted Puerto Rican women.
She wanted to continue that series and highlight more Afro-Puerto Rican women who made history but still did not receive proper recognition.
"Their stories need to be visualized; they need to be brought up again," Lugo said. "Now the thing is that the women that I'm portraying, even though they did amazing stuff, they are not recognized as they should because of two main reasons, they were black, and they were women."
The exhibit received funding from the Fayetteville Arts Council and will be opening this weekend at Cape Fear Studios.
The "Fadeless" exhibition will highlight nine additional women and their stories.
Some of the highlighted women include María Libertad Gómez Garriga, the first woman to hold the position of President of the House for the Puerto Rican House of Representatives and the only woman to sign the Constitution of Puerto Rico in 1952.
Another woman highlighted in the exhibit is Carmen Belem Richardson, the first Black Puerto Rican actress to appear on television in Puerto Rico.
"Fadeless" also demonstrates Lugo's outreach into mixed-media paintings. She incorporates spray paint, glitter, molding and all types of materials into the images. She says this showcases her growth and the change she has experienced as an artist and person since her last exhibit.
"Personally, it means a lot to me because it's like, another goal that I accomplished. And also because of the kind of message that I'm delivering with this. I'm not only showing my culture; I'm showing that My people have interesting people that you should know about. And they can be an example. Mainly [for] everybody."
Lugo said that preparing for a solo exhibition is like preparing for a wedding. It's a big day, and everything needs to be perfect.
She says she visited the North Carolina Museum of Art quite a bit while preparing for the opening of "Fadeless."
"So this is my big thing, and it feels so different from the ones that I did in Puerto Rico. My first solo exhibition in Puerto Rico was in a gallery at a mall," Lugo said. "But this time, it feels very different. Because I'm outside my country and it's like a big responsibility. Because I'm bringing my culture, I'm letting others see how important these women are. And it's like a lot of pressure, but it's also it's a big accomplishment."
Lugo also has other pressures, as her artwork is currently on display in London at the Boomer Gallery at Tower Bridge. Soon her artwork will travel to Rome and then this summer it will be in Spain.
Looking to the future, Lugo is already planning her next addition to her series. She hopes to create full-length art pieces that incorporate fashion and clothing materials into her art.
"This is like a never-ending project that I will continue working on and working on it, no matter where in the world I am," Lugo said. "I'll continue working on it because there are a lot of women that did amazing things."
Cape Fear Studios & Gallery will be holding a gallery opening for "Fadeless" on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. The exhibit will be open to the public until March 22.