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Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now

October 6, 2018 – January 7, 2019

Oscar Howe, Dance of the Heyoka
Oscar Howe, Dance of the Heyoka, ca. 1954, Watercolor on paper, 20 ¼ x 26 ¼ in. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa Oklahoma. Museum purchase. 1954.12 © 2018 By permission of the Oscar Howe Family

Contemporary Indigenous art comes front and center in Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now—a new, free exhibition organized by Crystal Bridges. Discover new stories as today’s Indigenous artists fill the gallery with exquisite colors, images of community and joy, and thought-provoking moments of reflection.

Art for a New Understanding exhibition trailer

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Exhibition Catalog

A full-color catalog, published by the University of Arkansas Press, is available for purchase in our Museum Store or call (479) 657-2310 to order.

Art for a New Understanding catalog

 

The exhibition features over 80 artworks from the 1950s to today, including paintings, photography, video, sculptures, performance art, and more, all created by Indigenous US and Canadian artists. Spend some time with artworks by an artist who creates social critiques through basket weaving, three sisters who challenge heavy topics with humor and heart, an artist who created a large-scale mural based on her Northwest Arkansas environmental experience, plus many more.

Listed as one of the ‘most promising museum shows around the world’ by ARTNews and ‘one of the 10 US art shows you have to see this fall’ by AFAR MagazineArt for a New Understanding will broaden your definition of contemporary art with a new understanding of Indigenous art.

 

Sponsored By

The Christy and John Mack Foundation

Art for a New Understanding sponsors

Sponsored by Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, National Endowment for the Humanities, Annenberg Foundation, Bass Pro Shops, National Endowment for the Arts, ConAgra Brands, Arkansas Humanities Council, Becky and Bob Alexander, Frank and Pat Bailey, James and Emily Bost, Government of Canada, Randy and Valorie Lawson / Lawco Energy Group, Kyle, Maury and Finn Peterson, and The Sotheby’s Prize.

This exhibition has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit the National Endowment for the Arts website for information on how grants impact individuals and communities.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art was recognized as part of the inaugural Sotheby’s Prize with a commendation that applauds the breadth and depth of ambitious exhibition research for Art for a New Understanding. The Sotheby’s Prize jury believes this exhibition will be a turning point in our understanding of this field.