Anniversaries can be both moments of reflection and inflection. They inspire us to renew our commitments and help us see the opportunity and possibilities that yet lie ahead. While this time is rife with uncertainty, like many before, America’s 250th should be no different.
Anniversaries can be both moments of reflection and inflection. They inspire us to renew our commitments and help us see the opportunity and possibilities that yet lie ahead. While this time is rife with uncertainty, like many before, America’s 250th should be no different.
This year, alongside the official 250th celebrations, something else will also be happening. Artists, culture bearers, storytellers, organizers, bridge builders, and faith leaders from every state and territory will be helping to reimagine our country and shared future.
This year, alongside the official 250th celebrations, something else will also be happening. Artists, culture bearers, storytellers, organizers, bridge builders, and faith leaders from every state and territory will be helping to reimagine our country and shared future.
This year, alongside the official 250th celebrations, something else will also be happening. Artists, culture bearers, storytellers, organizers, bridge builders, and faith leaders from every state and territory will be helping to reimagine our country and shared future.
This year, alongside the official 250th celebrations, something else will also be happening. Artists, culture bearers, storytellers, organizers, bridge builders, and faith leaders from every state and territory will be helping to reimagine our country and shared future.
Grounded in the practice of Philanthropy as a Creative Act, The Hearthland Foundation put out a call for ideas that will seed our next 50 years, while not ceding human dignity for all and a fuller story of our country.
Grounded in the practice of Philanthropy as a Creative Act, The Hearthland Foundation put out a call for ideas that will seed our next 50 years, while not ceding human dignity for all and a fuller story of our country.
Grounded in the practice of Philanthropy as a Creative Act, The Hearthland Foundation put out a call for ideas that will seed our next 50 years, while not ceding human dignity for all and a fuller story of our country.
Grounded in the practice of Philanthropy as a Creative Act, The Hearthland Foundation put out a call for ideas that will seed our next 50 years, while not ceding human dignity for all and a fuller story of our country.
What came back is as diverse as the country itself. The projects we are supporting span disciplines, cultural traditions, and geography.
From the islands of Hawaii to the coast of Maine, here is a glimpse into what a few of our grantees are up to this summer and fall:
What came back is as diverse as the country itself. The projects we are supporting span disciplines, cultural traditions, and geography.
From the islands of Hawaii to the coast of Maine, here is a glimpse into what a few of our grantees are up to this summer and fall:
What came back is as diverse as the country itself. The projects we are supporting span disciplines, cultural traditions, and geography.
From the islands of Hawaii to the coast of Maine, here is a glimpse into what a few of our grantees are up to this summer and fall:
Knoxville, WV
Rural Digital Youth Resiliency Project hosts a community storytelling and zine workshop so young Appalachians can contribute their stories and their hopes to a multimedia project about rural life and futures.
Knoxville, WV
Rural Digital Youth Resiliency Project hosts a community storytelling and zine workshop so young Appalachians can contribute their stories and their hopes to a multimedia project about rural life and futures.
Bison, SD
Kithship Collective, a community group that describes itself as “a third place on the prairie” where people can gather to eat, make art, learn, tell stories, share knowledge and build relationships, is hosting the Declarations of Interdependence Relay’s South Dakota stop. The relay—inspired by the passing of the Olympic torch and designed to inspire connection across state lines—is making its way east. Rather than passing a baton, the community groups participating are passing a box filled with local objects and commitments of care.
Bison, SD
Kithship Collective, a community group that describes itself as “a third place on the prairie” where people can gather to eat, make art, learn, tell stories, share knowledge and build relationships, is hosting the Declarations of Interdependence Relay’s South Dakota stop. The relay—inspired by the passing of the Olympic torch and designed to inspire connection across state lines—is making its way east. Rather than passing a baton, the community groups participating are passing a box filled with local objects and commitments of care.
Rushville, NE
Rushville (population 800) transforms when the Sandhills Institute stages the public art project Self Evident. More than 1,332 T-shirts—each featuring a single word from the Declaration of Independence handwritten by people in all 50 U.S. states and territories—will be hung on a clothesline above Main Street. Neighbors will celebrate the installation at a picnic where they’ll discuss the country’s past, present, and future. This project is one of 13 in a series called Why We Gather, for which artists including Jeffrey Gibson will mount projects in rural communities across the country.
Rushville, NE
Rushville (population 800) transforms when the Sandhills Institute stages the public art project Self Evident. More than 1,332 T-shirts—each featuring a single word from the Declaration of Independence handwritten by people in all 50 U.S. states and territories—will be hung on a clothesline above Main Street. Neighbors will celebrate the installation at a picnic where they’ll discuss the country’s past, present, and future. This project is one of 13 in a series called Why We Gather, for which artists including Jeffrey Gibson will mount projects in rural communities across the country.
Gary, IN
With training and support from Capital B, young people are documenting the stories of Black elders—including historical memories tied to civil rights battles, migrations, and communities built from nothing. The resulting archive will serve as both a community treasure and an explicit counter-narrative to efforts to sanitize the past.
Gary, IN
With training and support from Capital B, young people are documenting the stories of Black elders—including historical memories tied to civil rights battles, migrations, and communities built from nothing. The resulting archive will serve as both a community treasure and an explicit counter-narrative to efforts to sanitize the past.
New Orleans, LA
Art of the Crossfade brings music and storytelling to the Big Easy. Produced by cultural historian Josh Kun and hip-hop DJ/producer J.PERIOD, Art of the Crossfade uses the DJ crossfader as both method and metaphor to confront polarization and reimagine democratic belonging.
New Orleans, LA
Art of the Crossfade brings music and storytelling to the Big Easy. Produced by cultural historian Josh Kun and hip-hop DJ/producer J.PERIOD, Art of the Crossfade uses the DJ crossfader as both method and metaphor to confront polarization and reimagine democratic belonging.
Montgomery, AL
Utilizing billboards, projections, and other media, artist Carrie Mae Weems deploys images of small-scale models, maquettes, sculptures, drawings, and paintings in public spaces and on the exteriors of civic buildings. This is just one stop for her 250 & Change project, which posits the question: “What container, what marker, what memorial can hold our collective voices?” In addition to Montgomery, Weems is taking 250 & Change to New York, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles.
Montgomery, AL
Utilizing billboards, projections, and other media, artist Carrie Mae Weems deploys images of small-scale models, maquettes, sculptures, drawings, and paintings in public spaces and on the exteriors of civic buildings. This is just one stop for her 250 & Change project, which posits the question: “What container, what marker, what memorial can hold our collective voices?” In addition to Montgomery, Weems is taking 250 & Change to New York, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles.
Salt Lake City, UT
High school students produce multimedia stories about Utah’s past and future. With support from the American Journalism Project, their film, video, and photo projects will be distributed through the Salt Lake Tribune’s platforms, local newspapers, and student-led publications. By elevating youth voices, the project positions the next generation not just as participants, but as contributors to how history is documented and carried forward.
Salt Lake City, UT
High school students produce multimedia stories about Utah’s past and future. With support from the American Journalism Project, their film, video, and photo projects will be distributed through the Salt Lake Tribune’s platforms, local newspapers, and student-led publications. By elevating youth voices, the project positions the next generation not just as participants, but as contributors to how history is documented and carried forward.
Los Angeles, CA
Artist LaRissa Rogers’s subterranean convergence, a sculptural installation tracing the movements of people between the American South and the West, debuts in Los Angeles State Historic Park, once the site of the Southern Pacific River Station.
Los Angeles, CA
Artist LaRissa Rogers’s subterranean convergence, a sculptural installation tracing the movements of people between the American South and the West, debuts in Los Angeles State Historic Park, once the site of the Southern Pacific River Station.
Indianapolis, IN
Free Press Indiana hosts a day-long festival to celebrate the participation of Hoosiers from diverse backgrounds in the first 250 years of our country and invite attendees to collectively envision pathways toward progress for the next 250. The news outlet will also produce coverage that highlights the involvement of immigrant communities and communities of color in the building of Indianapolis as a microcosm of the story of our nation.
Indianapolis, IN
Free Press Indiana hosts a day-long festival to celebrate the participation of Hoosiers from diverse backgrounds in the first 250 years of our country and invite attendees to collectively envision pathways toward progress for the next 250. The news outlet will also produce coverage that highlights the involvement of immigrant communities and communities of color in the building of Indianapolis as a microcosm of the story of our nation.
ALL PROJECTS
Afro Charities
American Indigenous Democracy: A Call For Interdependence
American Journalism Project, Inc. | US@250 Fund
American Stories
Amplify 250 | Mobilizing Musicians for America’s 250th
Amplifier | National Creative Assembly for America@250
Art of the Crossfade
ArtPhilly | in case of fire, speak
Artistic Noise, Inc. | A Year of Artistic Advocacy
Barnraisers | Declarations of Interdependence Relay
Between Islands & Diaspora
Black Music Action Coalition | Voices of America
Carrie Mae Weems | 250 & CHANGE
Clockshop | Engagement in California State Parks
Creative Capital | State of the Art Prize
Faith250
Framed in the South
Future Currents
Innovia Foundation | “Making More Possible—Together”
Kinfolk Tech | Ourchives: A People’s History of America’s 250th
Liberation Ventures | America’s 250th Pooled Narrative Fund for Repair / Campaign
Made by Us
Magnum Foundation | Time Capsule: U.S. Dispatches Visual Storytelling Initiative
New America | Us@250 Fellowship
Next River | Freedom Hotline
Organizing Stories: America at 250
Project Bullhorn | Scaling user-generated content for America’s 250th
Rural Progress | Backroads Tour
Rural Digital Youth Project, Inc. | Appalachia@250: Dreams for a Shared Future
Salt Lick Incubator | Reexamining the Great American Songbook
StoryCorps | Connect250
The 19th | US@250
Why We Gather