Paul Kelley

Like Art, America is an ongoing experiment that is driven forward by the #LIBERTY to take part in and exchange ideas and practices along with the power to #CHALLENGE them.

(2017)

Photo: ¡Haz las Tortillas! - Workshop and participatory performance by Mayte Escobar during FAR Bazaar 2017 @ Cerritos College

“We” is an exhibition that re-affirms the root aspirations of the American experiment. As our public political discourse has become increasingly toxic and polarized, we return to the core unifying claims of the United States Constitution — that “we the people” have a collective vested interest in the pursuit of certain ideals expressed concisely in the Preamble: “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty”. These pursuits remain just as vital today as they were in 1787. 


This group exhibition features invited artists to reconsider the immediacy of these core themes of Justice, Peace, Defense, Welfare, and Liberty; exploring the myriad ways these constitutional aspirations remain active challenges to our pursuit of unity as “we the people” in America today.

"We: Visual Reflections of the American Experiment" is organized by Alyssa Cordova, Assistant Curator, Orange County Museum of Art, Jennifer Frias, Associate Curator, Sweeney Art Gallery, UC Riverside, and Jeff Rau, Director and Curator, Earl and Virginia Green Art Gallery, Biola University.

As featured in San Bernardino MOSAIC, 2020