By Erica DeLeon

One Siouxland is honored to invite you to Looking for America, a new national initiative coming to the Siouxland region that seeks to understand what it means to be American in our community.

Looking for America is an art exhibition and civil discourse series that will visit Siouxland on Sunday, September 29, 2019 as part of an initial six-city tour. The other tour stops include Anchorage, Detroit, El Paso, Salt Lake City, and Northwest Arkansas.

The Siouxland event is being organized in partnership with One Siouxland’s national partners, spearheaded by Philippa Hughes, who began organizing small cross-political dinners in D.C. after the 2016 election. This culminated last October in Philippa curating an art exhibit about immigration and organizing a dinner for 50 people from across the political spectrum. The art exhibit was a jumping off point for a conversation about what it means to be an American.

That event led to partnering with New American Economy and the School of Public Affairs at American University to organize Looking For America. Local artists and community members in each community are answering the question, “What does it mean to be American in your community?” The purpose of these dinners is to gain more understanding between people who might not normally meet using art as a frame for the conversations. The organizers aren’t trying to persuade anyone of a position, only make connections and build empathy.  We truly hope you will join us, share your experiences, learn new perspectives, and leave feeling empowered to help us continue building a strong Siouxland where all have the opportunity to engage and succeed.

Details:

• Sunday September 29, 2019
• 2:00 p.m. – Experience local artists’ interpretation of what it means to them to be American in Siouxland. The art will be on display in the Betty Strong Encounter Center next to the Sioux City Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
• 2:45 p.m. – Join us for an Aggie’s Catering feast and an afternoon of facilitated civil discourse at the park shelter next to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Chris Larsen Park.
• To help get the conversation started, please bring a personal item or photo of an item (e.g., family heirloom, photograph, recipe, place, etc.) that relates to what it means to you to be American in our community.

Please RSVP to Erica DeLeon by Friday, September 20, 2019 via email (erica@onesiouxland.org), text, or call (712.212.8791).

One Siouxland is especially grateful to Missouri River Historical Development, the Gilchrist Foundation, and the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center for supporting our local artists through this event!

We look forward to seeing you on September 29, but if you cannot attend please share this invitation with a colleague who can. The event is limited to 60 participants and we aim to host a group diverse in age, ethnicity, experiences, political viewpoints, socioeconomic status, gender, race, etc. to ensure a rich sharing and learning opportunity.