Montclair Art Museum Reinstalls Permanent Collection of Indigenous Art Following Major Collaborative Revision

Montclair, NJ (July 25, 2024) – The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) proudly announces a sweeping reinstallation of its permanent collection of Indigenous art from North America. Completed in collaboration with Native artists, scholars, writers, educators, and other colleagues, Interwoven Power: Native Knowledge / Native Art will display new and historic acquisitions in varied media across two galleries at the Museum, including the vaulted, newly renovated Roberts Gallery, which housed the collection when it was originally built in 1931. The reinstallation will open to the public the evening of September 13, 2024 as part of a series of special programming.

Curated from a collection of more than 4,000 works—including pieces by Rose B. Simpson, Cara Romero, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Sarah Sense—the reinstallation will also feature site-specific interventions to MAM’s neoclassical architecture and sculpture, as well as specially commissioned large-scale contemporary works. The re-envisioned presentation centers Indigenous ways of knowing, promoting the power of Native peoples and art to shape the future. Structural updates to the space provide a fresh venue for the collection’s pieces from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including regalia, ceramics, mixed media, basketry, paintings, works on paper, beadwork and quillwork, carvings, photography, and more. 

As part of the new installation, MAM has commissioned five unique works by contemporary Indigenous artists: Backdrop (portrait of the artist obscured), a large-scale C-print by Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂, b. 1979); jaatłoh4Ye’iitsoh [17–18] + [][][][], two large, hanging soft sculptures by Eric-Paul Riege (Diné, b. 1994); Out In Front, a wampum medallion pendant by Elizabeth James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag, b. 1973); Haudenosaunee Lacrosse Stick, which may be the first artistically painted Native lacrosse stick to date, by Brandon Lazore (Onondaga Nation, b. 1981) and Jack Johnson (Akwesasne Mohawk, b. 1979); and What Was, What Is, What Will Be, a site-specific glass, metal, and fiber-based work across the two gallery spaces by Holly Wilson (Delaware Nation, b. 1968). 

Additional works by Lenape artists include Cape of a Matriarch (2021)—an extraordinary turkey-feather cape with accompanying poetry by Rebecca Haff Lowry (Delaware Tribe of Indians, b. 1972)—as well as historical basketry and beadwork that reveal intimate stories of Lenape people.

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      ^{Brandon Lazore (Onondaga Nation, b. 1981) / Jack Johnson (Akwasasne Mohawk, b. 1979), Haudenosaunee Lacrosse Stick, 2024}

Interwoven Power: Native Knowledge / Native Art has been organized by Laura J. Allen, MAM’s Curator of Native American Art, under guidance by MAM’s Native American Art Advisory Council of leading curator–scholars and involving many Indigenous collaborators and contributors. Its title and exhibition design are inspired by Native forms of weaving, highlighting the fiber artworks on view and serving as a metaphor for the Indigenous knowledge woven through the installation.

As the Museum’s most significant project in recent decades, its aim is to build sustained, reciprocal relationships with Indigenous people and communities; to educate and empower Native and non-Native audiences; to advance the collection, presentation, and interpretation of Native art; and to support Indigenous artists, writers, students, and educators.

The reinstallation explores the transformative power of Indigenous knowledge—past and present—to address pressing social issues, including relationships to the earth and its beings, gender and family, sovereignty and justice, and the power of art itself. The collection includes work by Indigenous people of the United States and Canada, including Native American, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. The reinstallation emphasizes historically underrepresented Lenape and Northeastern artists, as well as women and queer and two-spirit artists.

The opening of Interwoven Power: Native Knowledge / Native Art will be celebrated through a series of special events:

• A press preview will be offered on Thursday, September 12.
• Friday, September 13 will serve as the exhibition’s official Opening Day:
  • 10 a.m.–6 p.m.: Museum open for members-only programming, including opening remarks, a roundtable discussion, a performance by Eric-Paul Riege, and artist-led tours.
  • 6 p.m.: Museum opens to nonmembers (paid tickets)
  • 7 p.m.: Keynote Artists Panel, moderated by Allen
• The Museum will be open to all on September 14, with a second performance by Riege.
• On Sunday, September 15, artist Kennetha Greenwood (Otoe Missouria) will kick off the Museum’s weekly Sunday Studio series, a multigenerational family artmaking program. 
• In coming months, MAM will host a Lenape-focused Community Workshop, an Educator Evening for teachers, and a second Sunday Studio led by an Indigenous artist.

As part of the project, MAM is also developing educational materials and training for teachers and community leaders as well as programs for families and the general public. As the country’s education systems address the teaching of Indigenous histories and contemporary cultures and practices, educators are in need of reliable resources. To address this need, MAM is working collaboratively with Indigenous educators and artists to prepare a broad set of curriculum materials that uses the art and knowledge in the exhibition to teach important lessons on Native art, cultures, history, and relevant issues that align with New Jersey State Learning Standards.

Upon its founding in 1914, MAM became one of the first art museums in the United States to collect and display historic and contemporary Native American art in a dedicated gallery alongside its non-Native collection. This reinstallation aims to be a thoughtful update of that ethos, centering critical thinking to redress colonial legacies and engage a wide public in historical and contemporary Native experiences. 

Graphic design for the exhibition, including its custom typeface, is by Sébastien Aubin (Opaskwayak Cree Nation) / OTAMI - ᐅᑕᒥ.

LEAD SPONSOR

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SPONSORS

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^{About the Montclair Art Museum (MAM)}

^{The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) collects, exhibits, preserves, and interprets American and Native American art, honoring the creative accomplishments of a diverse range of artists, past and present. MAM’s vision and values guide its actions: Respect—the Museum cares for the works in its collection, artistic expression, the land and environment, and the people it serves; Collaboration—through partnerships with artists, scholars, community members, and institutions, it ensures that its collective work reflects diverse perspectives, input, and expertise; Engagement and Education—through exhibitions; family, student, and public programs; and studio art classes, it cultivates creativity and personal expression, and sparks critical conversations and learning for people of all ages and abilities; and Inclusion—it strives to create an accessible and welcoming environment that fosters open dialogue and empathy for all.}

^{All MAM programs are supported, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Museum members.}

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^{About the Henry Luce Foundation}

^{The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to deepen knowledge and understanding in pursuit of a more democratic and just world. Established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., the Luce Foundation advances its mission by nurturing knowledge communities and institutions, fostering dialogue across divides, enriching public discourse, amplifying diverse voices, and investing in leadership development.} 

^{A leader in arts funding since 1982, the Luce Foundation's American Art Program advances the role of American art in realizing more vibrant and empathetic communities. Through support for innovative projects, it empowers institutions to celebrate creativity, elevate underrepresented voices, challenge accepted histories, and seek common ground.}