| A collaboration between the Trent House and Art Against Racism and curated by Judith K. Brodsky and Rhinold L. Ponder, this exhibition presents the work of artists and poets of different racial backgrounds, nationalities, and gender and gender expression, elevating voices historically underrepresented or ignored in constitutional and civic discourse. Referencing the Declaration of Independence's assertion of the rights of all people to pursue happiness, their work calls attention to the freedom to love without restriction, to pursue equitable educational opportunities, to enjoy personal and collective safety, to earn economic dignity and living wages, to access health care, and to self-definition and identity. Placing contemporary creative expressions in art and poetry on the site of an early 18th century slave-holding plantation will encourage visitors to consider how America has expanded the rights and freedoms of citizens over the past 250 years and to imagine a more equitable and just future. |