The Figge Art Museum in Davenport opens a new exhibition, "A Golden Age for Whom?", on June 6 in the Mary Waterman Gildehaus Community Gallery. The show places contemporary artworks alongside historic masterpieces from the museum's concurrent exhibition "The Golden Age: Featuring Northern European Works from the National Gallery of Art," featuring pieces by Beth Lipman, Oliver Okolo, Yasumasa Morimura, and Fabiola Jean-Louis. The exhibition runs through September 20 and includes companion programs such as artist talks and a Music & Makers series.
This exhibition matters because it directly challenges the narratives of power, representation, and exclusion embedded in Renaissance and Baroque art, encouraging visitors to critically examine whose stories have been highlighted or overlooked in museums. By juxtaposing historic and contemporary works side by side, it fosters a dialogue about inequities and social structures that continue to shape the art world today, making it a timely and thought-provoking addition to the museum's programming.