Curated by Emily Johnson (Yup'ik) & Carolyn Lee Anderson (Diné)

This is Displacement

Native Artists Consider the Relationship Between Land & Identity
Past event
Nov 18, 2010
This is Displacement

Thu-Sat, Nov 18-20, 1:00 - 5:00 pm
(Plus one hour prior to each performance)

This is Displacement is a companion to
the Emily Johnson | Catalyst + BLACKFISH performance of The Thank-you Bar (created by choreographer Emily Johnson). The
idea to curate and present a group art exhibit came from a desire to offer
audiences multiple views of displacement from indigenous perspectives and to
encourage dialogue and critical commentary on the intersections of art and
identity.

This is Displacement: Native Artists
Consider the Relationship Between Land & Identity
is a group exhibit of
work by contemporary Native artists considering displacement, land, and
identity in their work. Curated by Carolyn Lee Anderson and Emily Johnson, the
exhibit features two and three-dimensional art, short films/video, recorded
sound art (music/stories/sound collage) and written work that overtly or subtly
deals with displacement. As curators, Johnson and Anderson are defining
displacement broadly because it needs a broad definition. Displacement does not
always come from an outside force and it is sometimes felt as an intense
connection to a place other than homeland. Native people have a unique and
distinctive relationship to displacement's ills, and Native people have many
different perspectives on displacement.

Curator
Carolyn Lee Anderson:
"I am curating this exhibit because
displacement is an especially challenging issue in my life. I was born and
raised in Minnesota, but my maternal heritage is Diné. I feel at home here in
Minnesota, but I have an intense longing to be in the Southwest and to learn
about my culture and language. It's as if half of my heart is here in
Minnesota, and the other half is in Dinétah."

Curator
Emily Johnson:
"As an artist, I am supported, challenged,
and strengthened by the work of other artists. My dances are empathetic
responses to my environment, experiences, and questions. But, they are MY
empathetic responses, and I know there is no ONE picture of displacement, no
ONE story that matters most.... I want to offer audiences a wide spectrum of
images to contemplate. I want more artists' work to be seen in more places. I
believe that the more we support one another as artists and audience members,
the more we, and our art, are strengthened."

Partial list
of featured artists include:

Carolyn Lee
Anderson (Diné)
Jay Bad
Heart Bull (Lakota)
Gordon Coons
(Ojibwe/Ottawa)
Jim Denomie
(Ojibwe)
Lisa Fifield
(Oneida)
Nicholas
Galanin (Tlingit)
Shan Goshorn
(Cherokee)
Priscilla
Hensley Holthouse (Inupiaq)
Emily
Johnson (Yup'ik)
Sonya
Kelliher-Combs (Inupiaq/Athabaskan)
Doug Limon
(Ojibwe/Oneida)
Andrew
Okpeaha MacLean (Inupiaq)
Jonathan
Thunder (Ojibwe)
Star
Wallowing Bull (Ojibwe/Arapaho)
Gwen
Westerman (Dakota)