Let the Real World In is the latest installment of Dutch-born, Chicago-based artist Kirsten Leenaars鈥� 10-year-long artistic collaboration with a group of Milwaukee-based youth. The video project began as a multi-year summer camp (2016-2020) organized by the Haggerty Museum of Art, in which Leenaars worked with local immigrant and American-born middle school students. The participating students engaged in collaborative performances and candid interviews that reflect their personal histories and experiences amidst growing political divisiveness. Leenaars has continued working with members of this group as they transition from youthful idealism to informed political agency.
For the latest installment of this ongoing endeavor, Leenaars has created a multi-screen video installation and feature film that revisits some of the original project participants, who are now young adults trying to navigate the complexities of civic responsibility and identity. Set in Milwaukee against the backdrop of the 2024 presidential election, the film focuses on the lives of Kam Pickett (21), Hannah Plevin (21), Alanis Salgado (21), and Iman Fatmi (21). Weaving together old and new footage, the documentary reveals the cohort鈥檚 present-day struggles as they deal with college, the workforce, and personal ideologies. The film converges on the pivotal moment when Kam, Hannah, Alanis, and Iman, on the cusp of adulthood, engage in one of democracy's most fundamental rights鈥攖he right to vote. The camera follows them from intimate living spaces, to public action, to casting a ballot鈥攁 singular moment now loaded with expectations, doubts, and the weight of the desire for a more just world.
As Americans nationwide commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary era and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Haggerty Museum鈥檚 presentation of this exhibition brings these national observances directly to our community to participate in this momentous chapter of American history.
Let the Real World In is organized by Lynne Shumow, Haggerty Museum of Art Curator for Academic Engagement.
Support for this exhibition is generously provided by the Hoke Family Foundation; the Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation; and DutchCultureUSA, a program of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the United States.
Image: Kirsten Leenaars, Dutch, b. 1976, Let the Real World In, 2025, Video installation, Photo Credit: Courtesy of the artist
