I Hear America Singing: Contemporary Photography from America

The Columbus Museum of Art presents the exhibition I Hear America Singing: Contemporary Photography from America, on view at The Pizzuti Collection of the Columbus Museum of Art in the city’s Short North. Curated by Ashley Lumb, the exhibition was conceived for the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts in Amman, Jordan where it was presented in 2021.

For Walt Whitman, the strength of the nation derived from the collective contributions of individuals, as was expressed in his poem “I Hear America Singing,” first published in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. The reality of the time contradicted the author’s optimism as many communities throughout the country were refused certain “inalienable rights” set out in the Declaration of Independence. Using a variety of formats and approaches, the sixteen photographers in this exhibition challenge a historically singular concept of American identity to highlight the diversity of lived experiences in the country. The exhibition is organized thematically into three sections—Landscape, Portraiture, and American History—to consider the nation and its people across time and space.

Artists: Matthew Brandt, Mercedes Dorame, Lucas Foglia, Wen-Hang Lin, Michael Lundgren, Alex Maclean, Griselda San Martin, Pamela Pecchio, David Benjamin Sherry, For Freedoms, Greg Stimac, Millee Tibbs, Wendel White, William Wilson

Curator: Ashley Lumb