Common Sense

From Pride to Election Day 2026, the Brooklyn Museum marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with Drawing America: US@250. A season of art installations, programs, and partnerships, Drawing America honors those who have imagined a more equitable future and fought for the promise of our democracy—and those who continue to do so today. The exhibition _Common Sense_ puts America's past in dialogue with its present. Statesman, abolitionist, and philosopher Thomas Paine is credited with framing the argument for independence at the onset of the American Revolution. His most important writings, _Common Sense_ (1776) and _The American Crisis_ (1776–83), shaped revolutionary discourse and expanded what the colonists believed was possible for their future nation. Today, as 250 years ago, the country is navigating deep division—and just as Paine's texts did then, contemporary art offers hope, inspiration, and momentum. _Common Sense_ pairs these two foundational documents with nine contemporary works that speak to the ongoing quest, as Paine wrote, "to begin the world over again." Pieces by Paul Ramírez Jonas, Charles Gaines, and Jason Kao Hwang celebrate how community and music can reinforce the core tenets of democracy. Öyvind Fahlström, Joyce Kozloff, Hank Willis Thomas, and Kara Walker represent and reframe American histories, chronicling both turmoil and progress. Newly commissioned text-based works by Donald Moffett and Maynard Monrow use graphic design strategies to deliver a clear message about our current moment: Power lies with us.