Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea
On view through January 29, 2024
Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and G Streets, NW)
“Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea is a magnificent example of this significant reconceptualization of the region’s history.” —Les Roka, The Utah Review
Explore one of America's most iconic regions through the perspectives of 48 modern and contemporary artists. On view for the first time east of the Rocky Mountains, Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea offers a broader and more inclusive view of the West, which too often has been dominated by romanticized myths and Euro-American historical accounts.
Many Wests highlights many voices—including artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian American, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ — who stake a claim in the American West. Working in various media, from painting and sculpture to photography and mixed media, featured artists including Laura Aguilar, Jacob Lawrence, Hung Liu, Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke/Crow), Marie Watt (Seneca), and more bring a nuanced and multifaceted history to light.
The exhibition is the culmination of a multi-year Art Bridges Initiative organized by SAAM. In an unprecedented collaboration, the museum has partnered with four museums located in some of the fastest-growing cities and states in the Western region of the United States. Many Wests brings together artworks from the permanent collections of all five museums. |
