SAMA explores democracy with two exhibits on civic engagement

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (SAMA) in Altoona is featuring two exhibits created to promote civic engagement and diversity in democracy.

“Each of these are designed or curated in a way to provide questions and engage the viewer to reflect on what they appreciate about democracy, what they feel they get out of democracy and what it means to them and how they engage with it in their everyday life,” said Danté DiAndrea, Site Director for SAMA Altoona.

“Americana” and “We the People” are currently on display at SAMA and feature the works of Colleen Browning, Beth Wheeler and a modern photographic interpretation of Norman Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms” that hopes to show how different voices matter in a democracy.

“The original Four Freedoms idea actually comes from a FDR speech that Norman Rockwell took inspiration for and dramatized in his iconic, four freedoms painting. And the these are modern reinterpretations of those paintings using a more diverse audience,” DiAndrea said.

Visitors can also make their own postcards reflecting on what the exhibitions means to them which will be on display at the museum in Altoona, as well as SAMA’s other locations in Central Pennsylvania. They will be collected ahead of the museum’s Democracy Roundtabl e on Oct. 5 featuring two local historians — Harriet Gatson and Dr. Jared Frederick — as the keynote speakers.

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Americana will run through Oct. 6 and We the People will be on display through Jan. 19, 2025. Both exhibits can be seen during the museum’s opening hours — noon to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday weekly.

Lead sponsorship for We the People was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.

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