The Collection
The election of President Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States of America reinvigorated in the United States a national discussion of race and history. The “Dreams of Our People” exhibit, coined from the President’s autobiography, “Dreams of My Father,” seeks to expand on this discussion and to explore the diversity of African American art while celebrating the dynamism, independence, and indefatigable hopefulness that is so characteristic of the American people. While all of the artists in the exhibit are African American, their African heritage may not function as the primary reference in their work. What unites these works – and what unites the American people as a nation - is our insistence on universal human values, strength of family, compassion, hopes, dreams, fierce independence, and belief in creating possibilities.
Bisa Williams
Ambassador