One of the first exhibitions to be terminated as a result of Trump’s attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has found a new home in Fairfax, Virginia. On Saturday, September 13, Before the Americas, initially slated for the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC, officially opened its doors at the Gillespie Gallery at George Mason University School of Art. Featuring the work of 39 artists representing 17 countries, including Amy Sherald, Renee Stout, Alma Thomas, Elizabeth Catlett, and Alonzo Davis, the show explores ancestral memory, migration, and interconnectivity in African American, Afro-Latino, and Caribbean communities through mediums from sculpture to printmaking to book art.Cheryl Edwards, the exhibition’s curator, told Hyperallergic she felt “relieved and redeemed” when the show opened for the public — “You know, like Bob Marley’s Redemption Song,” she said.Curator Cheryl Edwards (photo by Diba Mohtasham)The exhibition was set to open at the Art Museum of the Americas, part of the Organization of American States, on March 21, four years after it was first commissioned. In February, Edwards received a phone call informing her that the show had been terminated. The Trump administration had allegedly labeled it a “DEI program and event” and withdrawn funding for the show, which had been previously secured under the Biden administration. President Trump signed an executive order banning DEI initiatives, established to provide individuals from marginalized communities and lower socioeconomic backgrounds with equal opportunities in the workforce, on his first day in office.Before the Americas was one of the earliest casualties in a series of art exhibitions and performances axed in the wake of the administration’s mandate. A second show at the Art Museum of the Americas, featuring LGBTQ+ artists, also lost its funding. When President Trump appointed himself as the Board Chair of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a number of performances vanished from its programming, including the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s Pride celebration concert and a performance of Eureka Day, a play centered around vaccine policy.Elizabeth Catlett’s “Nina” (1957)When the federal funding was suddenly cut, Edwards had to find a new, alternative way to fund the exhibition. She estimates there were “about 50 or 60 donors” who allowed for the show to continue at a different location. “It really brought us closer together as an art community,” Edwards said, “and it shows that we really understand the importance of having art and culture in our society, and that art transcends politics and orders.”When word got out that Before the Americas had been terminated, Donald Russell, director of Mason Exhibitions, which runs the Gillespie Gallery, immediately opened its doors for it. Edwards had previously worked with Russell in a different capacity, exhibiting his work. He had also been involved in the early stages of the exhibition in a consulting role. “I was absolutely prepared to take it on,” Russell told Hyperallergic.With bold color palettes and dynamic lines, the Afrocentric artworks represent the history of African-descendant artists. There’s striking power in Lois Mailou Jones’s 1996 silkscreen print of three African dancers, and subtle strength in Elizabeth Catlett’s “Niña” (1957), the profile of a young girl. “The history of African-descendant artists does not begin with slavery,” said Edwards. “That’s the whole point of this show.” Luis Vasquez La Roche, “The Cleanse (La Limpieza)” (2022)Before the Americas will be at Gillespie Gallery until November 15. After that, the exhibition will travel the area. In February, it is set to open at the University of Maryland Global Campus, where it’ll be until May. Subsequent locations are yet to be announced.Edwards recognizes the threats facing the cultural sector and underlines the importance of resilience. “Because things are being erased,” she said, “I think as an artist, and as a cultural worker, it is our duty to create right now and document this moment in history.” As for Before the Americas, Edwards has reconsidered its place in the current moment for the arts. “I’m thinking of it as radical beauty at this point,” she said. “There’s no way that I can say personally I would want to live in a place without art and without culture that includes everyone that is multicultural.”