SaveArtSpace is proud to present True American, a public art exhibition on billboard ad space in New York, NY, opening July 3, 2026, curated by Yolanda Hoskey.
This billboard exhibition considers America not as a finished idea, but as an ongoing and unresolved project. As the nation approaches its 250th year, the work brings together artists who examine the distance between national ideals and lived realities.
Taking inspiration from a long tradition of Black critique that questions who America is truly for, this exhibition invites artists to confront, challenge, and make visible the conditions of life withinthe nation as it exists today.
Rather than celebrating a fixed narrative, the exhibition creates space for reflection, contradiction, and truth—centering voices and experiences that have historically been excluded from dominant representations of American identity. Artists are invited to submit work that interrogates, redefines, or reflects on the realities of livingin America today. Submissions may engage with themes of identity, citizenship, belonging,exclusion, freedom, and contradiction.
What does America look like in practice?
Who does it serve—and who does it fail?
Work should prioritize clarity and visual impact, considering the scale and immediacy of the billboard format.
We invite artists of all ages and talents to submit their artwork between April 6 and May 18, 2026 in order to be considered for the exhibition. This is an opportunity to have your work placed on billboard ad space in New York, NY.
The application donation fee is $10.99 per image. Fees support the production of the exhibition, including the purchase of billboard ad space. All fees paid to SaveArtSpace are 100% tax deductible donations.
Selected artists will be announced after June 1, 2026. Public art will be on view starting July 3, 2026 in New York, NY, and will be on view for at least one month.
Curator
Yolanda Hoskey is a multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Working across photography, film, and visual storytelling, her practice explores the complexities of Black identity and the contradictions of American life. Her work centers presence, intimacy, and narrative as tools for expanding how Black experiences are seen and understood. Through both her artistic and curatorial work, she is interested in how images shape public perception, memory, and cultural narratives.
She is a 2024 Magnum Foundation Fellow, a 2025–26 BRIC Lab Artist-in-Residence, and a 2025 recipient of the International Photographic Council Rising Star Award, presented at the United Nations.
Connect with Yolanda at @ghettoyolie.
SaveArtSpace
Founded in 2015, SaveArtSpace is a non-profit organization that works to create an urban gallery experience, launching exhibitions that address intersectional themes and foster a message of social change that benefits the working class. By placing culture over commercialism, SaveArtSpace aims to empower artists from all walks of life and inspire a new generation of young creatives and activists.