Ten Years of 30 Americans

Abstract

This essay examines the history and impact of the long-running traveling exhibition 30 Americans, which has been seen in over a dozen different cities since it was conceived in 2008. Curated from the extensive holdings of contemporary art owned by the Rubell family, the show includes works by thirty-one African American artists, who explore contemporary social issues, modes of making, and personal mythologies through various approaches to abstraction and other diverse representational strategies. The chapter argues for the continued value and importance of exhibitions that are nominally organized along lines of shared identity.