“This exhibit echoes the indomitable spirit of democracy and the unwavering pursuit of human rights through the profound discourse of art,” said Ambassador Michèle Taylor, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). “As states from across the globe convene for the 53rd HRC session, let these works serve as a resounding testament to our shared dedication towards an equitable, just world.”

Megan Beyer, Director of Art in Embassies at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations adds that “Artists are the world’s best ambassadors for the cause of freedom, because they survive on freedom.

Art can make you feel what a diplomat can only try to make you understand.”

A More Perfect Union: American Artists and the Currents of Our Time, curated by Art in Embassies Chief Curator Camille Benton, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities member Nora Halpern, and former Art in Embassies Director Ellen Susman, includes works by some of the most respected contemporary artists in the United States with art focusing on issues of equality, freedom, justice, and other founding principles of the country.

Among the artists are Tanya Aguiniga, Doug Aitken, Paula Crown, Jenny Holzer, Wyatt Gallery, Jeffrey Gibson, Jay Lynn Gomez, Eric Gottesman, Tomashi Jackson, Titus Kaphar, Christine Sun Kim, Bruce Nauman, Yoko Ono, Alexis Rockman, Edward Ruscha, Will Ryman, Emily Shur, Xavier Tavera, Hank Willis Thomas, Marie Watt, Carrie Mae Weems, Susan Weil, Lawrence Weiner, Ambassador Chantale Wong, and Yu-Wen Wu.

The U.S. Department of State established the Office of Art in Embassies in 1963, adapting a program started ten years earlier at the Museum of Modern Art. The exhibitions and collections created by the office play a vital role in our nation’s public diplomacy. The works are carefully selected to reflect the pride and innovation of America’s cultural sector and to make cross-cultural connections in the regions and states in which they are displayed.