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Kelly Church & Cherish Parrish: In Our Words, An Intergenerational Dialogue is a major exhibition that centers the subjectivities of two contemporary Indigenous artists whose practices have sustained and bolstered the relevance of the age-old Anishinaabe practice of black ash basket-making in the 21^st century. The exhibition highlights the significance of community-based conversations between mother and daughter, and their ongoing conversations with elders (ancestors), young folx, and future generations as vital aspects of their methodology. These conversations often take place during basket gatherings — where community members come together and share stories and teachings that can encompass Anishinaabe creation stories, as well as those of survivance and resilience, to inform the materiality and liveness of their work. The curatorial and interpretive framework of this exhibition contends that the deeply situated and temporal works by Church (Stamps, BFA 1998) and Parrish (LSA, BA 2020) are repositories for Anishinaabe ways of knowing, thinking, and making that contribute to the complexity of American art and its histories. The expansive and bold practices of Church and Parrish affirm the sovereignty of Anishinaabe lifeways and the importance of including Indigenous narratives that have systematically been left out. Thus, the thematic survey of their work will explore the under-examined themes that inform their work such as Native women’s labor as carriers of culture and knowledge-keepers, the legacy of boarding schools and ancestors who walked on, the treaties in Michigan and the long-overlooked legacy of Anishinaabe intellectual life and their relevance today. Just like the practice of weaving and interlacing distinct strips of black ash to create one whole, Church and Parrish will address the diverse and interconnected themes with approximately 30 – 35 works, including 15 – 17 new works. Together, the exhibition offers an incisive critique of the colonial, racist paradigm of systemic erasure and assimilation that continues to this day, with the ongoing crises of missing and murdered Indigenous women, culture wars, and climate change that threaten Indigenous ways of living, sustenance, and making. 

Curated by Srimoyee Mitra with Curatorial Assistant Zoi Crampton.