AMERICAN DREAM

January 25 - March 4

Gallery Project presents American Dream, a multimedia exhibit in which over 29 local, regional, and national artists explore how hopeful narratives of the American experience are changing.

In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.

The American Dream has been credited with helping to build a cohesive American experience, but has also been blamed for over-inflated expectations. Despite a deep-seated belief in the egalitarian American Dream, the modern American wealth structure still perpetuates racial and class inequalities between generations. Advantage and disadvantage are not always connected to individual successes or failures, but often to prior position in a social order.

As a national ethos, the American Dream can be interpreted as a quest for material wealth, leading to the overindulgence in personal possessions for the assertion of a perceived identity. Moreover, this “dream” can act as a façade cloaking the reality of the American experience for many individuals.

The American Dream investigates this reality, as well as asking for visions of a new ideal. With the myth of an egalitarian America largely dispelled, we look for new definitions of success and fulfillment that take into account past failures and work to build in a new direction.

Contributors Include: Adrian Aguirre, George Awde, Carolyn Reed Barritt, Stephanie Beck, Anna Beeke, Lea Bult, Seder Burns, Matthew Cusick, Rocco DePietro, Dan Farnum, Jay Fernelius, Alisa Henriquez, Jesse Howell, David Katz, Christopher Lee, Joe Levickas, Tom McMillen-Oakley, Janice Milhem, Tim Péwé, Erica Podwoiski, Gloria Pritschet, Meagan Shein, Scotty Slade, Eric Smith, Alan Vanderkaay, Mario Wagner, Michael Wells, Robin Wilt, and Haewon Yoo.

Founded in April 2005, Gallery Project is a fine art collaborative directed by Rocco DePietro and Gloria Pritschet. Its mission is to provide a venue for contemporary art that is culturally aware, individualistic, courageous, and thought provoking. Gallery Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

It is located at 215 South Fourth Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Winter gallery hours: Tuesday through Thursday, noon-6; Friday and Saturday, noon-9; and
Sunday, noon-4. The gallery is closed on Mondays. 

For more information, contact us at 734-997-7012 or mail to: galleryproject@gmail.com galleryproject@gmail.com, or www.thegalleryproject.com.