Since 1776, Americans have used major anniversaries of the nation’s founding to celebrate, debate, revise, and perform the story of the United States. For We Hold These Truths, her new exhibition opening at UMMA in October 2026, artist Holly Bass looks to three of those anniversary years—1876, 1976, and 2026 to explore how national ideals are staged in public, preserved in private, and passed down through generations. In this talk, Bass will discuss the ideas behind We Hold These Truths, her process of transforming UMMA’s iconic Apse into an environment, and the role art plays in helping communities consider these [...]