![]() ![]() Their representations break away from myths and assert their continued presence despite centuries of omission and erasure by mainstream culture. ![]() Some of the featured artists include Christina Fernandez, Jacob Lawrence, Ken Gonzales-Day, and Roger Shimomura.īoundary Breakers unsettle common beliefs that inform the popular understanding of the American West. They go beyond the familiar accounts of European settlers and bring to light lived experiences and identities that are essential to a truthful history. Memory Makers act as transmitters of cultural memory as they give form to neglected histories of the West. Some of the featured artists include Patrick Nagatani, Laura Aguilar, Ka’ila Farrell-Smith (Klamath Modoc) and Marie Watt (Seneca). They draw upon personal narratives, communal ties, and collective experience in the American West. Through their work, these artists demonstrate a commitment to stewardship of land, history, language, and culture. The exhibition is organized around three sections: “Caretakers,” “Memory Makers” and “Boundary Breakers.” These overarching themes illuminate the different ways artists offer broader and more inclusive views of the West.Ĭaretakers redefine what it means to take care of themselves, their communities, and their futures. Foreground works by Awa Tsireh/Alfonso Roybal (San Ildefonso Pueblo). Their works address the past and present, revealing that “The West” has always been a place of multiple stories, experiences, and cultures. Through strategies grounded in documentation, historical inquiry, cultural tradition, and aesthetic and material experimentation, the artists featured in Many Wests catalyze new understandings of a region and history that is often submerged in stereotype and distortion. The eighty-seven artworks featured in the exhibition question old and racist clichés, examine sidelined histories, and illuminate the multiple communities and events that contribute to the past and present of this region. We recognize and thank these institutions for their dedicated involvement.īringing together artworks from the permanent collections of all five collaborating museums, Many Wests offers counterviews of “The West” through the perspective of forty-eight modern and contemporary artists. Many Wests is the culmination of a multi-year Art Bridges initiative organized jointly by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and four nationally accredited art museums located in the West – the Boise Art Museum in Boise, Idaho the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. We proudly accepted the award this past October at the Western Museums Association (WMA) 2022 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. The Whatcom Museum is truly honored to receive the 2022 Charles Redd Center for Western Studies Award for Exhibition Excellence for Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea. Written by Amy Chaloupka, Curator of Art, Whatcom Museum Installation view, Many Wests, Whatcom Museum. ![]()
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