Name: Native New York, 1970s to 1990s: A Convening
Start: 2026-10-02T13:00
End: 2026-10-02T18:00
Location: Theater 2

Lecture/panel

Fri, Oct 2, 1:00–6:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

From left: G. Peter Jemison. Art Bag. 1980. Crayon, oil pastel, fabric, rope, plastic tag, jigsaw puzzle piece, and ticket with oil paint on printed brown paper bag with three printed metal pins and a business card inside, 20 × 13 × 7" (50.8 × 33 × 17.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Frances Keech Fund; G. Peter Jemison. Number One. 1980. Gouache, crayon, metallic paint, and pencil on printed brown paper bag with a corn husk inside, 13 3/4 × 7 1/16 × 4 1/8" (35 × 18 × 10.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the generosity of Agnes Gund; G. Peter Jemison. Indian Toy / Toy Indian. 1984. Gouache, crayon, pencil, and colored pencil on printed brown paper bag, 13 3/4 × 6 7/8 × 4 1/2" (34.9 × 17.5 × 11.4 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the generosity of Marnie Pillsbury; G. Peter Jemison. Hunger on Reservations While Children in Africa Starve. 1981. Gouache, crayon, marker, pen, colored pencil, and cut-and-pasted paper and board on printed brown paper bag, 19 5/16 × 11 3/4 × 6 3/4" (49 × 29.8 × 17.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Frances Keech Fund

The gap between the 1941 Indian Art in the United States exhibition and today was filled by independent curators and artists, such as the American Indian Community House Gallery, Amerinda, and experimental galleries downtown. Most of this energy developed in the 1980s and continued into the 1990s outside of canonical art history. To understand the current state of Indigenous art, we must understand this recent past, including MoMA’s role in marginalizing Native American artists during this period.

The convening brings together an extraordinary group of participants to explore the often overlooked history of contemporary Native American art in New York from the 1970s to the 1990s through three thematic discussions.

Panel 1: Experiences
Artists discuss their experience working in New York in the 1980s and 1990s. Peter Jemison, Edgar Heap of Birds, and Kay Walkingstick, moderated by Joseph M. Pierce, 2024–25 MoMA Scholar in Residence.

Panel 2: Institutions
Curators, scholars, and artists discuss the innovative exhibition spaces and curatorial practices. Jolene Rickard, Diane Fraher, Kathleen Ash-Milby, and Jeffrey Gibson, moderated by Leah Dickerman, MoMA’s Director of Research Programs.

Panel 3: Relations
Artists discuss the legacies of these Native NY histories. Nicholas Galanin, Rachel Martin, Mekko Harjo, and Laura Ortman, moderated by Stuart Comer, MoMA’s Lonti Ebers Chief Curator of Media and Performance.

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