From August 01, 2024 to May 11, 2025
The years 2024 and 2025 mark the 60th anniversaries of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, two landmark pieces of legislation that fundamentally changed life in the United States for many marginalized groups, including people of color, women, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and others previously denied equal rights. These Acts represented the culmination of nearly a century of advocacy and activism. By Dawn’s Early Light reflects on the historical backdrop that led to these transformative laws, drawing from the U.S. Constitution's Preamble and the rights laid out in the First, Second, and Fourteenth Amendments.
Each gallery of the exhibition showcases selections from the Nasher's permanent collection that engage with these foundational documents, exploring questions about nation-building, the right to assemble, the ownership of weapons, the pursuit of the American dream, and the ongoing process of defining "we the people." The exhibition encourages viewers to consider what values they hold dear and how they use their voices to safeguard those values when casting their votes. The title of the exhibition, drawn from the national anthem, serves as a metaphor for a new beginning, symbolizing the hope for fresh opportunities to collectively imagine and shape a better future.
Featured artists include Kathryn Andrews, Adrián Balseca, Bill Bamberger, Roger Brown, Diego Camposeco, Kennedi Carter, Mel Chin, Dario Escobar, Leonard Freed, Genevieve Gaignard, Scherezade Garcia, Titus Brooks Heagins, Barkley L. Hendricks, Ken Heyman, Henry Horenstein, Dapper Bruce Lafitte, Michelangelo Lovelace, Danny Lyon, Mary Ellen Mark, Vik Muniz, Kambui Olujimi, Bill Owens, Gordon Parks, Fahamu Pecou, Ad Reinhardt, Gary Simmons, Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Erika Stone, Lou Stouman, Sage Sohier, Sarah Sudhoff, Hank Willis Thomas, Burk Uzzle, Nari Ward, Antoine Williams, Fred Wilson, Purvis Young, and George Zimbel.
Image: Diego Camposeco, Tabaco (Tobacco) from the series Diego Saves the World, 2015 (printed 2016). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Museum purchase, 2021.11.2. © Estate of Diego Camposeco. Image courtesy of the artist’s estate.
