Americana: 50 States, 50 Months, 50 Exhibitions

Americana: 50 States, 50 Months, 50 Exhibitions was a long-term presentation consisting of 50 displays, each approximately one month long, exhibited between January 2011–May 2012 and coorganized by Wattis Institute director Jens Hoffmann and CCA’s Graduate Program in Curatorial Practice. The title is a reference to an exhibition of the same name that was curated by the artist collective Group Material at the 1985 Whitney Biennial. Each month’s display examined an American state, in alphabetical order by state name. Through artworks, historical artifacts, curiosities and other elements, Americana focuses on overlooked and little-known aspects of each state. Americana examines the states as they are today, looking at how America’s social and political imperatives condition the production, presentation and interpretation of art and exhibition making. The brisk pace of the 50 displays reflects the varied and constantly changing fabric of this relatively young country and its multilayered, shifting national identity.