#indigenous-art

#indigenous-art

For instance, the Louvre did not own a single video artwork until this year, when Mohamed Bourouissa's piece documenting the Tuileries Garden made its way into the collection. Acquisitions also illustrate networks of power and exchange in the art world. One of Tate Modern's big gets, a stunning Joan Mitchell triptych, came from none other than Miami-based developer and museum founder Jorge Pérez and his wife Darlene.

As the year winds to an end, we cannot move forward without remembering who we've lost. David Lynch, a filmmaker so revolutionary that his style became a new standard. Frank Gehry, the sculptor of skylines. Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, the multi-hyphenate force of Indigenous aesthetics. Alonzo Davis, who was one of the first Black gallerists in this country and didn't stop there. Koyo Kouoh, who would have been the first African woman to direct the Venice Biennale. And so many more.

The vibrant medium of glass takes center stage in Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass. Featuring more than 100 glass art pieces created by 29 Native American and First Nations artists, this exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in New York also includes works by leading glass artist Dale Chihuly, who first introduced glass art to Indian Country as an instructor at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Throughout her practice, Renée Condo draws on the philosophical tenets of her Mi'gmaq ancestry. The Montreal-based artist works with wooden beads that she sands, paints in bold acrylic, and nests into energetic compositions depicting juicy fruits, raindrops, and brilliant, golden suns. Condo is interested in mntu, or spirit, and what she refers to as heart knowledge, acts that emerge from empathy and love. Through sculptural pieces that emphasize interconnection and flow, the artist draws on Indigenous creation stories and myths, considering her beadwork a reimagining of various traditions.

"History is written by the victors," or so goes the quote often misattributed to Winston Churchill. In other words, those who wield the most power or resources are typically the ones whose stories are represented in textbooks, passed down through generations, and etched into our collective consciousness. Without intentional effort, it can be difficult to hear more than a single narrative.

On a warm August morning, Portland still heavy with summer's residue, I stood beneath the Burnside Bridge billboard: ' Long Live the Wildcards, Misfits & Dabblers.' The words lingered like a chant, revealing pride, broken promises, and ironies. It was in that humming space that I spoke with Demian DinéYazhi´ (Naasht'ézhí Tábaahá [Zuni Clan Water's Edge] and Tódích´íi´nii [Bitter Water], clans of the Diné Tribe), a Portland-based Diné transdisciplinary artist whose work refuses the tidy boxes of colonial etiquette.

His works range from painting, in which he trained, to myriad sculptural forms, performances and installations and video. With this interdisciplinary practice, he deliberately confronts orthodoxies in the art world and art history, questioning biases regarding taste, value and legitimacy, confronting and subverting stereotypes of Indigenous people and culture, and proposing a radical interaction with the objects and spaces he creates.

Ritchie Sinclair expressed relief upon learning about a $1.45-million lawsuit against the Morrisseau estate, claiming the adult children promoted fraudulent works for financial gain.

"These works carry memory. They are not just handmade; they are hand-held stories of survival, spirituality, and community."

Ashley Holland, the curator and director of curatorial initiatives at Art Bridges, emphasized the importance of Indigenous perspectives in American art collections, stating, "Indigenous perspectives are foundational to any American art collection. We are honoured to continue our deep support of Indigenous art with this acquisition and look forward to sharing these works with audiences around the country through our loan programme."

"We are not only going to display more, we are also going to see ways to be inspired by the Indigenous practices, in terms of thinking of community, thinking of sustainability."

The failure to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual culture as art is closely tied to the fact that the original inhabitants of Australia were not counted in the census until 1967.

"Our government's investment will help McMichael modernise and grow, protect the gallery's C$750m collection and secure the institution's status as a world-class cultural tourism attraction for generations to come."