EXHIBIT ON VIEW: October 14, 2023 – February 18, 2024
Indigenous Futurism features paintings, works on paper, sculpture and videos viewed through an indigenous lens by 18 all-femme artists who hail from all four directions in California: to the East, the Inland Empire; to the South, San Diego; to the West, Los Angeles; and to the North, the Bay Area.
Curated by Riverside-based artist Denise Silva, participating artists are: Abby Aceves | Ariana Arroyo | Adriana Carranza | Melanie Cervantes | Amparo Chi | Rosy Cortez | Emilia Cruz | Stephanie Godoy | Mariana Gómez | Mariah Green | Jeshua | Belen Ledezma | Andrea Ramirez | Lilia Ramirez | Denise Silva | Maritza Torres | Sarah Vazquez | Mer Young
The exhibition focus is on the artists’ long journey back home: back home to the land, back home to the water, back home to the plants, back home to the ancestral plane, and back home to themselves as a people. The direction of indigenous people and how they arrive at that destination is an interweaving of the past, the now and the future. Silva shares, “This exhibition explores how the artists incorporate their ancient tools in their respective practices for our collective liberation.”
Similar to the concept of Afrofuturism, the term “indigenous futurism” as an artistic movement was coined by Anishinaabe author and professor Grace Dillon who has shared that it discovers “how personally one is affected by colonization, discarding the emotional and psychological baggage carried from its impact, and recovering ancestral traditions.”
The exhibition is on view Saturday, October 14, 2023 through Sunday, February 18, 2024 in the Altura Credit Union Community Gallery at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum.
Opening Reception for Indigenous Futurism: November 2, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Reception is free, open to all ages and being held in the Altura Credit Union Community Gallery during the Riverside ArtsWalk. No RSVP needed.
