The Santa Monica Museum of Art has received two grants to fund a new exhibition about art as an agent of social and political change, according to a statement released Tuesday.
The exhibition, called Citizen Culture, will open in the fall of 2014 and will be funded by grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Its works will explore how artists and architects can collaborate with the public and local governments to influence legislation and public policy.
"We've always been particularly interested in the power of art to change the world, and this exhibition is part of that for us," said Claire Ruud, deputy director for the museum.
Citizen Culture will feature artists like Laurie Jo Reynolds, whose art was part of a successful campaign against solitary confinement at the Tamms prison in Illinois.
"Artists are uniquely qualified to change law and policy," Reynolds said. "We know how to attempt the impossible, fail grandly, and start over."
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has supported the museum with more than $500,000 since the year 2000.
