El Dorado: Myths of Gold
Americas Society
New York, NY

September 6, 2023 - May 18, 2024

El Dorado explores the myth of a golden city that drove European colonization of the Americas, reflecting a pursuit of wealth at the expense of Indigenous lives, territories, and the environment. The city of gold has transformed into more intangible, though equally powerful, personal and collective values—such as individualism, greed, and consumerism—that are central to contemporary capitalist societies.  This exhibition examines the myth’s enduring impact on our global identity by juxtaposing precolonial and contemporary artworks to facilitate dialogue between past and present and to investigate how the myth has shaped the value of gold, as well as that of territories, peoples, religious beliefs, and nature.

Curated by Aimé Iglesias Lukin, Tie Jojima, and Edward J. Sullivan.