Everything Now All At Once

Everything Now All At Once showcases iconic works in the Nasher Museum’s contemporary collection, in honor of its twentieth anniversary.

Building an art collection is not unlike making a mixtape: you choose songs based on what you think the listener will like and the messages you want them to hear and feel. A mixtape is a more tightly curated playlist, where the connection and flow from song to song is as important as the overall content. Imagine that the Nasher Museum’s collection is a visual mixtape made specially for its audiences across Duke, Durham, and the world. The artworks in this exhibition make a soundtrack of our history and the shared experiences we have built with our visitors near and far.

Since 2005, the museum has built a groundbreaking collection of contemporary art focused on amplifying underrepresented voices. This forward-thinking collection exemplifies the museum’s dedication to prioritizing artists who have been historically undervalued, fostering artists’ career growth through commissioned works, and acquiring works at defining moments in an artist’s career. Acquisitions from the last twenty years, some on view here for the first time, include works by North Carolina-based, national, and international artists, highlighting both the local impact and global reach of the museum’s vision.

This exhibition not only celebrates two decades of thoughtful collecting but also looks ahead. Recent acquisitions point to the museum’s continued commitment to its founding values and its ambitions for the future.

Looking Ahead: In February 2026, new works will rotate into the exhibition, offering fresh perspectives and even more discoveries from the contemporary collection.

Everything Now All At Once is organized by Xuxa Rodríguez, PhD, Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art, with support from Julianne Miao, Curatorial Associate.

This exhibition is made possible by The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Fund for Exhibitions and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.

Nina Chanel Abney, Ai Weiwei, Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Firelei Báez, Radcliffe Bailey, Kevin Beasley, Amoako Boafo, Nick Cave, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Nicolas Lambelet Coleman, Noah Davis, Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst, Jadé Fadojutimi, Raheleh Filsoofl, Derek Fordjour, Maud Gatewood, Jeffrey Gibson, Sam Gilliam, Deborah Grant, Titus Brooks Heagins, Barkley L. Hendricks, Mark Hewitt, Clarence Heyward, Alfredo Jaar, Anderson Johnson, Isaac Julien CBE RA, Pedro Lasch, Glenn Ligon, Annie Lucas, Charlie Lucas, Wangari Mathenge, Hugo McCloud, Jim McDowell, Beverly McIver, Wangechi Mutu, Laurel Nakadate, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Odili Donald Odita, Mikael Owunna, Maia Cruz Palileo, Paul Pfeiffer, Kenny Rivero, Sherrill Roland, Amy Sherald, Xaviera Simmons, Heather Evans Smith, Damian Stamer, Reginald Sylvester II, Henry Taylor, Mickalene Thomas, Genesis Tramaine, Rafael Viñoly, Stacy Lynn Waddell, Shaqúelle Whyte, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.