New London Artist Amy Hannum never thought of herself as Latin. She grew up in Michigan, a second generation American with grandparents from the Alsace region in eastern France on the German border. So she was surprised to find that she could submit her art to Latin Views, a biennial exhibit put on by the Latin Network for the Visual Arts (LNVA) which will be held for the last time this year.

But according to Mimi and Gaston Daumy, the founders of the LNVA, the term 'Latin' as Americans use it is not 'Latin' as many others cultures in the world use it. And clearing up that confusion is one of the main objectives the couple set out to accomplish when they started their association in 2003.

Those goals continue through this year's Latin Views exhibit, which will be on display through Oct. 31 at the Alexey von Schlippe Gallery at the University of Connecticut Avery Point Campus in Groton. Hours are noon-4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. An opening reception will be held at the gallery 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. A meet-the-artists event will be noon-1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 20.

The Daumys believe that the exhibit and the meet-and-greet - which will bring in 26 of the 43 artists from around the world - will educate visitors on the different countries within the Latin world.

"(Latin) is not Latino in the English sense," said Mimi. "If you use the word Latino in Spanish, everybody knows that it means Portuguese, French, Italians, Romanians, Spaniards, South Americans, all the French colonies, all the islands. You understand that the word 'Latin' means all those people. So that was (something) that we taught here, what is Latin, who are the Latins."

A map on the LNVA website shows the countries that are part of the Latin world, where romance languages are spoken either officially or frequently. In addition to traditionally recognized Latin American countries, the list included France, the United States, Canada and Italy.

While the majority of the art shown in Latin Views is Latin American in origin and influence, Hannum believes its important to include art from both Latin America and Latin Europe for educational purposes. She said that while she had never considered herself or her artwork to have Latin influence, the art she creates is influenced by her family and her time spent living in France.

"It's influenced me as a person and my art is created entirely through my perspective," said Hannum, who said she is proud to have her art included in the exhibit.

History and heritage have influenced how Mimi and Gaston view the world and the art that they collect - both for the LNVA and for their own home in Gales Ferry, which is covered with art from around the world.

"Mimi is an old Latin and I am a new Latin," said Gaston.

"Well, I would say I am an old world Latin, even though I am an old Latin," laughed Mimi.

Mimi is Latin European, she moved to the United States from France when she was 8 years old. Gaston is Latin American, he moved to United States in the 1960s from Cuba.

"We started this organization because we saw art (elsewhere) that we weren't seeing here in this area 11 years ago," said Gaston. "Miami has a tremendously high number of Latin artists. When we saw that kind of art we said, well we don't see that kind of art in Connecticut. So that was one of the objectives that we had... to further enrich the community by bringing this type of art to this area. We feel like we have really accomplished our mission."

This year will be the seventh and final year of Latin Views, and the Daumys are proud of how it has been received and grown over the years. This year's exhibit will show 43 artists from 18 countries, compared to 17 artists from five countries shown in 2003.

Through their organization, the Daumys said the they have been able to give back to the community that took them in.

Before settling in Connecticut in 1975, the couple lived in Pennsylvania, California, Arizona, Louisiana, and Florida, where they first met. Now, with the end of Latin Views, the couple will split their time between Connecticut and Florida.

"In Connecticut, I think there is a very strong artist community. Gaston and I both wanted to give back to the community somehow, because were both foreigners and this community sort of adopted us," said Mimi.

One of the ways they hoped to give back was through education of children, which Mimi said was an important consideration in the organization of Latin Views.

Since its inception, Latin Views has been visited by over 3,000 school children who are brought to the exhibit on buses paid for by the LNVA. Teachers are provided with lesson guides and materials and scavenger hunts to keep children engaged with the art. Since 2010 the LNVA has provided college scholarships to local high school students of Latin descent who have artistic ambitions.

For both Mimi and Gaston, the response from children has been one of the more rewarding outcomes.

"I've been doing this for years and I look at art one way, but to see a child look at a piece of art and tell you what they see ... they have no fear, which to me is really a lovely thing to see," said Mimi. "Kids just tell you right away what they think, there is no right or wrong. I had one boy say 'art is like poetry on canvas.' It was like wow, what a great philosophy."

For more information on the LNVA or Latin Views 2014, visit www.lnva.us.

J.HOPPER@THEDAY.COM

TWITTER: @JESSHOPPA