“This Is America” is a local exhibition that gives artists of color the chance to show how they see this country.
It’s an annual show that’s taken place around July 4 since 2019 at 5 Points Art Gallery + Studios.
I stopped by just a few days before the July 3 opening, while the final installations were underway.
The series is now in its eighth year, continuing to show that America looks different through the eyes of many Black, brown and other people of color.
"The history of us is our narratives, our identities, the way we are viewed to live — is controlled by someone else and is usually very starkly opposite, or they miss nuances, or they misinterpret the nuances," says gallery owner and artist Fatima Laster. "So, this is empowering the artists to self-advocate, self-explain, and identify their lived experiences in association with the United States."
Twenty-one artists are featured this year, including Laster. The gallery invites them to participate.
The show has local and national artists with artwork including paintings, interactive works, music and more.
Destiny Brady’s artwork was showcased in the 2024 exhibition. It was a series of maps about transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson.
This year, Brady helped curate the show along with Laster. Brady explains what it means in this moment.
"I think the significance for the season that we’re in is integrity and what we're lacking, and not to say that artists are trying to make up for it, but we are exposing what's not there. And a show like this does it in so many different languages, so many different mediums, so many different colors, hues, sizes. That sort of inclusivity hasn't been seen since — maybe — yeah, so, we're still waiting."
mars patterson, an eco-artist in Milwaukee, has a piece in the exhibition for the second year in a row.
Her work this year is a wearable piece made of inner tube designed as body armor for future environmental protection.
She says it’s inspired by Afro-Solarpunk, an environmental arts movement that reimagines a sustainable future through a Black lens.
"I think that it speaks to the theme 'This Is America;' the outrageous amount of waste that we create and conveying the message of possibility and reuse of fiber," says patterson.
When asked what America is to her, patterson said very bluntly: it’s a lie.
"It’s a lot of misconceptions and misinformation," patterson says.
"I don’t want people to think I’m celebrating the Fourth. We’ve never celebrated the Fourth; the exhibition has always been a Friday right before the Fourth of July, so people come into the space and experience what they think is novel — like, we exist here too," Laster says.
Laster adds that the exhibition makes people confront the misconception that the July Fourth holiday represents the independence of everyone.
"There are people who definitely celebrate it within, you know, across the races and cultures, but when you're going into the Fourth, now you have something else to think about — who is not represented by this holiday? Who is not represented by, you know, the ways we are treated on a day to day?" Laster says.
The new features in this year’s exhibition immerse guests in real-life art performances. On opening day, one of those experiences was an anti-250th cookout.
And it was a real cookout; guests were fed, and there was a DJ and dancing. People were doing hair.
The cookout was an extension of Laster’s interactive art installation called “Interrupted: Cash for Homes.” That exhibit is a replica of her grandparents’ home where she grew up, and highlights the intergenerational Black home being displaced through gentrification.
Laster remembers her grandparents’ home as the backdrop for fellowship.
"So, the cookout is celebratory as far as like we believe in breaking bread, and, you know, feeding people and nourishing and socializing amidst the oppression that we live within," Laster says.
Laster says overall, “This Is America” honors the experiences of people of color at all points of history, and the artists get to make the interpretations themselves.
“This Is America” is showing at 5 Points Art Gallery + Studios through September 13.
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