Cultural Exchange:: Who is American Today?

This exhibition showcases video work created as part of the ongoing research project Who Is American Today?, which investigates how high school students understand citizenship. The study’s premise is to enable student voice through digital tools by asking more than 100 students across the country to create a short video responding to the question, “Who is American today?” Exploring issues of personal and national identity, this exhibition showcases student narratives over a seven-year period. Connecting creativity and democracy, students are invited to reflect upon experiences in their own communities and on their perceived status as citizens. Viewers can experience different points of view, shared values and concerns, a range of technical skills and creative approaches, and the potential of digital storytelling for elevating these voices. By creating and circulating these stories, participating students experience how digital making can bring attention to lesser-known narratives, validate perspectives, help surpass polarizing issues, and engender shared understandings. Seeking to help articulate connections between students’ personal and political spheres, the work in this exhibition illuminates how creative practices can provide a road map to facilitate democratic dialogue and create pathways for the pursuit of a common good.

The participants are anonymous high school students from Provo High School in Utah and Oyler High School, Miami Valley High School, and Kennedy Heights Art Center in Ohio.

Curators: Flávia Bastos, Ph.D., Distinguished Research Professor in the Arts and Humanities, DAAP; and James Rees, Adjunct Instructor in Art Department at Utah Valley University