AMERICAN(A) PROPERTY operates as a developing registry for the intake and documentation of objects linked to the visual history of race in American culture. The project records the transfer, material condition, and custodial lineage of submitted artifacts through regional property recording practices and institutional collection protocols.

WHO participates in AMERICAN(A) PROPERTY?

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Participation is open to members of the public who voluntarily wish to transfer objects associated with racialized representational histories in the United States.
Participants may include individuals disposing of inherited materials, private collectors, households undergoing estate transitions, or persons seeking to place culturally sensitive objects into an archival context.

Participant names will be recorded as part of the project archive.
Residential addresses will be administratively documented but publicly listed only at the city level.

WHAT occurs during an intake?

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Participants complete a standardized transfer instrument documenting the object’s description, condition, provenance, and prior circulation.
Upon execution of the transfer, ownership is relinquished to AMERICAN(A) PROPERTY for archival, research, and artistic use.

Participants do not receive monetary compensation.
In recognition of their contribution, participants receive a numbered limited-edition carbon-copy print of the executed transfer instrument.

WHEN does the public intake registry operate?

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Scheduled intake sessions will take place on:

April 11, 2026
June 19, 2026 (Juneteenth)

Additional registry dates may be announced as the archive develops.

WHERE is the registry located?

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Public intake sessions will be conducted at:

McColl Center
Charlotte, North Carolina

Objects conveyed through the registry may subsequently circulate through exhibition, research, storage, or other institutional contexts as determined by AMERICAN(A) PROPERTY.

HOW are objects documented and transferred?

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Objects are transferred through a formalized deed-style instrument designed to record material condition, symbolic value, and prior ownership narratives.
Each transfer corresponds to a unique catalog number within the developing archive.

Execution of the instrument constitutes:

  • full relinquishment of ownership

  • authorization for future artistic, archival, and interpretive use

  • inclusion of the object and associated documentation within the registry record

Witnessed signing and seal embossment finalize the transfer.