Citizen Artist – Delaware Art Museum (Wilmington, DE)
The Delaware Art Museum is closed on Monday and Tuesday
Dates: April 11 – July 19, 2026
Price: Free with museum admission
Location: Fusco Gallery, Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Pkwy, Wilmington, Delaware
Explore the role of artists as community builders in Citizen Artist, an exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum that reflects on the relationship between art, public service, and civic identity. Timed with the United States Semiquincentennial in 2026, the exhibition highlights artists who worked through major federal arts programs designed to support creative workers and strengthen communities.
Beginning with the New Deal arts initiatives of the 1930s, the exhibition examines programs such as the Public Works of Art Project, the Works Progress Administration, the Farm Security Administration, and the Treasury Section on Fine Arts. These programs employed artists who created murals, photographs, performances, and educational programs that connected art to everyday American life.
The exhibition also explores the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) of the 1970s, which funded job programs that many communities adapted to employ professional artists. In Delaware, these efforts helped expand community arts programs and contributed to the development of institutions such as the Delaware Art Museum and The Delaware Contemporary.
Through historical works and contemporary commissions, Citizen Artist highlights how artists have served their communities while shaping cultural life across generations. The exhibition also connects with the statewide Citizen Photographer initiative, inviting Delaware residents to contribute photographs that reflect identity, place, and civic life during the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Exhibition Highlights
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Artwork connected to New Deal and CETA artist employment programs
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Contemporary commissions exploring the role of artists in civic life
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Community participation through the Citizen Photographer initiative
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Part of Delaware’s cultural programming for the U.S. Semiquincentennial in 2026
