Your Plate Squared: Celebrating America’s 250th is a community exhibition organized in conjunction with the semiquincentennial of America’s founding. Gathering around food is a part of many holidays in the United States, including Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving . Drawing on these traditions, Your Plate Squared explores the role that food plays in shaping our individual and national identities.

The exhibition features community members’ depictions of a food or recipe they would bring to a cookout, family gathering, block party, or community event. All works measure 6 inches by 6 inches and are exhibited in the Bruce’s Vicki Netter Fitzgerald Gallery. Submissions will be accepted prior to the exhibition’s opening and visitors can create their own pieces in an artmaking section in the exhibition. The Bruce will also collaborate with community partners, including Neighbor to Neighbor, a local food bank, to raise awareness about food scarcity in the region.  To learn about how to submit your own work, please check out the submission guidelines below. We look forward to seeing your plate squared at the Bruce!

Your Plate Squared: Celebrating America’s 250th
June 11 – August 23, 2026

Submission Guidelines

In conjunction with the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, the Bruce Museum invites community members to submit depictions of food they would bring to a celebration. We invite submissions created in any two-dimensional medium, including writing.

Submission criteria:

• Art must be original
• No signature may appear on the front of the artwork
• Art must be exactly 6 inches by 6 inches in size and no thicker than 3 inches in depth; pieces cannot weigh more than 1 pound
• Art cannot include toxic or harmful materials
• Each artist is limited to no more than 5 submissions
• Artwork submitted digitally will not be considered
• Each piece must be accompanied by the signed submission form.

Submission period:

Submissions will be accepted from April 11 through August 9, 2026.

All submitted artwork that adheres to the theme will be exhibited in the Bruce Museum’s Vicki Netter Fitzgerald Gallery.

See Your Plate Squared at the Bruce Museum this summer from June 11 to August 23, 2026.

Return of artwork:

All artwork will be available for pickup by the artists between August 31 and September 4, 2026. After this date, any unclaimed works will be disposed of.

To submit your work:

• Please complete both sides of the submission form for each artwork and attach the completed Museum Copy portion of the form to the back of the artwork. Please keep the Artist’s Copy portion of the form for your records.
• Deliver artwork in person to the Museum’s Visitor Services team at the main entrance or by mail, along with completed form, to:

Your Plate Squared: Celebrating America’s 250th
Bruce Museum
1 Museum Drive
Greenwich, CT 06830

About Neighbor to Neighbor

Neighbor to Neighbor’s mission is to strengthen the Greenwich community by providing access to nutritious food and essentials to our neighbors in need, in an atmosphere of kindness and respect. Neighbor to Neighbor, the only food pantry in Greenwich, improves the lives of residents in need throughout the community.