The Brooklyn Museum is marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with 'Drawing America: US@250', a season of art installations, programs and partnerships that will run from Pride to Election Day 2026. The museum describes the initiative as a project honoring people throughout U.S. history who have “dared to envision and fight for a more equitable future” and those who continue that work today.
At the center of the initiative are self-guided audio tours that invite visitors to explore works from across the Brooklyn Museum’s collection through multiple historical and political lenses. The tours are organized around LGBTQ+ liberation, civil rights, the women’s movement, immigrant experiences, climate justice and Indigenous perspectives, with the Indigenous-focused tour listed as coming soon. The museum says the tours feature personal insights from artists, curators, educators, writers and others.
The project is presented as an ongoing series rather than a single exhibition, and the Bloomberg Connects guide frames it as “ongoing.” Its description also quotes civil rights attorney and activist Bryan Stevenson: “We must draw a new America as we are the picture makers.” The line is used as a concise statement of the project’s interpretive frame, linking the museum’s collection to broader questions of national history and social change.
Brooklyn Museum’s materials present 'Drawing America: US@250' as part of a wider summer season that also includes exhibitions and events focused on community. In the museum’s July newsletter, the initiative appears alongside other programs including 'Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses', 'Common Sense' and 'Donald Moffett: IMPEACH', though the museum’s announcement keeps 'Drawing America: US@250' distinct from those separate projects.
The museum says the tours are available through Bloomberg Connects and Sound Made Public, extending the project into a digital format designed for self-guided listening. Visitors are directed to brooklynmuseum.org/programs for more information on upcoming community events included in 'Drawing America'. No specific event dates are listed for those related programs in the source material provided.
The initiative’s themes place familiar chapters of American art and history in direct conversation with present-day struggles and movements. By organizing the collection around liberation, rights, migration, environmental justice and Indigenous viewpoints, the Brooklyn Museum is using its own holdings as the basis for a season-long public program tied to the nation’s semiquincentennial. The project is listed as ongoing in the Bloomberg Connects guide, which also includes related entries for LGBTQ+ liberation, civil rights, immigrant experience, women’s movement and climate justice.
