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Edward Weston (Highland Park, Illinois, 1886 – 1958, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California), Rosa Covarrubias, 1926, vintage gelatin silver print, 9 x 6 ¾ inches. Collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg. Image © Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents.
This summer, the Academy Art Museum invites visitors to explore identity, lived experience, and belonging—an underlying theme that connects the season’s exhibitions and programs as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary of our independence.
Developed in partnership with the Maryland 250 and Talbot 250 Commissions, the season reflects a central idea: there is no single story of America, but many. Across its exhibitions and public programs, the Museum considers who is represented, whose stories are told, and how those narratives have been shaped over time.
At the center of the season is the Museum’s featured exhibition, Under the Mexican Sky: A Revolution in Modern Photography, bringing together works by Edward Weston, Tina Modotti, Helen Levitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Manuel Álvarez Bravo. The exhibition captures a pivotal moment of cultural exchange between the U.S. and Mexico—when artists redefined photography and their own perspectives through place and movement.
Edward Weston (Highland Park, Illinois, 1886 – 1958, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California), Valle de San Juan Teotihuacán (From the Summit of the Pyramid of the Sun), 1923, vintage gelatin silver print, 6 ¾ x 9 ¼ inches. Collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg. Image © Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents.
Extending these ideas, the season’s additional exhibitions offer contemporary and emerging viewpoints. The New Colossus: 2026 Teen Council Exhibition (June 2 – August 9) presents a student-curated exploration of identity and belonging. Lisa Elmaleh: Promised Land (June 9 – August 9) examines the US–Mexico border through a contemporary photographic lens, while a special exhibition by Tawny Chatmon (June 5 – July 5) centers portraiture as a means of reclaiming narrative and visibility.
A defining part of the summer is Artist-in-Residence Esteban del Valle, whose collaboration with Talbot Mentors will culminate in a large-scale mural shaped by local voices and shared experiences—bringing these themes beyond the gallery and into the community.
On June 20, the Museum’s annual Juneteenth celebration—in partnership with the Hill Community—brings together art, history, and community through music, talks, tours, and the unveiling of the mural.
Free and open to all, the Academy Art Museum invites visitors to experience art as a space for connection, reflection, and conversation. academyartmuseum.org
