Okoŋwaŋžidaŋ
Erin Genia (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate)
October 15 - December 21, 2019
Panel: “Sound, Air, Earth” | November 14th, 6:30pm
Urbano Project welcomes Artist-in-Residence Erin Genia, a multidisciplinary Dakota artist, whose practice merges cultural imperatives, pure expression, and exploration of materiality, with a response to past, present, and future matters.
Okoŋwaŋžidaŋ means oneness, being of one mind in Dakota language. How can we create Okoŋwaŋžidaŋ as we seek to address the issues of climate change and mass ecological destruction?
In Dakota philosophy, all things exist within a continuum of life, and the concept of mitakuye oyasin - we are all related, extends not only to other people, but to animals, plants, minerals, electricity, air, objects, and everything in existence. As we operate within political and economic systems that divide us, people have forgotten that we are not separate from the earth – we are the earth. With this in mind, how can we respect the agency of the inherent life in everything around us?
To explore these concepts, Genia created an installation of sound vessels, paintings and a video projection of her performative character, “Earthling.”
On November 14th, Urbano’s Artist-in-Residence Rachel Allen and artists Nicole L’Huillier and Nancy Valladares will speak about their processes in working with unconventional materials and pushing the boundaries of the creative process in engaging with air, sound and earth in their work. Moderated by Erin Genia.
Press Features
The Boston Globe | MIT ACT | Broadway World | Jamaica Plain News | Art Fix Daily
About the Artist:
Genia is a multidisciplinary Dakota artist, her practice merges cultural imperatives, pure expression, and exploration of materiality, with a response to past, present, and future matters. She creates a powerful presence of Indigeneity to invoke an evolution of thought and practice aligned with the cycles of the natural world and the potential of humanity.
Genia earned a MS in Art, Culture and Technology from MIT and a MPA in Tribal Governance from The Evergreen State College. She is a community organizer, writer, educator and cultural worker.
Visit her website & Instagram @emgenia
As Artist-in-Residence, Erin will share with Urbano’s youth artists stories from Native American peoples and the history and work of Indigenous peoples of our region, and teach storytelling through a variety of artistic methods: painting, printmaking, sculpture, performance, sound, and public art.