In September 2014, the Northern Arizona University Art Museum will produce a juried exhibition of paintings created around inter-woven themes of politics, violence, and reconciliation. The NAU Art Museum believes that the global community faces a turning point today in which economic, environmental, and ethnic pressures threaten the integrity of whole societies. The Arab Spring, wars arising from religious extremism and, conversely, the efforts of many nations to maintain stable, consensual societies are among the themes we hope to address in this exhibition. Artworks included in "Painting in the World: Reflections on Politics, Violence, and Reconciliation" have been selected from the submissions by Dr. George V. Speer, Director of the NAU Art Museum.