This Land Is...

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, The Huntington is launching THIS LAND IS…, a sweeping multiyear initiative that invites visitors to reflect on the American story through the lens of land. Anchored by the tagline “Reflections for America at 250,” the initiative draws on The Huntington’s library, art, and botanical collections to spotlight relationships between land, United States history, and American identities.

The initiative’s title references the iconic 1940s folk song “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. The ellipsis in THIS LAND IS… invites reflection on land as both a geographical and metaphorical space of promise, struggle, and belonging.

Launching in fall 2025 and continuing through 2027, THIS LAND IS… will unfold across gallery reinterpretations, a major exhibition and companion publication, a renovated garden space, public and educational programs, and a kickoff conversation between President Lawrence and filmmaker Ava DuVernay. 

Key Highlights

• Opening conversation with Ava DuVernay on October 22, 2025: The initiative kicks off with a public conversation between President Karen R. Lawrence and filmmaker Ava DuVernay about the power of storytelling to shape and broaden American histories. The event will be livestreamed, and public tickets will be available by early October.
• Reinstallation of American art galleries: Launching in phases in September and December 2025, the reinstallation of seven galleries in the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art continues “Borderlands”—a project begun in 2021 to expand the narrative of American art history. The reinstallation kicks off with the 19th-century Zebulon Trickey House Mural, a landscape mural from an early New England home, on view starting September 21, 2025. Six additional permanent collection galleries will reopen on December 7, 2025.
• Contemporary art on view: Beginning March 22, 2026, works by three Los Angeles–based artists—Laura Aguilar, Mercedes Dorame, and Sandy Rodriguez—will further enrich the American art galleries. Each brings a distinct perspective to the California landscape and its layered histories of place, identity, and belonging.
• Anchor exhibition for THIS LAND IS… Opening June 14, 2026, in the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, the exhibition centers on the Huntington Library’s collections along with art and botanical collections and key loans, to explore land as a defining force in American life.  
• Oak Meadow: A renovated garden space, Oak Meadow, will launch in spring 2026.

“At a time when the public places trust in cultural institutions to help navigate complex issues, we are committed to honoring that responsibility as we reflect on the nation’s founding,” said Karen R. Lawrence, president of The Huntington. “THIS LAND IS… draws on the breadth of our collections to explore the centrality of land as both common and contested ground. The ellipsis in the title is intentional—it reminds us that the story is unfinished, and that we each have a role in shaping what comes next.”