When I announced the start of Membership Month, I shared 4 ways that members are making a difference throughout the museum. Today, I’d like to share 4 more!
- Inspiring people to broaden their understanding. Currently on view at the Heye Center in New York, the exhibition Stretching the Canvas poses the question “What is Native art?” Visitors are treated to a wide array of paintings that help them realize that there is no single kind of Native art or artist.
- Correcting myths and stereotypes in classrooms nationwide through Native Knowledge 360⸰. Our national educational program provides teaching materials to educators that challenge common assumptions about Native peoples and offer a more accurate history than has previously been part of school curricula.
- Impressing visitors with beautiful art and storytelling. This fall the museum will open Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight, an exhibition that tells the story of Raven, the creator of the world, through an immersive, multisensory experience that features acclaimed artist Preston Singletary’s striking glass pieces, as well as original music, coastal Pacific Northwest soundscapes and projected images.
- Helping the museum acquire new objects. Last spring the museum acquired Resisting the Mission; Filling the Silence, some of the last creative efforts of Eastern Band of Cherokee artist Shan Goshorn. The baskets commemorate the tragic era of American history when American Indian children were removed from their homes, forced to attend boarding schools, and stripped of their native identities.
I could list hundreds more reasons why members are crucial to the museum. Today, you have the chance to help us do even more—by joining the museum during Membership Month.