“American Dream Come… True?” satirical Americana exhibit 

A new art exhibit in East Hall is arriving just in time for the United States’ 250th anniversary.

The exhibit “American Dream Come… True?” is curated by students Emmylea Robeson, Summer Freeman and Abigail Zenner. It was originally planned to focus on “classic and underrepresented Americana,” but was later changed based on the available pieces.

Robeson said the exhibit aims to highlight the difference between the original idea of the “American Dream” and the lived reality of many.

“I hope viewers develop a realization on how satire is used as a political statement, oftentimes by those with less power,” Robeson said.

The exhibit was a partnership between the course and faculty.

“The exhibit was chosen for us to do by Dr. Krus, as East Hall was renovated recently and had a lot of empty wall space,” Robeson said. “This exhibit was curated through the museum internship the class ‘Museum Techniques’ gives students.”

The process of curating the exhibit came with its own challenges, particularly when it came to locating and handling the artwork.

“Finding the art pieces was one of the most difficult parts,” Robeson said. “We used the gallery catalogues to choose which art pieces we wanted, but finding them physically was a challenge due to the amount of heavy art and boxes we had to move around.”

Beyond its academic purpose, the exhibit aims to resonate with current issues.

“I do absolutely see it being relevant today. That relevance is what we used to help curate the pieces,” Robeson said. “The art we chose critiques colonialism, poor regulatory practices, toxic masculinity, capitalism and war, among other issues in American culture.”

Photo Credit: Nathan DeGreef