Summary: This project reflects on the era of two presidents, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. The twelve years from 2008 to 2020 encompass a historic moment of hope for unity and change that gave way to an equally historically polarized America. 

Topmost Question: How can creative expression inspire new institutions, economies, and communities that connect us to each other and to the planet we call home?

Coalition-led Change: President Barack Obama asserted that our constitutional heritage celebrated "a God-given promise that all men are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."  Americans have embraced this sacred value over the years as our own.  It is a starting point that can dissipate what Obama called the “lines of the tribe” while nurturing the fruits of our common humanity.  

The Coalition behind Obama’s election consisted of varied races, ethnicities, religions, and social identities. After this electoral victory, those who historically worked and waited for a seat at the table demanded their share of cultural power. 

Coalition-led Polarization: Eight years later, members of established social categories (poor, working, and middle-class Americans and those of traditional gender identities) questioned Obama-era change and voiced different views of equal access and opportunity for all, including measures needed to address historical discrimination and socio-economic inequities. 

Attempts at civil discourse in public forums established to resolve differing views often collapsed. Partisans used false narratives, conspiracy theories, and misinformation as deliberate tactics to ensure that fair-minded discourse devolved into hardened, side-taking fights. Public forums turned into brawls of opposing sides, some including partisan interpretations of the U.S. Constitution, the direction of public schools, and book selection in libraries. As a result, America became a nation of opposing groups –  minorities vs. whites, conservatives vs. liberals; the working class vs. elites; straight white men vs. everyone else. We no longer appeared to be a country of communities bound by shared American values.

Tapping into the national discord, Donald Trump partnered with GOP operatives to create a presidential campaign rooted in an extreme form of nationalism - Make America Great Again (MAGA). With Trump at the helm,  the MAGA coalition galvanized their membership to regain political power and control of the narratives around race, gender, class, and immigration, resulting in Trump becoming America’s 45th President. MAGA, as a result, dominated the social and political scene for the next four years and beyond, significantly impacting the ever-increasing conflict between the two Americas and leading to the events of January 6th, 2020. This historic attack on the capital was an attempt by those who questioned the election's legitimacy to keep Trump in Power. The events of January 6, 2020, led to several deaths, hundreds of injuries, and over 800 arrests.

Toward Common Humanity: How can we now respond to the polarization of the Obama-Trump era? Can we envision a compelling, powerful narrative that all can own? Can the arts, in all forms, inspire humanity to unite as citizens of one nation motivated by a common purpose and mission to move the American experiment consciously forward?