Opening Date: October 6, 2023
Closing Date: October 28, 2023
Reception: October 6, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Exhibition: Native Now
Presented by the Native American Student Association of UTA and the City of Fort Worth Office of Diversity & Inclusion
Venue: Arts Fort Worth
Fort Worth Community Arts Center
1300 Gendy Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76107
https://www.artsfortworth.org/
Exhibition Statement
Join us as we step into the spaces of modern Native lives. This is NOT the “Indian village” display you’ve seen in many museums. You’ll have a window into the modern, diverse, and ever-changing lives of Native people, especially those whose families left reservations for urban centers like Dallas-Fort Worth due to the federal “Indian Relocation Program” of the 1950s and 60s. This exhibit is inspired and influenced by all the Native neighbors here in DFW.
Check out a Paiute man’s closet full of Native-designed clothing and items he embellished himself alongside an auntie’s sewing corner where she makes traditional Choctaw dresses for her nieces. Consider the work of an advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/People as well as a Water Protector who protested at Standing Rock. Check out how kids in a Native language immersion school learn and engage with their heritage every day.
Co-curators:
Kristy Willis (Choctaw), Native American Student Association at UTA Community Liaison
Sampson Dewey (Paiute), Native American Student Association at UTA President
Dr. Leah McCurdy, UTA Instructor of Art History
With Contributions By:
Stephen Silva Brave (Lakota), Native American Student Association at UTA Secretary
Dr. Les Riding-In (Pawnee/Osage), UTA College of Liberal Arts Assistant Dean and Native American Student Association at UTA Advisor