January 22 - May 16, 2026

As Americans nationwide commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Haggerty Museum of Art presents the exhibition Declaration of ____. Through contemporary print culture, the exhibition asks what declarations are being made now, and by whom. The show foregrounds the accessible medium of zines (low-tech, DIY publications) and prints sourced from Upper Midwest art collectives and zine distributors. Exhibition highlights include Aaron Hughes’s Autonomous Democracy suite, a project exploring experiments in direct democracy within liberation movements and banners by Art Build Workers intended to be carried and seen at educator and labor organizing events. Nicolas Lampert’s Water Is Life design, created in solidarity with Standing Rock, shows how a single graphic can signal a movement. Presented together, these works situate contemporary print and zine practices within ongoing debates about liberty, rights, and representation.

Declaration of____ presents the voices and perspectives of artists who are, among other things, parents, immigrants, educators, activists, veterans, authors, documentarians and curators, all who are central to reflecting on the legacy of America as a nation, concept, and identity. By focusing on historically underrepresented voices, the exhibition reflects on the evolving legacy of the United States as a nation, concept, and home, an inquiry that gains particular urgency as the country marks the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary era and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of ____ was curated by Rose Camara, Charles Hummel Curatorial Fellow, The Chipstone Foundation and coordinated by Jessica A. Cooley, PhD, Postdoctoral Curatorial and Teaching Fellow, Haggerty Museum of Art. 

This exhibition is presented in partnership with the Chipstone Foundation. Support for this exhibition is generously provided by the Stackner Family Endowment Fund.

Images: (left) Aaron Hughes, American, b. 1982, Printed at Spudnik Press Cooperative, This is What Democracy Looks Like from Autonomous Democracy, 2021, Screen print on French Paper, 25 x 19 inches; (right) Fatherless Print Posse, USA and UK, founded in 2010, Javier Jimenez, Greg Lang, David Menard, Ben Rider, Elections Not Auctions, 2023, Monoprint on wood panel, 34 x 48 inches