Black and white photo of a Black man in a suit and white tie obscured by fog with a dripping white circle and plus sign as a target over his face

Community Curates: Dreaming American Futures

July 2 - August 23, 2026

Greider Family Gallery | Level 2

Over the past year, the museum has engaged the community in a variety of ways to gather diverse perspectives about the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and how they have played out over the course of the 250 years since its signing. In reflecting on the nation’s past, present, and future, visitors shared ideas about important moments in the country’s past as well as strategies to pursue in the present that look toward building a “more perfect union” of the future. The primary thoughts that emerged from visitor contributions inspired three themes pursued in this exhibition and include: Activating Change, Bridging the Divide, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

To assist community members in curating works to include in the exhibition, museum educators and graduate assistants identified a large selection of works on paper that related to the identified themes. The community was then invited to review the list of possibilities and participate in three rounds of voting in order to help shape the artworks to be included in this community-curated exhibition. More than 100 community curators participated in reviewing, evaluating, and ranking 60 works on paper from the Palmer's collection.

Community Curates: Dreaming American Futures will feature a group of works on paper from the Palmer Museum’s permanent collection selected by the community and go on view in July 2026.

Logo and collage of artworks

Organized by the Palmer Museum of Art.