CONTEMPORARY NATIVE AMERICAN ART EXHIBIT TO OPEN AT THE LONGMONT MUSEUM
Guest-Curated by Indigenous Artist and Activist Gregg Deal

The Longmont Museum welcomes nationally-recognized activist and artist Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe) as guest curator of a new contemporary Native American art exhibition presenting the work of locally and nationally-known Indigenous American artists. 

“Duality: Contemporary Works by Indigenous Artists” showcases unique artists who highlight the resurgence of contemporary art for Native people in recent years, including Virgil Ortiz, Nicholas Galanin, JayCee Beyale, Danielle SeeWalker, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Natani Notah, April Holder, Gregg Deal, Chelsea Kaiah and Steven Yazzie. 

Art featured in the show includes paintings, ceramics, sculpture, beadwork, video and more. 

Deal is a multi-disciplinary artist, activist, and “disruptor” whose work is informed by his Native identity. His art includes exhaustive critiques of American society, politics, popular culture and history. 

A major goal of the exhibition is to remind people that Native Americans exist in present-day society and that they are participants in the contemporary art world. According to Deal, visitors will see something different than what they have come to expect from Native American art. 

“Indigenous artists have spent a lot of time working in and around perceptions of their existence, and not in the reality of their existence,” Deal said. “This exhibit shares stories, images and art directly from Natives that challenge perceptions of Indigenous people.”

The exhibit title “Duality” speaks to the shared experience of being both an Indigenous, Native person from this continent and simultaneously an American. According to Deal, it involves the balance of mixing tradition and ceremony, while also experiencing the world the same way as the rest of Americans. 

“Duality is a place where we can find an enormous amount of beauty and excitement, and offer a unique perspective,” he said. 

The exhibition opens the evening of Friday, January 27 and runs through May 14, 2023. Cost is $8 for adults and $5 for students, seniors, and veterans. Longmont Museum members and children age 3 and under are free. Admission is only 25 cents with a qualifying EBT or SNAP card.