30 Americans

Honolulu Museum of Art presents the celebrated exhibition 30 Americans, featuring works by 30 contemporary artists connected through their African-American cultural history. Drawn entirely from the collection of the Rubell Museum in Miami, Florida, the exhibition includes some of the most recognized and influential figures in the art world from the past four decades, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mark Bradford, Nick Cave, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, and Kehinde Wiley. 

The exhibition has traveled across the United States for the past ten years to great acclaim. HoMA’s presentation of 30 Americans features 40 objects carefully selected for our venue and installed throughout 8,000 square feet of gallery space. Works in painting, sculpture, installation, photography, and video bring focus to timely, challenging, and thought-provoking issues related to racial, ethnic, and gender identity; representation of the body; and the significance of cultural heritage and history. 

Organized by the Rubell Museum. 

30 Americans was made possible by Sharon Twigg-Smith, Elizabeth Rice Grossman, Priscilla and James Growney, and Lynne Johnson and Randy Moore. Additional funding provided by the Conley Family Foundation, Judy Pyle and Wayne Pitluck, the Schulzman-Neri Foundation, the Taiji & Naoko Terasaki Family Foundation, and Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities & National Endowment for the Humanities. Special thanks to corporate sponsors Christian Dior, Halekulani, and Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 

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Lorna Simpson (b. 1960). Wigs (Portfolio), 1994. Waterless lithograph and felt. Courtesy Rubell Museum, Miami. © Lorna Simpson.

“I’ve never been to Africa. I’m an artist who has been influenced by his New York environment. But I have a cultural memory. I don’t need to look for it; it exists…Our cultural memory follows us everywhere, wherever you live.”—Jean-Michel Basquiat