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"Where the Power Is: Indigenous Perspectives on Northwest Coast Art brings together contemporary Indigenous knowledge holders with extraordinary works of historical Northwest Coast art that transcend the category of "art" or "artifact" and embody distinct ways of knowing and being in the world. Dozens of Indigenous artists and community members visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia to engage with these objects and learn from the hands of their ancestors. The photographs and their commentaries speak to the connections between tangible and intangible cultural belongings; how "art" remains part of Northwest Coast peoples' ongoing relationships to their territories and governance; Indigenous experiences of reconnection, reclamation, and return; and critical and necessary conversations around the role of museums."--
About the author
Karen Duffek is the Curator of Contemporary Visual Arts and Pacific Northwest at MOA. Committed to supporting the activation of Northwest Coast Indigenous collections inside and outside the museum, her research, exhibitions, and publications focus on the relationships between historical and contemporary art practices, museum collections, communities, and art markets.
Summary
Where the Power Is: Indigenous Perspectives on Northwest Coast Art brings together contemporary Indigenous knowledge holders with extraordinary works of historical Northwest Coast art that transcend the category of “art” or “artifact” and embody distinct ways of knowing and being in the world. Dozens of Indigenous artists and community members visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia to engage with these objects and learn from the hands of their ancestors. The photographs and their commentaries speak to the connections between tangible and intangible cultural belongings; how “art” remains part of Northwest Coast peoples’ ongoing relationships to their territories and governance; Indigenous experiences of reconnection, reclamation, and return; and critical and necessary conversations around the role of museums.
