Exhibition Title: WE HAPPEN TO BE, JUST BEING, LOVE EXPRESSIONS
The Brown Gallery and Museum at the Stone Center hosts an exhibition this fall (October -- December 2023) featuring works by artists of Native and Black ancestry whose art deal with the shared histories and intertwined struggles of Black and Indigenous communities.
For the featured artists, their distinct approach to creative art is rooted in their lived experiences as persons from backgrounds of mixed heritage. Monica Rickert-Bolter (Black/Potawatomi) a Chicago-based visual artist and journalist is curator of the exhibition.
The collaborative also features works by two other artists including:
- Tacoma, WA -based visual artist Paige Pettibon (Black, White and Stalish -- from the Confederated Stalish and Kootenai Tribes) whose work is influenced by her multicultural background; and
- Multi-genre artist Starla Thompson (Forest County Patowatomi and Santa Ynez Chumash) who designs her own regalia and is a regular practitioner of the Jingle Dress Dance also knowns as the "Healing Dance".
The exhibit, entitled We Happen To Be, Just Being, Love Expressions, will explore themes of soul connections and kinship that transcend preconceptions of race and identity as well as love and affection centered around family moments and intimate relationships (such as exists between siblings, parents, partners etc.).
The exhibition is co-sponsored by the American Indian Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.