The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents Grounded, a multi-media exhibition that invites visitors to contemplate land not just as terrain, but as a foundation for exploring history, ecology, sovereignty, memory, and home. Through 40 works by 35 artists based across the Americas and the Pacific, the exhibition illuminates how human experience is embedded in the land. Artists consider the lasting effects of colonialism and imperialism; share stories of forced migration and displacement; engage with Indigenous mythologies and motifs; and retell ancestral histories by forging new aesthetic languages.

Grounded highlights the museum’s deep holdings of works by local artists as well as Latine and Chicanx artists, and its burgeoning collection of works by Indigenous artists, spanning from the late 1970s to today. Nearly half of the featured artworks are major recent acquisitions. This includes pieces never-before seen by the public, as well as examples from the Mohn Art Collective: Hammer, LACMA, MOCA (MAC3), a collection of works by Los Angeles–based artists jointly owned and managed by the three institutions.

Grounded is co-curated by Rita Gonzalez, Terri and Michael Smooke Curator and Department Head of Contemporary Art; Dhyandra Lawson, Andy Song Associate Curator of Contemporary Art; and Nancy Thomas, Senior Deputy Director for Art Administration and Collections at LACMA.

“The works on view in Grounded emphasize the deep interdependence between land and culture, challenging the assumption that nature is home only to wildlife,” said the curators. “We invite visitors to consider how land records human experience, holding history in the ground.”

“Grounded speaks to the pivotal opportunities that become possible through collaboration—be it between colleagues and departments or entire institutions and disciplines,” said LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan. “We are thrilled to introduce more than 20 new acquisitions to visitors, including works