The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art presents We Are Here! Native Expression in the 21st Century. Open November 12, 2011 – February 12, 2012.
Each year the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship exhibition has a different tenor. Sometimes it is dramatic and theatrical, or sometimes it can be riddled with “Indian humor.” It is always sobering, wrought with visions that change visitors’ perceptions and the way history and experience is understood. We Are Here!, the title for the 2011 Fellowship is no different than any of the past exhibitions, but totally different at the same time. There is no Jim Denomie (Ojibwe) and his Edward Curtis, Paparazzi. There is no James Luna (Luiseño) swaggering on stage with a blanket, music and his signature red hat. Those familiar images are gone and they are replaced by beauty, meditation, realization and a superhero.
The Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis holds the world’s foremost collection of contemporary Native American art. The museum’s commitment to contemporary fine art is evidenced by the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship, which celebrates the established and emerging Native American artists of today.