Co-curated by Florencia San Martín and Mark Wonsidler
“There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me / The sign was painted, said: 'Private Property.' / But on the backside, it didn't say nothing. / This land was made for you and me.”
In his iconic 1944 folk anthem "This Land is Your Land (This Land is My Land)”, Woody Guthrie imagined a place where bodies circulate freely, unimpeded by geographic boundaries, liberated by a “blank sign” that encompasses everyone and everything. He imagined a land of belonging. Amid increasingly fraught dialogues about yours vs. mine, this exhibition seeks to position art as a poetic “unsettler” to resist strict definitions of the terms “America” and “Americans,” recalling and imagining multiple possibilities of being, living, and understanding.
Including works from LUAG’s collection and beyond, This Land weaves together maps, sonic metaphors, visual poetic entanglements, critical science fiction, and more. The exhibition is an invitation to think about reciprocal states of inhabiting, critiquing ideas of traditional geography, received histories, and myths of ownership. Joining a growing critical discussion about the “idea” of America in the fields of American Art and American Studies, This Land includes works from artists born in the United States and who made the United States their physical or spiritual home, representing a culture and a place of belonging as dreamed by Woody Guthrie.
LUAG has been committed to this understanding of an inclusive United States of America for decades, with a collection that includes hundreds of works by Latinx artists as well as artists from Latin America and other transatlantic and transpacific diasporas.
The exhibition is accompanied by robust community programming, including hands-on workshops, artist talks, and guided discussions to foster dialogue around themes of belonging, identity, and shared histories. Educational initiatives will foster connections across diverse perspectives and experiences, encouraging participants to reflect on their own personal and collective narratives.
