Beautiful Possibility Project / 2010-2013
Beautiful Possibility is a traveling exhibition and research project that takes the prototype of the 19th century American Traveling show as inspiration for engaging others about what it means to be American. Two pre-scheduled tours follow a “reverse migration” of Manifest Destiny from west to east coasts across the northern United States and southern Canada. The traveling exhibition consists of a series of hand painted canvas banners, a tour map and a survey station.
The project launched from Southern Exposure in San Francisco in March 2010. I physically toured the show as a solo journey, living in a travel trailer for two year-long tours 2010-2013, engaging and learning from the many people, locations, social and environmental conflicts that have shaped the country. I organized and toured to over 26 venues from Rural and Native American Tribal Centers to Artist Run Spaces and Museums.
A dedicated website for the project included tour routes, exhibition stops and travel journal and photos.
Firmly rooted in the time it was created, this project is just one evolutionary step in the many re-tellings of America that need to be made not just in my own, but the nation's journey to uncover overlooked histories, make mistakes, revise the stories that we mis-learned, and accept our own responsibility in shaping a more Beautiful Possibility for America.
