Wilson Museum at the Southern Vermont Arts Center

To develop MANY AMERICAS, guest curator Ric Kasini Kadour undertook an eighteen-month-long research project funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts that examined the intersection of history and contemporary art.

Inspired by Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror, the Many Americas exhibition and public programming takes as a premise that we do not share a common history and our divergent histories are the source of our troubled civic discourse. Each of the artworks in the exhibition uses history as their point of departure and speaks to present day issues. The artworks demonstrate the multiple, sometimes competing histories of America. The exhibition featured approximately two dozen artworks and installations and a variety of audience engagement approaches including  CoCo Harris'  We Pledge  journal for the patrons to engage and inscribe. In doing this, we seek to demonstrate how an art museum can become a public square where people can come together and talk about important civic issues.

Please visit Curator Ric Kasini Kadour’s companion website where he shares longer commentaries about artwork and the history they reference as well as links to additional media and resources.