‘Visions of America’ Exhibit Opening In Newtown In Celebration Of Nation's 250th

NEWTOWN, PA — In celebration of America's semiquincentennial, the Hicks Art Center Gallery at the Bucks County Community College will host "Visions of America," an invitational group exhibition June 5 to July 25 on the Newtown Campus.

The multimedia showcase will seamlessly blend contemporary art with significant historical loans, brought together by local artists and cultural organizations, to capture select
evolutionary moments of the country’s 250-year history told through both human and animal perspectives.

The public is invited to an opening reception on Friday, June 5, from 4 to 8 p.m. Admission to the gallery and reception is free.

Multiple Perspectives on the American Experience

Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, "Visions of America" addresses pivotal topics within the history and evolution of the United States. Artworks and historical loans will explore themes of personal independence, patriotism, war, animal conservation, queer trans identity, 1960s politics, creativity within the Quaker faith, and the trauma of slavery.

Clifford Eberly, Senior Manager of Galleries and Exhibitions at the Hicks Art Center Gallery, curated the exhibition by asking a diverse group to self-select or invite artists to propose works that reflect on the nation's past, present, and future.

“I invited a broad sampling of artists and cultural workers to present the most dynamic grouping of viewpoints that grapple with America’s history and where we are going as a nation,” Eberly said. “Within the exhibition framework, my goal is for gallery visitors to feel like they learn something new that sparks a shared dialogue within themselves and with others.”

The resulting multimedia collection contrasts the possibilities of democracy with critical realizations, emphasizing that for global civilization to advance holistically, humility toward one another and the natural world must begin at a local level.

The oath of enlistment for the Continental Army signed by Henry Vaughan on May 15, 1776, is the oldest artifact on display in “Visions of America” at Bucks County Community College’s Hicks Art Center Gallery. Selected by Library & Archives Director Annie Halliday at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, the item is one of many in the invitational group exhibition June 5 to July 25 on the Newtown Campus. (Image courtesy of the Mercer Museum)

Vincent Hawley’s “Write Your Own Constitution” (micron pen, oil pastel, styrene paper, 2025) is a contemporary contrast on display in “Visions of America” opening June 5 at Bucks County Community College’s Hicks Art Center Gallery. The artist was invited to participate in the multimedia exhibition by Michener Art Museum Registrar Emma Falcon. (Image courtesy of Vincent Hawley)

For example, the earliest artifact on display is a Continental Army enlistment oath, selected by Library & Archives Director Annie Halliday at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown. In a contemporary contrast, artist Vincent Hawley, invited by Michener Art Museum Registrar Emma Falcon, presents an inspired drawing of America’s founding document titled “Write Your Own Constitution.”

Newtown historians Dave Callahan and Kathy Gonsalves of the Newtown Historic Association have loaned their 1976 documentary film capturing the commemorative July 4th Bicentennial parade in Newtown.

Artist and designer Edward Bennett contributes “Focal Point,” a large collage fashioned from salvaged razor blades that includes a painting of a very small American flag. Meanwhile, printmaker Mikel Elam’s multi-color print “Veil,” selected from the personal collection of Past Present Projects founder Heather Moqtaderi, features a close-knit group of Black figures rising above the shackles of slavery through spirited
mindfulness.

“Visions of America,” an invitational multimedia showcase that explores America’s history, diverse identities, and ecological futures at Bucks County Community College’s
Hicks Art Center Gallery, includes Ed Bennett’s collage “Focal Point” (2011, razor blades on Masonite). A small American flag is depicted in the center of the collage. (Image courtesy of Ed Bennett)

Duwenavue Santé Johnson, invited by the college’s arts faculty member Mary Henderson, researched the work of her newly discovered distant relative, Mary Ivins Cunningham, a historic Newtown-based Quaker artist. Johnson will exhibit an original textile symbolically evoking the ethereal spirituality found in Cunningham’s observational artwork.

Shifting to the natural world, Paul Swenbeck, Director of Exhibitions at the Academy of Natural Sciences, presents an experiential installation of objects and photographs advocating for animal voices within the context of America's future survival.

These and many more “Visions of America” are on exhibition June 5 to July 25 at the Hicks Art Center Gallery at Bucks County Community College, located at 275 Swamp Road, Newtown. For a campus map and directions, visit bucks.edu/newtown. Admission to all events is free. To learn more, visit hicksgallery.bucks.edu and follow on Instagram at @bcccartscomm.

“Visions of America” is presented by the college’s School of Visual and Performing Arts, which offers seven associate degrees and three certificate programs. Through coursework, exhibitions, and community engagement, the school prepares students for careers in the arts and inspires appreciation for creative expression. To learn more, visit bucks.edu/arts, email arts.comm@bucks.edu, or call 215-968-8425.

Event Details

• "Visions of America" is free and open to the community.
• Exhibition Dates: June 5 – July 25, 2026
• Opening Reception: Friday, June 5, 4 – 8 p.m.
• Location: Hicks Art Center Gallery, Bucks County Community College, 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, PA 18940