Holly Wilson to Install Native Futurist Work at Penn Museum for US Semiquincentennial

For the United States' semiquincentennial, the Penn Museum has commissioned Lenape artist Holly Wilson to create a site-specific installation for its East Entrance. The large-scale mixed-media work, centered on Native Futurism, will debut on July 11, 2026, with a public dedication and artist talk from 2:30 to 3:30 pm. Its centerpiece is a nearly 20-foot photorealistic painting based on Wilson's memory of her children catching fireflies in Mustang, Oklahoma. The children wear a pattern from a Bandolier bag that belonged to the last official Chief of the Delaware Nation, using the design as a wearable expression of Indigenous identity and culture.