For the People, By the People: America at 250
Division of Collections & Infrastructure
Flo Ngala, Hot Girl Summer, 2020, color digital print. Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; Elisabeth Claire Lahti Fund, 2020.4
Flo Ngala, Hot Girl Summer, 2020, color digital print. Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; Elisabeth Claire Lahti Fund, 2020.4
For the People, By the People: America at 250 at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts commemorates the Semiquincentennial by reflecting on America’s enduring ties to liberty, justice, and identity. Drawing inspiration from the democratic ideals articulated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, the exhibition considers how the promise of freedom has been expressed, questioned, and reimagined across generations.
Supported by an NEH Celebrate America! grant, For the People, By the People brings together artworks from the museum’s collection and loans of historic significance and contemporary voices to examine the symbols, struggles, and aspirations that shaped and continue to inform American life. Spanning photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and installation-based works, this exhibition juxtaposes notable artists such as Dorothea Lange, Jacob Lawrence, Alfred Stieglitz, Hank Willis Thomas, and Andy Warhol with rising artists like Erica Lord, Julio Cesar Morales, and Cara Romero, among many others.
By placing historic works in dialogue with contemporary practices, For the People, By the People: America at 250 not only commemorates the nation’s 250th anniversary, but also serves as a timely meditation on who “the people” were then—and who we aspire to be now.
For the People, By the People: America at 250 opens at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts on June 27, 2026, and will be on display through October 4, 2026.