June Carpenter with Your Other is My CousinJune Carpenter poses with her piece Your Other is My Cousin.
Two ConesLe’Ana Asher’s Two Cones (acrylic on canvas)
Veteran WarriorsLe’Ana Asher’s Veteran Warriors (oil on linen), which honors the Native Americans who serve in the US military.
Wedding Tea CupNoelle Garcia’s Wedding Tea Cup (beads and thread)
View of the exhibitView of the exhibit looking north
The Futures in the Making: Contemporary Works by Indigenous Artists is an art exhibit in the Third Floor Gallery at Harold Washington Library Center. Featuring works from four Indigenous artists living in the Chicago area, this exhibit explores themes of identity, community health and healing, honor and legacy and the continued presence and futurity of Indigenous people today.
Pieces on display include:
- Paintings in acrylic and oil by Le’Ana Asher (Ojibwe)
- Body Speaking to Body, a 15-minute video installation by Lydia Cheshewalla (Osage)
- Two beaded bulletproof vests created by mixed-media artist and Field Museum repatriation specialist June Carpenter (Osage)
- Beaded sculptures inspired by everyday objects by Noelle Garcia (Klamath, Paiute)
With an emphasis on objects and material, the featured works demonstrate how traditional ways of making reverberate through these contemporary works alongside other visual influences. The exhibit is also concerned with how the past and future serve as critical lenses for depicting and responding to a present that is by turns joyful, tragic, irreverent and post-apocalyptic.
We invite you to explore this multimedia exhibit and consider what associations you make between objects and the materials used to create them.
The Futures in the Making will be on display in the Third Floor Gallery at Harold Washington Library Center from May 16 to September 15.
