July 31, 2009

IndiVisible at the NMAI

Upcoming Exhibitions in Washington, DCThis 20-panel banner exhibition focuses on the interactions between African American and Native American people, especially those of blended heritage. It also sheds light on the dynamics of race, community, culture, and creativity, and addresses the human desires of being and belonging. With compelling text and powerful graphics, IndiVisible includes accounts of cultural integration and diffusion as well as the struggle to define and preserve identity. Stories are set within the context of a larger society that, for centuries, has viewed people through the prism of race brought to the Western Hemisphere by European settlers.

By combining the voices of the living with those of their ancestors, IndiVisible provides an extraordinary opportunity to understand the history and contemporary perspectives of people of African and Native American descent. The exhibition is accompanied by a 160-page publication and 10-minute media piece.
Comment:  For more on the subject, see Black-Indian History on Display and The Feel-Good National Museum.

Below:  "Portrait of Jimi Hendrix in Seattle, 1967." (Douglas Kent Hall/ZUMA/Corbis)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This show should be interesting and I wonder if people, including myself, will be looking for "stereotype" Native attributes, especially if familiar with the tribes, or be too blinded by the diversity to accept/see? Or if the diversity that has always existed amongst us, been accepted by most of us yet denied as well will just be reinforced?

Of course "What makes one an Indian?" - blood vs personal traditions vs social and living conditions vs what others, both Indian and Non-Indian, have expected him/her to be based on all of the above vs his own self identity - question will rise up to be considered regardless of the final answer...hmmm