An invitation acrss the nation to explore and express your vision of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as we imagine our American future together.
Renowned pianist Lara Downes marks the 250th anniversary of the United States by gathering together American communities to find common ground in exploring the core essence of our founding promise: the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Lara invites YOU - Americans of all ages and backgrounds - to reflect on the concepts of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. This is your opportunity to reinterpret and reimagine these ideas from your own personal perspective. Release these words from historical narratives, from the realities of the past and the implications of the current moment. Focus them through the lens of your own vision, intentions and actions for the American future.
Submissions to The Declaration Project will be collected as a national digital archive, and featured in a video installation that will premiere in New York in July 2026, as part of Lara’s multimedia concert DECLARATION, featuring a triptych of new works for piano and orchestra by Grammy Award-winning American composers Valerie Coleman, Arturo O’Farrill and Christopher Tin, respectively titled Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.