On July 4, 2026, the United States will commemorate and celebrate its semiquincentennial: the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
At Fairfield University, a yearlong suite of arts and cultural programming, titled America250: The Promise and Paradox, will celebrate and examine the rich history of the United States. In alignment with national, state, and town celebration themes, the University’s upcoming events and programs invite all to engage in meaningful conversations and thoughtful reflection on the common good, the lessons of our shared history, and the enduring promise of the American experiment.
“As our nation approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, we at Fairfield University are proud to present a year of programming that commemorates the American story and invites us to reflect more deeply on its complexity and promise,” said President Mark R. Nemec, PhD. “Through the work of artists, performers, scholars, and storytellers representing a wide array of experiences and perspectives, we are invited to consider not only where we have been, but who we are—and who we aspire to become. In doing so, Fairfield University advances its mission to promote critical inquiry, civic engagement, and education for the common good.”
Art is a universal lens. We can all look at something together and respond.”
- Carey Mack Weber, Frank and Clara Meditz Executive Director of the Fairfield University Art Museum
Coincidentally, two of Fairfield’s core arts institutions, the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts and the Fairfield University Art Museum, are also celebrating milestone anniversaries in the coming year: the Quick is launching its 35th season and the museum is turning 15. Both venues have curated a slate of programming designed to spark conversation and engage with America250 celebration themes.
For the past 35 years, the Quick Center has been a home to spectacular performances and cultural experiences that make you think, laugh, reflect, connect, and dream—all without leaving Connecticut. The goal for the next 35 years and beyond remains to do what they do best: showcase world-class talent while broadening experiences and exploring new ways to engage students and the wider community.
“It’s incredible that the University chose to make this commitment 35 years ago,” said Lori N. Jones, director of programming and operations at the Quick. “In a town this size, you don’t typically see an arts center on this scale with such a commitment to service and education. Thanks to the generosity of the Quick family, the University has created a space to both celebrate and to challenge one another to see things differently.”
Silkroad Ensemble with Wu Man will present American Railroad at the Quick Center on Nov. 7, 2025.
Lori N. Jones, director of programming and operations at the Quick Center.
ACLU Artist Ambassador Padma Lakshmi will present at the Quick Center on Nov. 13, 2025.
With its America250: The Promise and Paradox-themed offerings, the Quick upholds that commitment to service, education, and celebration. Must-see performers include the Silkroad Ensemble with Wu Man in American Railroad, which—through music—tells the story of immigrant and marginalized laborers who built the Transcontinental Railroad; Bodytraffic, a celebrated Los Angeles-based contemporary dance company that performs electrifying works set to the music of Etta James, Buddy Holly, and Peggy Lee; and Minty Fresh Circus, a joyful, Afrocentric reimagining of the circus form, inspired by Harriet Tubman’s legacy and drawing on movement traditions from across the African diaspora.
Fairfield’s signature lecture series, the Philip I. Eliasoph Open VISIONS Forum, has been renamed in honor of its founding director and will feature acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Artist Ambassador Padma Lakshmi, and Eboo Patel, PhD, founder of Interfaith America, among others.
“With our America250 programming in particular, we are asking audiences to civically engage,” said Jones. “It’s not just entertainment; it’s a powerful experience that can change you. Be overwhelmed. Be enlightened. Spend time with your neighbors and experience the etherealness of something live and in-person that will never happen quite like that again. The more you experience, the more you will be informed, feel fulfilled, and be able to successfully navigate today’s complex world.”
Celebrating 15 years, the Fairfield University Art Museum has already made its mark as a destination and resource for community members near and far. During the 2024-25 academic year, the Museum saw more than 13,000 in-person attendees and upwards of 100,000 engagements with their digital programming; growth is expected to continue as the team prepares for the exciting slate of 2025-26 exhibitions.
Carey Mack Weber, Frank and Clara Meditz Executive Director of the Fairfield University Art Museum
Carey Mack Weber, the Frank and Clara Meditz Executive Director of the Museum, is excited to share the Art Museum’s contributions to America250 programming. “Art is a universal lens,” said Weber. “We can all look at something together and respond. While we won’t all have the same response, that unifying lens provides an opportunity for conversation.”
The Art Museum will host two fall exhibitions with roots in the America250: The Promise and Paradox initiative: Stitching Time: The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project and Give Me Life: CPA Prison Arts Program (Walsh Gallery, Sept. 12 – Dec. 13, 2025), a dual exhibition featuring the work of currently or formerly incarcerated individuals; and Monuments: Commemoration and Controversy (Bellarmine Hall Galleries, Sept. 19 – Dec. 20, 2025), an exhibition organized by The New York Historical and curated by Wendy Nalani E. Ikemoto which explores the evolving role of monuments in American life and how they have been celebrated, attacked, protested, altered, and removed.
For Which It Stands… (Bellarmine Hall and Walsh Galleries, Jan. 23 – July 25, 2026), is the headliner of the Museum’s semiquincentennial commemoration. Curated by Weber, the exhibition will examine depictions of the American flag over the past century—from patriotic to politically charged. Highlights include Italian Day, May 1918 by Childe Hassam, and a commissioned textile sculpture by Maria de Los Angeles.
“Our goal with For Which It Stands… is to create a place for reflection and conversation about our democracy at 250 years, through images of the American flag,” said Weber. “There are pieces in the show that are incredibly patriotic, but there are also many works of protest. The history of this country is messy and complicated and not everyone has been treated fairly or justly. We hope that viewers are provided with an opportunity to understand why an artist was moved to use the flag in a particular way, whether in celebration or challenge. We also hope that the exhibition can help visitors imagine how they can contribute to helping our democracy live up to its original promises for all people as we move forward as a nation.”
The Fairfield University community—with the Quick Center for the Arts and the Fairfield University Art Museum at the forefront—is excited to welcome the public to celebrate and examine the rich history of the United States through the performances, lectures, exhibitions, and experiences that are set to make 2025-26 a truly historic year.
A Fairfield University Art Museum dual exhibition of Stitching Time: The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project and Give Me Life: CPA Prison Arts Program will run through Dec. 13 at the Walsh Gallery located in the Quick Center.
Stitching Time features 12 quilts created by incarcerated men in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison. Accompanied by recorded interviews, each work tells the story of a unique inside-outside quilt collaboration and focuses our attention on the quilt creators—people often forgotten by society when discussing the history of the U.S. criminal justice system.
Give Me Life features a selection of works from women artists presently or formerly incarcerated at York Correctional Institution, a maximum security state prison in Niantic, Conn., courtesy of Community Partners in Action (CPA). The CPA’s Prison Arts Program was initiated in 1978 and is one of the longest-running projects of its kind in the United States.
Artists-In-Residence at the Quick
The Quick Center’s Artist-in-Residence program serves as a creative incubator, providing artists from around the world with space and resources to focus on the creation of new work.
Emily Coates’ Tell Me Where It Comes From
Emily Coates—a dancer, choreographer, and writer—joined the Quick in March 2025 as an artist-in-residence, along with collaborators Ain Gordon, Derek Lucci, and Charles Burnham. Their project, Tell Me Where It Comes From, is a performance piece using iconic choreographer George Balanchine’s short-lived yet pivotal history in Connecticut as a point of departure to think about how the body and spirit of dance artists scatter, living on in unexpected places.
Coates elevates a local story through performance, giving particular attention to New England’s underappreciated contribution to dance. With this framework, Tell Me Where It Comes From emphasizes the power of place—a theme explored through America250—and how place can shape art and storytelling, leaving a lasting legacy far beyond the place itself.
The culmination of her residency, Coates will present Tell Me Where It Comes From at the Quick on Oct. 9 and 10, 2025.
