{"id":1043995,"date":"2026-09-05T01:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T01:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1043995\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T01:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T01:35:15","slug":"cleveland-museum-of-art-adds-community-voices-to-americas-250th-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1043995\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Museum of Art adds ‘Community Voices’ to America’s 250th celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Through art and personal reflection, Clevelanders are sharing how their own experiences shape the way they see America and its history.<\/p>\n

CLEVELAND \u2014 Walk through the Cleveland Museum of Art<\/a>, and a painting may catch your eye because of its color, its subject, or the story behind it.<\/p>\n

But sometimes, the connection is far more personal.<\/p>\n

A work of art can remind you of a person or place. It can stir a memory; it can even cause two people standing before the same painting to see something entirely different.<\/p>\n


\n \"\" <\/p>\n


\n This story continues below. <\/p>\n

That idea is at the heart of “Community Voices,”<\/a> an initiative at the Cleveland Museum of Art that puts personal perspectives alongside more traditional interpretations of works in the museum’s collection. As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, the museum is using those voices to explore the nation’s history \u2014 and the many different experiences that make up the American story.<\/p>\n

“It is my job to help people connect with the art work,” said Stephanie Foster, senior manager of interpretation at the Cleveland Museum of Art.<\/p>\n

The museum’s interpretation team operates on the idea that there is more than one way to engage with art. Our own histories and experiences, Foster says, inevitably influence what we see when we stand in front of a painting, sculpture or other work.<\/p>\n

“Art is for everyone, and our mission here is for the benefit of all the people,” Foster said. “And we all have a voice. We do.”<\/p>\n


\nLooking back \u2014 and forward \u2014 at America at 250 <\/p>\n

For America’s 250th anniversary, the museum is featuring the perspectives of 10 artists on its staff, each of whom selected a work from the museum’s American collection and considered a question: What connections do they see between that work’s story and our shared American history?<\/p>\n

Their responses appear on special labels alongside the artwork.<\/p>\n

The museum is also displaying reflections from eight community members who previously participated in Community Voices and were asked to consider what the American dream means to them. It’s part of a broader yearlong America250 effort<\/a> at the museum designed to explore not only America’s past, but the diverse histories, cultures, and artistic traditions that continue to shape the country.<\/p>\n

For those taking part, the connections can be deeply personal.<\/p>\n

Tenzin Lucas, who works in visitor services at the museum, selected a work that connects art and literature with the lived experiences and creative expression surrounding the Harlem Renaissance.<\/p>\n

“It’s so striking to have art that’s inspired maybe by literature with lived experiences with other artists,” Lucas said.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

His observation also speaks to a larger theme running through the project.<\/p>\n

“America is a patchwork of so many different histories,” he explained.<\/p>\n


\nFinding something of yourself in art <\/p>\n

For Jane Sydney, a sales associate in the museum’s art shop, the connection came through “Pine Tree.” The 1931 Arthur Dove painting transforms something ordinary \u2014 pinecones \u2014 through splashes of color.<\/p>\n

“He saw the pinecones as flowers, and I see that too, because all pinecones look different,” Sydney said.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n


\nWhen the painting becomes part of you <\/p>\n

There is a particular painting at the Cleveland Museum of Art that takes me back years.<\/p>\n

John Rogers Cox’s 1942 painting “Gray and Gold” depicts a rural landscape beneath a dark and imposing sky, with a road disappearing over a distant hill. For me, that road invites a journey.<\/p>\n

I want to walk up that road wondering what’s on the other side of that road up the hill. In many ways, I’m in the painting, yes, but even more so, the painting is in me.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

It is precisely the kind of connection Community Voices seeks to encourage: Art may have a history, an artist may have had an intention, but every person who stands before it brings a history too.<\/p>\n

And as America celebrates 250 years, the Cleveland Museum of Art is using those individual perspectives to help tell a much larger story \u2014 one made up of different histories, different experiences, and different voices, all part of the same American picture.<\/p>\n

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s America250 staff and Community Voice labels will remain on view through the end of 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Through art and personal reflection, Clevelanders are sharing how their own experiences shape the way they see America…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1043996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,1033,171,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1043995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1043995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1043996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1043995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1043995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1043995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}