Beginning Jan. 29, two indigenous artists whose work is inspired by — and aspires to produce — activism and social involvement will take the stage at the Peabody Essex Museum.
Marie Watt and Cannupa Hanska Luger, two artists, use their creation as a method that unites us all through various media.
Marie Watt, a Seneca Nation enrolled member with German-Scots ancestry, and Cannupa Hanska Luger, a Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation enrolled member with Lakota and European ancestry, cooperate to create art that develops empathy and understanding among individuals, neighbors, and communities.
The Denver Art Museum organized Marie Watt and Cannupa Hanska Luger, which is on display at PEM from Jan. 29 to May 8.
Art, according to Watt and Luger, can be a social undertaking in which individuals become involved, invested, and able to form new bonds. The exhibition’s 26 large-scale works span a variety of mediums, from carved wood and fabric sculpture to photography and video, and are grouped into two sections that examine each artist’s creative relationships with community, materials, and the land. Several works were created in conjunction with non-artist volunteers as part of what is known as “social practice,” which is an art that focuses on the connection between the audience, social processes, and the maker.
Visitors are urged to look for evidence of the various hands that participated in the creation of the works and to think about how the natural environment influenced the show.
PEM is open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at East India Square, 151 Essex St., Salem, and 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Fridays and holiday Mondays. From December 24 to January 6, the Museum will be closed.