RADICAL STITCH: THE EVOLVING ART OF BEADWORK
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art will host one of the largest exhibitions of contemporary Native bead art ever presented in North America: Radical Stitch features approximately 100 works of bead art highlighting Native techniques and designs that tell stories and address current issues.
Opening April 12 at the Eiteljorg and continuing through August 3, Radical Stitch is a traveling exhibition organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. At the Eiteljorg, the exhibition's only U.S. stop, visitors will experience breathtaking examples of bead art created by Native American / Indigenous artists from the U.S. and Canada.
Introduced into North America in the early 1800s as trade goods, glass beads became an artistic medium for generations of Native artists, whose limitless creativity expanded beadwork far beyond adornment of textiles into an innovative art form encompassing historic cultural traditions and contemporary expressions. The co-curators of Radical Stitch selected artworks that represent thematic strands of today's Native / Indigenous bead art — including pop culture references, current issues such as food sovereignty, and Indigenous Futurism, artworks that re-envision the past, present and future through a sometimes sci-fi lens.
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Katherine Boyer (Métis). The Sky Vest, 2021. Seed beads on smoked moosehide, 48 x 24 x 10 inches. Collection National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. © Katherine Boyer. Photo: Don Hall, Courtesy MacKenzie Art Gallery
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Jean Marshall (Anishinaabe). Gitigan | Garden, Bandolier Bag, 2015. Glass beads, ribbon, metal jingles, wool cloth, ric rac. Indigenous Art Collection, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. MacKenzie Art Gallery, 2022. Photo: Don Hall, courtesy of the MacKenzie Art Gallery
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Jennine Krauchi (Métis). Beaded coat/ muff/hat, 2022. Fabric, fur, beads. Indigenous Art Collection, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Photo: Don Hall, courtesy of the MacKenzie Art Gallery
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Nico Williams (Aamjiwnaang First Nation Anishinaabe). Aaniin, 2002. Glass beads. Collection of the artist. Photo: Don Hall, courtesy of the MacKenzie Art Gallery
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Bev Koski (Anishinaabe). Disneyland, California #1, 2014. Beads, thread, found object. Indigenous Art Collection, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
"The artworks in this exhibition hold a visual potency that's impossible to capture in a photograph. When viewed in person, these meticulous details and faceted surfaces are dazzling to behold — and contain meaningful connections to both global exchange and cultural resilience," said Laura Fry, Eiteljorg vice president for curatorial affairs and collections.
Artists whose works are celebrated in Radical Stitch represent distinct geographies and life experiences that shape their bead art practices. Seven of the artists also are past recipients of the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship and the museum has other examples of their bead art in its permanent collections.
For more than 35 years, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of Indianapolis and scenic White River State Park. The Eiteljorg Museum explores the intersection of the arts, histories and cultures of the past and present by sharing the diverse stories of the American West and the Indigenous Peoples of North America.
Radical Stitch will be on display from St. April 12, 2025, until August 3, 2025, at 500 W. Washington Indianapolis (United States).
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