ADVANCING AMERICAN INDIAN ART
As part of the Heard Museums’ commitment to advancing American Indian Art, we are fervently looking to expand our place in the contemporary art world. Our forthcoming exhibition, NDN NOW, opening in 2019, will feature works from the Heard Permanent Collection, including pieces by artists such as Will Wilson (Diné), James Lavadour (Walla Walla), and Courtney Leonard (Shinnecock), as well as works on loan by other prominent contemporary artists, and new acquisitions. The exhibition will also feature interactive elements such as a library installation of contemporary Indigenous literature, cultural criticism, art theory, zines, periodicals, and various other texts, a music and film screening station featuring micro-documentaries, short films, podcasts, and contemporary Native bands, allowing the visitor to experience different aspects of contemporary Indigenous culture beyond visual art. The goals of this exhibition are to give stage to new, exciting works by emerging and mid-career artists working in a variety of mediums, illuminating the imbricated landscape of Indigeneity: visually, cinematically, aurally, and through the written word.
In the spring of 2018, the Heard launched programming and artist residencies which augment the exhibition with educational opportunities and pop-up studios/installations with artists such as Melissa Cody (Diné), Cheyenne Randall (Cheyenne River Sioux), Steven Paul Judd (Kiowa/Choctaw), and Jacob Meders (Mechoopda – Maidu).
