Hear My Voice: Native American Art of the Past and Present

Hear My Voice: Native American Art of the Past and Present

Opportunities to encounter Native American art presented with depth and nuance are rare. Significant collections and special exhibitions of Native American art are few and far between. Many of us, myself included, may have a narrow view of indigenous art as historical artifacts. Hear My Voice, a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibition currently on view, aims to change that. Exhibition curator Johanna Minich talks about exploring conversations between Native American artists and their art across time, space, and cultures. 

Opportunities to encounter Native American art presented with depth and nuance are rare. Significant collections and special exhibitions of Native American art are few and far between. Many of us may have a narrow view of indigenous art as historical artifacts. Hear My Voice, a VMFA exhibition currently on view, aims to change that by exploring conversations between Native American artists and their art across time, space, and cultures. I spoke with curator Johanna Minich about the ways in which the exhibition sparks this dialogue.

For many of these cultures that are still around and still thriving and even gaining in population, this is a story that really needs to be told. I think that visual art is one way to really get people to talk about it. So that comes back to this idea of dialogue and conversation.
— Johanna Minich

Paige hosts the LookSEE podcast and is a freelance audio producer, an art lover, and a lifelong Richmonder. Her favorite place to be is in a museum. A close second is a bookstore.