On Friday, October 4, 2024, the Meryl McMaster: Bloodline exhibition will have its US debut at the Heard Museum in the Virginia G. Piper Grand Gallery. Bloodline features the pioneering large-scale photographic works of Canadian artist Meryl McMaster (b. 1988), reflecting her mixed nêhiyaw (Plains Cree)/Siksika, Dutch, and British ancestry.
Along with being the first in Phoenix to experience this memorable exhibition, guests will have the opportunity to meet the artist, curators of the exhibition, and engage with a family-friendly photography based interactive activity.
After viewing the exhibition, make sure to catch a special acoustic performance from Earth Surface People inside the museum before they grace the stage in Steele Auditorium for a full performance! Led by Dakota Yazzie, Earth Surface People, is a genre-fluid collective with a Navajo core: Yazzie, and his synth-playing younger brother, Cochise Yazzie, are Diné. Skillfully weaving threads of jazz, fusion, R&B, soul, the group’s sound achieves a seamless dialogue between Indigenous and Black American music — driven home by the artistry of a key collaborator, in Diné vocalist Nanibaah. This aural tapestry is heard on their latest album, 2022’s nihookááʼ diyin dineʼé (Earth Surface People).
This performance was made possible with the support of Snag The Vote, an organization with a united movement to mobilize Native communities and elevate Indigenous voices. As they embark on their Snag the Vote Tour, with stops in Arizona, North Dakota, and New Mexico, they are empowering voters, raising awareness, and inspiring change across Tribal lands.
The Coffee Cantina will be open late with a delicious selection of food and drinks, and, as always, admission to the Heard will be FREE.
Banner image: Meryl McMaster (b. 1988). Calling Me Home, 2019. Digital Chromogenic Print 101.6 x 152.4 cm. Courtesy of the artist, Stephen Bulger Gallery, and Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain.
Event Schedule
5:00pm – First Friday Begins!
5:30pm – Gallery Talk with Tarah Hogue, Remai Modern Curator – Indigenous Art
6:00pm – Gallery Talk with Emily Henderson, McMichael Curator – Indigenous Art and Culture
6:30pm – Gallery Talk with Meryl McMaster
7:00pm – Artist Talk with Earth Surface People, Short Film Premiere
7:30pm – Doors Open – Steele Auditorium
8:00pm – Earth Surface People Performance
9:00pm – Event Ends
