Mel Ziegler’s Self-Evident, created in collaboration with the Sandhills Institute, invited participants from across all 50 states and U.S. territories to reflect on the Declaration of Independence on the 250th anniversary of its signing. A range of individuals, including Rushville residents and members of community and civic organizations from across the country, were invited to handwrite one word of the Declaration. Each participant’s first name, assigned word, and the word’s numerical position were then transferred onto a T-shirt, and all 1332 shirts were installed in order on clotheslines in Rushville’s Modisett Park and the surrounding Sandhills landscape. Through a community reimagining of the foundational document, the work reframes the Declaration as a collective text and culminated in a gathering featuring a barbecue, pie, and ice cream social, and opportunities for participants and community members to engage with the installation.
Gathering Photos
Self-Evident
Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Mel Ziegler’s Self-Evident invited participants from across all 50 states and U.S. territories to reflect on the significance, complexities, and promises of the founding document during the country’s semiquincentennial year. As the first of 12 artist-led gatherings presented through Why We Gather, a yearlong series taking place across twelve rural communities in the United States between August 2026 and July 2027, the Rushville, NE-based project launched a nationwide initiative centering cultural exchange and civic dialogue.
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia and on August 2, 1776, the document was signed on parchment by the delegates in attendance, enshrining the idea that certain truths are “self-evident.” Self-Evident revisits the foundational premise that people have both the right and the responsibility to shape their government and reframes the document as a living text rather than a fixed artifact.
The participatory, community-led project is presented in collaboration with the Sandhills Institute, a Rushville, NE-based organization that bridges the worlds of agriculture and contemporary art. Participants, including artists, community members, faith leaders, college students, and Rushville residents, were invited to handwrite one word of the Declaration of Independence. Each participant’s first name, assigned word, and the word’s numerical position were then printed on a T-shirt produced by the Sandhills Institute in collaboration with local community members. Community members were encouraged to gather for “signing parties,” during which groups of signers gather to read the Declaration and write their assigned word, emulating the original signing while reflecting on the evolving meaning of the text.
Established in 1885, Rushville is a ranching and farming community located in Sheridan County in the Sandhills region of Northwestern Nebraska. The town is home to less than 900 residents, 150 of whom are taking part in Self-Evident. The artist and his collaborators produced two complete sets of shirts for the project. The first set was displayed in art installations, starting with an installation in Rushville, NE and the second was distributed to all individual participants.
On August 2, 2026, the complete series of 1,332 shirts, one for each word of the Declaration, were installed on a clothesline, running through Rushville’s Modisett Park and the surrounding Sandhills landscape. Reimagining the Declaration as a collective work shaped by myriad voices, the project culminated in a celebratory gathering featuring a barbeque, pie, and ice cream social, live music, art-making, and opportunities for the community to engage with the installation.
Following the gathering, each participant received a shirt printed with their chosen word and signature and were invited to photograph themselves wearing it in their own hometowns and communities. The images will be compiled and shared on a dedicated project website, illustrating the breadth of contemporary American experiences while extending the project into the digital realm. In 2027, the artist will project a compilation of the images, collected over the course of the year, on a grain elevator located on Rushville’s Main Street during the annual Fun Days Festival. Presented collectively, the images will showcase the myriad perspectives that animate the ongoing project.
Throughout the following year, the project will continue to unfold through a series of additional physical and digital activations, inviting participants to become part of a nationwide, collective portrait. Rather than presenting a fixed narrative of the United States, Self-Evident acknowledges that the nation’s story is continuously unfolding, and that its future depends on ongoing civic collaboration and dialogue.
One special note. A local Rushville resident, a descendant of one of the original signers, Abraham Clark, was present at the event. Appropriately, she was given the word “self-evident” for her t-shirt.
Photo credit: Laura Morton
Funding for the project is provided by the Hearthland Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, with special thanks to Hinn’s Ace Hardware, Assistant Project Coordinators Rebecca Arp and Maggie Turek, local event coordinator Kris House and to the Mayor, City Council, and the community of Rushville.
