Art Gallery Event! Artist Talk & Opening Reception | Thursday September 10, 5-7pm

The RSM Art Gallery is pleased to present “This Exhibit is Closed”, a photo installation by Casey Hayward. We invite you to celebrate the opening of the exhibit with us on Thursday, September 10. An artist talk will begin at 5:00 p.m. and a reception follows from 5:30–7:00pm.  We hope you can join us!

This Exhibit is Closed
Photo Installation by Casey Hayward
August 24–October 12, 2026

Artist Talk and Opening Reception
Thursday, September 10 | 5:00–7:00 p.m.

About the Exhibit 

With the signing of Executive Order 14253 “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” President Trump set off a government-wide review, “to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage.” Many works, including The Scourged Back, (on display at Harper’s Ferry National Park) were flagged for removal. This photograph depicts the tortured and disfigured back of a formerly enslaved man named Peter. The 1863 photo was widely publicized, shocking the nation with its frank depiction of the harm of US Slavery, increasing overwhelming nation abolitionist sentiment in the runup to the Civil War.

In this series, photographs appropriated from the archives of the National Park Service and National Archives are transferred on to disintegrating, whitewashed wood. Some are draped with tarps as if slated for wrapping and removal from the public view, putting forth the question “Does this content ‘inappropriately disparage Americans past or living’?”

CONTENT WARNING:
This exhibit contains photographs that document America’s history of enslavement, family separation of indigenous children, segregation, the KKK, the internment of Japanese Americans and Anti Civil Rights violence. To create a safe and respectful environment for visitors of all backgrounds, please enter with a mindful self-awareness and care.