We Are Nature: Selected Earthlings from the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection
October 1–February 28, 2025
Annenberg Center
Sky or Blue Grid, Lithograph, Herb Jackson (American, born 1945). Courtesy The Penn Art Collection, University of Pennsylvania.
The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation is pleased to present We Are Nature: Selected Earthlings from the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection, an exhibition and event series curated by Daniel Tucker and organized in collaboration with the Eco-Social Series, an event series and learning community convening in Philadelphia since 2023.
Presented in The Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center, October 1, 2024–February 28, 2025, We Are Nature is produced in partnership with Penn Live Arts and the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection.
About the Exhibition
We Are Nature presents a wide selection of artworks from the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection, drawing connections between varied representations of nature and depicting living beings alongside sites as diverse as urban streets, recreational sites, extractive industries, farms, universities, and parks. The title of the exhibition is inspired by campaigns to change the definition of nature in English dictionaries and from We Are ‘Nature’ Defending Itself, a 2008 book by Isabelle Fremeaux and Jay Jordan that chronicles the story of ZAD, a resistant land occupation emerging out of a decades-long struggle in France.
We Are Nature takes place in conjunction with the Penn Live Arts 2024–25 season Beyond Boundaries and contributes to the rich conversation offered by the season’s programs with an exhibit that considers the inclusion of artworks by international and local artists, all donated to the university art collection.
Opening Reception
Please join us for an opening reception on Tuesday, October 29, beginning at 5:00 PM, with remarks scheduled for 5:15 PM. Registration is requested but not required.
- Tuesday, October 29, 5:00 PM
- The Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center
3680 Walnut Street (enter from the South Plaza)
University of Pennsylvania
Included Artists
A. Lafontant, Alfredo Zalce, Alice Standish Buell, Brett Weston, Carol Summers, Charlotte Buell Comen, Dale DeArmond, Donald Judd, Doris Lee, Edward Steichen, Elliot Erwitt, Ethel Magafan, Felipe Orlando, Fletcher Martin, Frank W. Benson, George Walter Dawson, Harry Carmean, Herb Jackson, Humberto Chugchilamy, Isabel Bishop, Isidoro Ocampo, Jack Coughlin, John Steuart Curry, John Taylor Arms, Joseph Pennell, Leopoldo Mendez, Lewis Hine, Luigi Lucioni, Lyonel Feininger, Mabel Dwight, Marion Post Wolcott, Mark Bockrath, Mary Frank, Mollie Rubenstein, Raul Anguiano, Reginald Marsh, Reva Urban, Richard Artschwager, Rick Wright, Thomas Hart Benton, William Gropper, and William H. Lindsay.
Exhibition Curator
Daniel Tucker (He/Him/His) helps artists, activists, and organizations to create impactful work. He has done this by creating independent publications, academic programs, dynamic gatherings and critical exhibitions. He develops projects inspired by his interest in social movements and the people and places from which they emerge. His writings and lectures on the intersections of art and politics and his collaborative art projects have been published and presented widely and are documented on his website archive at miscprojects.com.
Acknowledgements
We Are Nature is presented by The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation and produced in partnership with Penn Live Arts and the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection.
The exhibition and associated programming were organized in collaboration with the Eco-Social Salon, Site-Seeing, and Screening Series, an event series and learning community that has convened irregularly in Philadelphia since 2023, presenting ecologically-themed artwork and sponsoring related excursions.
For more information, please visit the Eco-Social Series website, contact the organization by email (ecosocialseries@gmail.com), or follow on Instagram (@ecosocialseries).
Special Thanks
Essential partners in the work of organizing and presenting We Are Nature include Christopher A. Gruits at Penn Live Arts; Lynn Smith Dolby, the Director of the Penn Art Collection and the collections interns Jordi Jackson and Mikayla Ervin; Atelier Fine Art Services; and Matt Neff and Sharon Hayes of Stuart Weitzman School of Design. This exhibit would not have been possible without the staff of The Sachs Program, including John McInerney, Chloe Reison, Tamara Suber, and Elizabeth Shaw.
Exhibition Installation: Emily Elliott and Scott Currie
Exhibition Design and Curation: Daniel Tucker