2×3: A More Perfect Union
June 22 - August 15, 2026
Photo of Mama’s Day Bail Out by Mark Strandquist. Illustrations by Katie Kaplan.
1708 is pleased to announce the 2026 summer program: 2x3: A More Perfect Union. This program supports participatory and community-focused projects that consider the idea of “a more perfect union.” Organized in awareness of the 250 Anniversary of the American Revolution and the Independence of the United States, 2x3: A More Perfect Union asks: What would a more perfect union look like?
Our first summer session, Out of Many, One, led by Retalhos and Recortes, a collective of Richmond-based interdisciplinary artists Davi Leventhal and Ambrose Hernandez Godoy, will run from June 22 to July 18, 2026. Out of Many, One is an installation and workshop series that brings into dialogue two vernacular traditions: Mexican papel picado and Brazilian fuxico. Together, these practices offer a material and conceptual framework for reimagining the American flag as a diasporic, community-authored form shaped through many hands and histories.
Our second summer session, Personal Affects: Heirloom, led by Richmond-based artist Sam Lee Christian, will run from July 25 to August 15, 2026. Personal Affects: Heirloom will center an interdisciplinary project that brings together performance, craft, and community learning to explore how shared labor, storytelling, and material traditions can bring and hold us together.
2x3: A More Perfect Union is the latest version of a community engagement series that 1708 began in 2015 for which artists and organizations used the time and the space to try something different, test an idea, experiment with a project, and engage with new audiences. The series was inspired by “We Are”, a program hosted at Nurture Art in New York that envisioned the gallery as a communal space.
Stay tuned for more announcements regarding 2x3: A More Perfect Union!
ARTIST BIOS
Davi Leventhal
Davi Leventhal, born in Rio de Janeiro and raised in New York City, studied at Pratt Institute, School of Visual Arts, Cooper Union, Ringling College of Art and Design, and the Art Students League of New York. Their work spans painting, drawing, textiles, and public engagement, with an emphasis on healing, collective participation, and craft traditions. Through projects connected to the Mandela Washington Fellowship and The Fuxico Project, Leventhal has developed international collaborations with cultural institutions, galleries, and community organizations.
Ambrose Hernandez Godoy
Ambrose Hernandez Godoy, born in Mexico City, earned a BFA in Sculpture and Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University. Their multidisciplinary practice focuses on mixed-media and sculptural work exploring identity, materiality, and expanded forms. They have exhibited throughout Virginia and Washington, D.C., were a featured resident at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, collaborated with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and have curated exhibitions across Virginia.
Sam Lee Christian
Sam Lee Christian (they/them) is a Richmond, VA native and mixed media fiber artist, educator, and storyteller whose work centers Black and queer narratives. Working across textiles, ceramics, performance, and writing, Christian creates immersive works that engage memory, community, and dreaming as acts of resistance and care. They have presented solo exhibitions including “The High & Mighty Dream Quilt” at Richmond Triangle Players and Chromophore Art Space, and *Dreammakers” at Centrum Foundation. Their work has also been featured at Second Street Gallery, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Christian is a current resident artist at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and has taught at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond since 2021. Their storytelling work has been featured on The Moth MainStage. They hold a BA in Theatre for Social Change from Emory & Henry University.