The Hunter Museum of American Art has announced a slate of major exhibitions and installations for 2026 that will spotlight immersive contemporary work, historical memory and innovative uses of reclaimed materials, alongside significant loans from a nationally recognized museum collection.
Headlining the year is “Saya Woolfalk: The Empathic Universe,” on view May 22 through Sept. 7. The exhibition blends cultural references with science fiction to present Woolfalk’s imagined universe, which centers on empathy and cross-cultural communication.
The exhibition is based on an original concept from the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and features installations designed to surround visitors with color, narrative and speculative forms.
Following in the fall, “Free as They Want to Be: Artists Committed to Memory” will run from Sept. 24 through Jan. 11, 2027. The exhibition brings together works by 20 Black artists who explore memory as a force for understanding the present and shaping future change.
Through original artworks, historical narratives and archival materials, the show examines how remembrance can function as both testimony and transformation.
It is curated by Dr. Cheryl Finley and Dr. Deborah Willis, and originated as a FotoFocus exhibition at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center during the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial. The traveling exhibition is organized by Curatorial Exhibitions of Pasadena, California.
Several long-term and ongoing exhibitions will also be on view throughout 2026.
“Daniel Attaboy Seifert: Upcycled Garden” opens Aug. 14 and continues through March 5, 2028. Designed specifically for the Hunter’s East Art Lounge, the site-specific installation uses discarded and found cardboard to create botanical forms, highlighting how everyday waste materials can be reimagined as art.
In addition, the museum is presenting “Loans From the Toledo Museum of Art,” on view now through May 16, 2027. Fourteen works from the Toledo collection are displayed throughout the Hunter’s East Wing and Mansion, including paintings by Cecilia Beaux, John Singer Sargent, Andrew Wyeth and other prominent American artists.
Another ongoing installation, “Jessica Wohl: I Dreamed You Were Here,” remains on view through Feb. 22, 2027. Using the visual language of quilting, Sewanee-based artist Wohl has transformed the mansion stairwell with layered textile banners created from found garments, linens and discarded household materials.
The Hunter Museum will also host exhibition-related programming throughout the year, with details posted regularly on the museum’s “Things to Do” webpage (huntermuseum.org). Programs are expected to include talks, tours and special events tied to the 2026 exhibitions.
Source: Hunter Museum of American Art