Representations of Identity and the American Dream

Representations of Identity and the American Dream illustrates notions of American national identity in light of racial and cultural identities. During the 2016 election, both Democrats and Republicans created dueling narratives of American national identity.

These dueling narratives formed barriers between both groups that made communication difficult between American communities. Art featured in this exhibition works to break down ideological barriers by creating conversations around a more unified version of American national identity. Art has the ability to engage directly with American communities by transcending ideology. Art is an expression, an experience, an encounter, a critique, a performance, a memory, and in the context of this exhibition, a more accurate reflection of American identity at-large.

This semester, the Pat Guthrie Teaching Gallery departs from the traditional model of presenting artwork selected for classes to highlight the curatorial work of interns at the UW Art Museum. Cameron Green, a graduate student of History, and Jandey Shackelford, an undergraduate student of visual arts, worked closely with various museum departments including collections, curatorial and education to curate the exhibition Representations of Identity and the American Dream. The students worked through the entire curatorial process, including object research, checklist creation, idea presentation to senior staff, exhibition development, layout techniques, writing for the museum audience, public presentations and the creation of related programming. Internships are an important component of the Art Museum and provide students with the hands-on experience necessary to be successful in the museum field. In turn, the museum is grateful for the assistance that interns are able to provide in collections, object research and with various other tasks. Internships are important reciprocal relationships for all museums and the Art Museum is happy to support students through university credit and some paid opportunities.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website