Where to See Art Created and Curated Through an Indigenous Lens
As I walked through “Reimagining Native/American Art” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art this January, I was captivated by the vivid paintings of Michif artist Christi Belcourt and American artist Lamar Petersen. A smiling boy among fields of flowers, an intricate array of birds, plants, insects and flowers, rooted into the earth were striking—but the way in which “Reimagining” was organized kept me returning again and again. “Reimagining” was curated through the lens of mitakuye oysasin, a central Dakota principal meaning “we are all related,” encompassing all living things—including people, animals, the earth, the sky and the universe. The space combined works of contemporary and historic American and Native American art, providing a foundation for the seeds of Dakota philosophy—from honoring the living land to the impact of relationality—to be planted.
Months later, I found myself wandering through the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney when I was again captivated by the essence of an exhibit. This one was “Ten Thousand Suns,” curated through a First Nations understanding of the universe. Colorful costumes, vibrant canvases and thought-provoking mixed media installations told a story about how cultures and communities have persisted and resisted through art, dance and costume in the face of global emergencies.
In permanent collections and temporary exhibits, a gradual decolonization of art is giving ownership back to Native artists around the world. Indigenous curators and artists are tackling global topics through art reflective of cultural philosophies. At the 2024 Venice Biennale, Indigenous Brazilian artists from the Tupinambá Community and coastal regions curated the Hãhãwpuá Pavilion to tell a story of unraveling colonialism and continued resistance to reclaim native lands and adapt in the face of endangered species and climate crises.
In celebration of World Indigenous People’s Day on August 9, exhibitions from Australia to the United States are offering an illuminating glimpse into the world of Indigenous art. Exhibitions curated through an Indigenous lens are infused with a philosophy that gives voice to Native culture using art as the medium in a time in which a meaningful connection to the living world is as essential as ever.
The Yiribana Gallery in the Art Gallery of New South Wales
A permanent space in Sydney’s Art Gallery of New South Wales since 1994, the Yiribana Gallery houses Indigenous art from First Nation Australian artists. When this spacious museum overlooking the Sydney Harbor opened its second building–Naala Badu—in 2022, the Yiribana Gallery moved into the new space at the entrance to the building. From woven baskets and sculptures to the dreamlike surrealist creations of H. J. Wedge, a rotating collection of work from Aboriginal and Torres Strait artists find a home in Yiribana, which benefits from a light-flooded floor-to-ceiling window.
The first space upon entering the Yiribana Gallery is one dedicated to artists from New South Wales. The Gallery showcases art from Aboriginal groups who traditionally wouldn’t have a chance to show their work. “We wanted to bring those conversations to the public from art in our own backyard,” assistant First Nations curator Liam Keenan, has has Gamilaraay heritage, told Observer.
Yiribana, which means “the way”, has recently received a number of new works of art. Among these new pieces is a collection of sculptural works from Far North Queensland. Traditionally, these objects—locally known as “bagu”—were fire-making tools carved out of a native wood and used by First Nations communities in the wet rainforest region. The fire-making tools on display in Yiribana are made from painted ceramics, “which really speaks to how experimental Indigenous art-making communities are wanting to be,” said Keenan. “It’s great to see more and more Indigenous artists and curators being celebrated and employed. It is an exciting time because there is opportunity for cross-over and connection for Indigenous communities across the globe.”
All My Relations Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota
A small gallery in the heart of Minneapolis’ Franklin Avenue East Cultural District, All My Relations Art (AMRA), hosts regional and national Indigenous artists. The gallery, which is celebrating 25 years in 2024, was originally founded at Ancient Traders Gallery as a way to bring more exposure to the work of Native artists. Over the years, AMRA has showcased artwork from notable artists like Anishinaabe artist Frank Big Bear and Onondaga artist Frank Buffalo Hyde.
“Presence and visibility have such an impact,” gallery director Angela Two Stars, who is of Dakota Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate heritage, told Observer. “When I was growing up, Dyani White Hawk came to my reservation and I saw that she was doing it, making art, and that I could too.” Two Stars has been associated with the Gallery for many years, first as an artist and then as a guest curator before stepping up as director. She currently has a piece on display at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Thanks to its location in the heart of Franklin Avenue East—a hub for Native communities in the Twin Cities—All My Relations brings in people who wouldn’t traditionally come into a fine art gallery. “When people come in off the streets for a coffee, they can see themselves in the art. It moves them,” said Two Stars.
Sioux artist J. White based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, opened “J. White: Arikara Proper,” her first solo exhibit at All My Relations, on August 1, and the fifteen new acrylic paintings will be on through October 5. The vivid, almost dream-like colors and imagery echo two distinct messages from Native culture: a connection to family and ancestors, and the strength of Native women. One painting includes a prayer written for her brother when he was going through a difficult time.
In the past, the gallery has tackled contemporary issues critical to Native American communities, including in “Bring Her Home: Sacred Womxn of Resistance,” an exhibition raising awareness for murdered and missing Indigenous women. Artists hold a powerful role in holding space for difficult conversations. “People could feel the love and the grief,” reflected Two Stars. “Artists can create shared humanity that everyone can bring their own experiences to.”
“Taimoana | Coastlines” at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is a public gallery in central Auckland that has been hiring Māori curators since the 1990s. On at the Gallery currently is “Taimoana | Coastlines: Art in Aotearoa,” which has been co-curated by Nathan Pōhio of Māori and European descent. The exhibit examines Aotearoa/New Zealand’s significance in Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the wider Pacific region. Surrounded by over 9,000 miles of coastline—the meeting place between the land and the sea—a connection to the coast is inevitable in Aotearoa/New Zealand, whether it be for employment, food, pastimes or inspiration. And in a time of changing climate, the coast is also a source of reflection and danger.
Unfolding across three galleries, Taimoana uses the concept of the coast as a starting point to explore many ideas. The exhibit moves between various perspectives of the coast, starting with being adrift at sea, moving to coastlines, then being ashore and finally into histories of the land. Among the works on display are Te Ika a Maui by esteemed Māori artist Fred Graham, in which elements of a Māori origin story can be found, reinterpreted through a modern lens. Another notable piece is a black-and-white photographic panorama by New Zealand artist Mark Adams that reinterprets William Hodges’ famous 1773 painting View in Dusky Bay, capturing the view that the figure in the painting would have seen in the photograph.
“Taimoana is an opportunity to talk about who we are in the world, what makes us special and unique and our concepts of home,” Pōhio told Observer. “The Māori world, the interconnectedness of land and sea is reflected in cultural narratives and practices. The coast is a threshold, an in-between zone, a perpetually shifting meeting point of land and sea that prompts us to examine our relationships with both.”
Auckland Art Gallery consistently serves as a space to connect the public to the culture and ideology of Māori communities. On September 18, “Ngā Taonga Tūturu: Treasured Māori Portraits” will open in the museum’s Upper Grey Gallery, which will be renamed Te Kawau Gallery. “Ngā Taonga Tūturu are treasures that embody mana (prestige), tapu (sacred power) and mauri (life force),” explained Pōhio. The exhibit will include Māori ancestral portraits and carvings of Māori ancestors and is a reflection on cultural values, the problematic collections of taonga in colonial times and a renewed way of interpreting these collections.
“Arctic Highways” at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, NM
The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts has been operating in downtown Santa Fe since 1992. Home to rotating exhibits by modern Native artists, the progressive space is always worthy of a visit to connect to the current Indigenous art scene. On August 16, “Arctic Highways: Unbounded Indigenous People” will open and will stay on display through March 2, 2025. Originating in Stockholm, this traveling exhibit brings together the works of twelve Northern Indigenous artists from Sápmi, Canada and Alaska. Each represents the culture and heritage of Arctic communities, spanning a vast region unbounded by the restriction of modern political borders.
The exhibit will transport you to the far northern reaches of Scandinavia through a mix of videos and photography, sculptures and fiber art. Tomas Colbengtson, a Sami artist born in northern Sweden, uses mixed media, including prints, metal and etching, to echo the colors of the Sami culture and Nordic landscape. Meryl McMaster—an artist of nêhiyaw (Plains Cree), British and Dutch ancestry based in Ottawa—uses photography as her primary medium to explore First Nations culture in Canada. She incorporates props, garments, and performance to explore the concept of one’s conceptualization of self and how it relates to land, culture and history. From language preservation to land loss, the exhibit is a collective reflection of the shared concerns and experiences among Indigenous Arctic communities.
More Indigenous art
There are a growing number of Indigenous art exhibitions and even fairs to explore throughout the year, including a few openings in the coming months that are worth noting for future art-inspired excursions.
Spots like Seattle’s Burke Museum and Vancouver’s Bill Reid Gallery consistently host exhibits reflecting the traditions and art of Native communities from the Pacific Northwest. In October, Inuit artist Lucy Qinnuayuak’s solo exhibition will open at the Art Gallery of Ontario, showcasing the prints and drawings inspired by her life in Nunavik and South Baffin Island. “Dyani White Hawk: Bodies of Water” is on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art through December 1. And the Whitehawk Antique Indian & Ethnographic Art Show kicks off in Sante Fe in just a few days, though the Indigenous Art Fair Contemporary fair has been postponed.
Indigenous Colombian and Bolivian artists have curated “Coca Worlds,” an exhibition coming to New York City this fall. The contemporary and experimental exhibit will explore the ancestral and sacred uses of the coca leaf in Indigenous cultures, including its use as medicine, food and a tool of creativity, along with its origin tales and the use of the coca leaf in spiritual practices and a connection to nature.
Looking even further ahead, the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair is a highlight of the July art fair calendar. This multi-day event celebrates the art, dance, music and cultural exchange of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people in Queensland. Whether they’re in Canada, Brazil, New Zealand or beyond, Indigenous-curated galleries transcend simply providing critical exposure to the artwork itself. They can resurrect and preserve cultural traditions while navigating the social and environmental challenges of our time.