"In Our Hands" at Minneapolis Institute of Art puts Native photographers in control
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"TV Indians" by Cara Romero. Photo: Courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art
A new exhibit at Minneapolis Institute of Art is putting Native voices front and center.
What's happening: "In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now", which opened Oct. 22, is the museum's largest exhibition of Indigenous photography to date, Mia's chair of global contemporary art and curator of photography & new media, Casey Riley, told Axios.
- It includes representation from First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Native American cultures, from the Rio Grande to the Arctic Circle.
Why it matters: Works by white artists — particularly white men — dominate art museums nationwide, and the Indigenous art that is on display is often stolen, excluding Native voices and leaving out its true history.
- Mia's exhibit was created by and for Native people, illuminating the ways they've advanced the medium of photography for more than a century.
Background: The exhibition has been in the works since 2020 and was organized in partnership with a curatorial council largely made up of Indigenous artists and academics from the U.S. and Canada.
- An additional community council consisting of local Indigenous leaders, artists and tribal members also advised the project, photojournalist and Mia guest curator Jaida Grey Eagle said.
- Most of the art is loaned from private lenders and the artists themselves, Mia's associate curator of Native American art, Jill Ahlberg Yohe, added.
What to expect: "In Our Hands" features more than 150 photographs and is broken into three thematic sections, Ahlberg Yohe said.
- A World of Relations showcases Native peoples and cultures connections to land, animals, biology and more.
- Always Leaders recognizes Native leaders' work in championing environmental and social justice, past and present.
- Always Present illuminates the resilience, tenacity and vision of Native photographers and their communities, rejecting narratives that portray cultures as declining or disappearing.
Plus: There are two reflection spaces where both Native and non-Native visitors can pray, make offerings, write and hold discussions.
What they're saying: "I rarely see photography made by Native people within museums, and having access to something like this when I was younger would have greatly encouraged me," Grey Eagle told me.
- "I hope visitors, particularly youth, leave inspired — recognizing their history and the legends on these walls so that they can honor them in their own work."
📍 Details: "In Our Hands" is open through Jan. 14, 2024 in the Target Gallery. Tickets are $20; the rest of Mia is free.