“Niimiwin,” an Indigenous multimedia art exhibit, opened at the All My Relations Gallery on Franklin Avenue on Nov. 7 and will run until Jan. 18, 2025.
Thematically, “Niimiwin” is centered around the relationship between movement and identity in Indigenous communities, inspired by traditions of dance and powwow. “Niimiwin” is Anishinaabemowin for “everyone dance.”
Curated by Emerging Curators Institute Fellow Josie Hoffman, the exhibit explores images, space and sound through works from several Indigenous artists spanning multiple creative mediums. Jingle dresses, a ceramic installation and wildlife photography are among the diverse works shown.
On the first night of the exhibit, the gallery hosted a ceremony with an opening prayer and a performance by the drum group Stonebridge Singers.
Ceramic artist and member of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Channelle Gallagher created clay water vessels for the exhibit. She said her work was inspired by reading about Ojibwe craftsmen bringing clay water vessels for trade.
“Of all the things that we could have made to bring to trade, we brought water vessels,” Gallagher said. “I think that speaks to our connection to land, the environment and water.”
Gallagher said seeing the exhibit in its entirety for the first time on opening night was very powerful. Experiencing such a diverse set of works by Indigenous artists is a very healing experience, she added.
Because the art of “Niimiwin” involves both sight and sound, it can feel like a full-body sensory experience.
An installation by ceramic artist Courtney Leonard features a ceramic pot suspended over a pile of oyster shells by cowhide strips. Beneath the pile of shells is a speaker playing drum beats.
Leonard said the music played by the speaker causes the shells and pot to move in place, creating a kinetic movement with a medium that is typically stationary.
A member of the Shinnecock Nation of Long Island, Leonard said she is honored to be invited to collaborate with other Indigenous artists and participate in an exhibit like this. Leonard said Hoffman has allowed a broader audience to see Indigenous art by making “Niimiwin” more accessible than other exhibitions.
“Niimiwin” is being held at the All My Relations Gallery, a program of the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI) dedicated to developing and promoting Indigenous art and artists.
Gallagher, a South Minneapolis native, said that Franklin Avenue and the area around NACDI are important places for the urban Indigenous community in the Twin Cities.
“It’s so important for us to have this gallery and for it to be curated by an Indigenous person, with all Indigenous art, all Indigenous people,” she said.
