FAU GALLERIES PRESENTS 'WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS: WE WALK THESE GROUNDS'

Images: (l-r) Doug Mills, UPI; Daesha Devón Harris, "In tribute to Billie," archival pigment print, mounted, and archival ink on DTS printed plexiglass framed in ash, 2022, image courtesy of the artist.

The University Galleries at Florida Atlantic University's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters presents, "America 250: We Hold These Truths: We Walk These Grounds" from Thursday, Jan. 22 to Sunday, March 29 in the Schmidt Gallery, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, Jan. 22 from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. All events are free and open to the public with additional information at www.fau.edu/galleries.

At the commencement of celebrations commemorating the United States' 250th anniversary, "We Hold These Truths: We Walk These Grounds" brings together six contemporary artists whose works celebrate the layered meanings of American identity, land and legacy. Rooted in the belief that patriotism can hold complexity, it invites viewers to reflect on what it means to love a country, those who built it, the spirits that haunt it, and how to shape its future.

Through photography and installation, artists reimagine iconic American symbols, including apple trees, wild horses, longhorn steer, presidential portraits and family heirlooms as portals into collective memories. In tracing the many paths that crisscross this nation, the exhibition reminds us that to walk these grounds is to participate in an ever-evolving story of what it means to be American.

Award-winning artists featured in the exhibition include the following:

• Doug Mills, a Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential photographer
• John Hitchcock, a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Artistic Innovation grantee
• Daesha Devón Harris, a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow
• Carlos Betancourt, a recipient of the Florida Prize in Contemporary Art People's Choice Award
• Melissa Sclafani, a recipient of a Foundation for Contemporary Art Grant
• Yves Gabriel, an internationally exhibited artist rooted in the South Florida arts community

The exhibition is in collaboration with the "Festival for America's 250^th,^" sponsored by FAU's Department of History and the FAU Libraries. For more information about the festival, visit fau.edu/america250.

-FAU-