2026 EDT
“The work should be somewhere in between your house and where you’re going to see it, it shouldn’t be at the gallery. Because when you get there you’re already prepared, your eyes are ready, your glands, your whole body is ready to receive this art. By that time, you’ve probably seen more art getting to the spot than you do when you get there.” - David Hammons
5U Space is pleased to present its eleventh exhibition and first group show, 2026 EDT, featuring eight artists working in a wide range of media. Concurrent with the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence, the exhibition is a unique opportunity for reorientation and discovery in Philadelphia.
19th century rapid travel by train connected towns to cities, but posed a new challenge to timekeeping. Before standardization, time varied by locale, causing missed connections, collisions, and general discord. As the railways proliferated, the need became clear. In 1883, four time zones were established by US and Canadian railways and were later incorporated into US law with the Standard Time Act of 1918. As we reflect on the nation’s founding, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) remains the East Coast standard.
Suburban Station opened in 1930 as a technologically superior replacement for the aboveground Broad Street Station, becoming the first underground electric passenger train station in Philadelphia. Connecting suburban residents to the region's economic center, it sits between John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Benjamin Franklin Parkway one mile from Independence Hall — where the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago.
The news media mediates between reality and the public. From its mainstream, history has largely disappeared. Today corporatized newspapers, TV info-entertainment, and social media platforms combine with artificial “intelligence” and electronic algorithms to reinforce existing beliefs that fail to capture the fullness of the American reality, especially that of marginalized groups. The shortage of alternative media and resources to access them provides a limited context for understanding.
2026 EDT is a collection of artworks made by a small group of sensitive observers who look beyond personal predicaments and respond earnestly. Inside a former newsstand – between the origin and the destination – we glimpse their experiences in today’s America. The exhibition offers visitors new ways to consider the nation’s history and art’s role as a medium for shaping how we think and how we feel.