The New Mexico Museum of Art has launched "Rooted Strong: Visions of America from New Mexico," an exhibition timed to coincide with the United States semiquincentennial in 2026. Co-curated by Alexandra Terry and Katie Doyle, the show features 86 objects primarily drawn from the museum’s permanent collection, supplemented by key loans. The exhibition is organized into four thematic sections—Community, Land, Domestic Life, and Celebration—and exclusively features artists who have lived in the state for at least a decade, including figures like Nikesha Breeze, Sabra Moore, and Luis Tapia.
By focusing on New Mexico’s unique timeline—which predates the 1776 founding of the U.S. through Spanish colonial history and Indigenous heritage, yet saw statehood arrive only in 1912��the exhibition challenges traditional East Coast-centric narratives of American history. It highlights the state's distinct cultural identity and diverse lived experiences, using the 250th anniversary of the U.S. as a catalyst to explore regional histories that often sit outside the standard national mythos.