2nd Floor, Interspersed with the Permanent Collection
Reflections: 25 Objects for 250 Years of Delaware History
January 2, 2026 – January 3, 2027
During 2026, we celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary—reflecting on our shared history as well as our aspirations for future generations. This exhibition is drawn from the museum’s permanent collection and curated entirely by members of our Delaware community.
Community Curators were selected to reflect a wide range of perspectives across the state. Each one was tasked with selecting and writing about an object they believed represented the region’s history or felt particularly relevant to our contemporary moment. Participants included: Aubrey Plaza, actor, writer, and producer; Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker; U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE); Col. Jamil I. Musa, Commander, 436th Airlift Wing, Dover Air Force Base; Sam and Mariah Calagione, Co-Founders of Dogfish Head craft brewery; and Murray Archibald, Co-Founder of CAMP Rehoboth, an LGBTQ+ community center.
In celebration of Delaware’s role in the founding of the United States and the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Biggs Museum of American Art presents Reflections: 25 Objects for 250 Years of Delaware History. Drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition was curated entirely by members of our Delaware community, including actor, writer, and producer Aubrey Plaza and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
Each Community Curator chose a work of art they believed represented the region’s history or felt particularly relevant to our current moment. Then, they wrote a response to explain their choice, drawing on their own unique background, expertise, and lived experience. These responses appear on wall labels in the exhibition and will be shared on the Museum’s website and social media throughout 2026.
The exhibition’s Community Curators reflect a wide range of fields and perspectives from across the state. They include: Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), U.S. Senator for Delaware; Col. Jamil I. Musa, USAF, Commander, 436th Airlift Wing, Dover Air Force Base; Sam and Mariah Calagione, co-founders of Dogfish Head; Murray Archibald, Artist and co-founder of CAMP Rehoboth; and Joyce Enzor Maust, Current DE House of Representatives Poet Laureate. Additional participants include environmental stewards, historians, craftspeople, arts leaders, educators, health care providers, and civic voices.
Their responses address themes such as time and memory, land and stewardship, freedom and resistance, craft and labor, identity and belonging, and the enduring power of creativity in moments of change. From colonial furniture and Revolutionary-era imagery to contemporary sculpture and works shaped by nature, the exhibition reveals how Delaware’s history is both deeply rooted and continually reinterpreted.
“Any moment of commemoration is an opportunity both to reflect back on our shared history and look forward, considering our hopes for future generations,” said Biggs Museum curator Laura Fravel. “Our Reflections exhibition invited Community Curators to share their own unique perspectives as we celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary. The story of Delaware—and America—has always been shaped by many voices. And it is still being written.”
Reflections will remain on view throughout the anniversary year. A related book includes a Foreword by Governor Matt Meyer.
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