Image: University of Michigan Museum of Art, Washington
‘Holly Bass: We Hold These Truths’ opens October 3, 2026, in UMMA’s Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Apse. The immersive installation moves through different eras of American life and asks visitors to consider which national ideals are preserved and celebrated and which are stored away.
UMMA’s Alumni Memorial Hall reopens this fall after an eight-month renovation that includes newly restored marble floors in the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Apse. UMMA will feature exhibitions, tours, films, conversations and special events in October and November.
Bass will lead a public art-making activity during UMMA’s reopening celebration. The session is scheduled for Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Apse, where participants can join Bass at the Century Table for hands-on art making inspired by ‘We Hold These Truths,’ reflect on questions and ideas raised by her work, and transform their own perspectives into creative responses. The interactive activity is one of the events featured during UMMA’s Fall Opening Celebration, and it is free and open to the public, with no registration required; all ages are welcomed.
Bass is the 2026 Roman J. Witt Artist In Residence and is known for a genre-defying practice spanning dance, theater, visual art and writing. Her work, held in the collections of the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, frequently engages communities through workshops, devised theater and participatory installations.
