Dare Turner reflects on Indigenous curatorial methodologies. Hopi Kachina Dolls: Blessings for a Balanced World Open now A note from Dare Turner, the Brooklyn Museum’s Curator of Indigenous Art As an Indigenous woman curating historical Native art within an encyclopedic institution, my role can be complicated. Over my years in the field, I have often weighed my responsibilities against those of many other types of curators. Perhaps the most crucial difference I see is that as an Indigenous art curator, I work with relatives, not objects. These relatives come in the form of both artworks and the communities from which they emerged. Though the artists who crafted the majority of artworks in the Museum’s Indigenous art collection have since passed away, I am accountable to both those ancestors and their descendants. With this framework in mind, Hopi Kachina Dolls: Blessings for a Balanced World addresses some basic questions: Why should we curate a show that focuses on kachina dolls? What fresh perspectives might we offer to the field of Native art, which has generated countless exhibitions on this topic? How do this exhibition and the many historical artworks it contains relate to our current moment? How can we do right by the Hopi community and present kachina dolls in all their vitality? To begin, we must consider what it means to do this work within a museum, as opposed to places like cultural centers or educational institutions. In a 1955 essay, philosopher Theodor W. Adorno highlighted that “The German word, ‘museal’ [‘museum-like’] . . . describes objects to which the observer no longer has a vital relationship and which are in the process of dying.”* He argues that “‘Museum’ and ‘mausoleum’ are connected by more than phonetic association. Museums are like the family sepulchres of works of art. They testify to the neutralization of culture.” My Native art curatorial methodology fundamentally resists Adorno’s assertion that museums sever vital relationships between objects and observers. I see the Museum not as a sepulchre, or tomb, but as a place of awakening. Rather than understanding museum objects as dead or dying, I view the Native belongings I care for at the Brooklyn Museum as “sleeping on a shelf in a museum storage room, completely decontextualized from their cultures of origin . . . .”** This distinction, offered by scholar Sherry Farrell Racette, allows me to see Hopi kachina dolls (tithu) as patiently waiting to be woken up by members of their cultural community. The dolls included in our exhibition awoke by hearing their people’s traditional language, receiving traditional foods as gifts, feeling their relatives’ touch, and experiencing care. Blessings for a Balanced World prioritizes facilitating reconnection; community work is an essential part of curatorial work and ensures exhibitions remain relevant to Native people’s concerns. Hopi community members at the heart of this project shared stories of reciprocity and relationality to help us better contextualize their community. They taught us that tithu should be understood as precious blessings of deep cultural significance, educational tools, and a reflection of Hopi identity across generations. They emphasized the importance of situating tithu not as static artifacts, but as dynamic, living agents in the lives of girls and women who receive them from the Katsinam, the spirits who keep the world in balance. Explore the exhibition Keep reading The above piece was written by Dare Turner, Curator of Indigenous Art at the Brooklyn Museum, and excerpted from the catalogue for Hopi Kachina Dolls: Blessings for a Balanced World. Want to keep reading? Buy the catalogue More to explore Learn more about Hopi culture and traditions—and hear from Hopi artists. How does climate change affect art practices? What is rematriation, and why is it important? Can stones speak? Find the answers to this and more in the audio guide. Listen to the audio guide This excerpt has been lightly edited for clarity, brevity, and style. Works referenced: * Theodor W. Adorno, “Valéry Proust Museum,” Prisms, trans. Samuel and Shierry Weber, (London: Neville Spearman, 1967), 173. ** Sherry Farrell Racette, “Looking for Stories and Unbroken Threads: Museum Artifacts as Women’s History and Cultural Legacy,” in Restoring the Balance: First Nations Women, Community, and Culture, eds. Gail Guthrie Valaskakis, Madeleine Dion Stout, and Eric Guimond, (University of Manitoba Press, 2009), 283–312. Hopi Kachina Dolls: Blessings for a Balanced World is organized by guest curator Colleen Lucero, Managing Director of the Hopivewat Learning Center; Nancy Rosoff, Andrew W. Mellon Senior Curator of Arts of the Americas; and Dare Turner, Curator of Indigenous Art; with Grace Billingslea, former Curatorial Assistant, Arts of the Americas, of the Brooklyn Museum. We are grateful to the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office and the many members of the Hopi community who were passionate advocates and core contributors for this presentation. The Brooklyn Museum is grateful for the generosity of our supporters who brought this exhibition to life. Major support is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Significant support is provided by Constance Christensen, The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom, Elizabeth A. Sackler, and the Helene Zucker Seeman Memorial Exhibition Fund. Generous support is provided by Catherine Hannah Behrend, Michael and Georgia de Havenon, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Ellen and Bill Taubman on behalf of the A. Alfred Taubman Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Every Page Foundation, MaryRoss Taylor Fund for Feminist Art, and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. The Brooklyn Museum Exhibition Fund supports the research, development, and presentation of all the Museum’s exhibitions, from major international shows to innovative curatorial projects, ensuring the Museum can present ambitious, world-class exhibitions that engage diverse audiences. We gratefully acknowledge the donors whose support of the Brooklyn Museum Exhibition Fund makes this work possible: Marie Douglas, Nancy P. Magoon, The Mailman Foundation, John H. and Regina K. Scully, David E. Weisman and Jacqueline E. Michel, and Deedee and Barrie Wigmore. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. From the top: Palhikwmana Tihu (Water Maiden Kachina Doll), late 19th century. Cottonwood and pigment. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5531. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Takurmana Tihu (Yellow Corn Maiden Kachina Doll), late 19th century. Cottonwood, pigment, and feather. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5548. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Hahay’iwùuti Tihu (Grandmother Kachina Doll), late 19th century. Cottonwood, pigment, and cotton cord. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5570. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Tsöpkatsina Tihu (Pronghorn Kachina Doll), late 19th century. Cottonwood, pigment, and cotton cord. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5566. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Polimana Tihu (Butterfly Maiden Kachina Doll), late 19th century. Cottonwood, pigment, cotton, and feathers. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5592. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Katsinmana Tihu (Katsina Maiden Kachina Doll), late 19th century. Cottonwood, pigment, dyed horsehair, cotton cord, and feather. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5565. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Hopi Pueblo. Kwèw Tihu (Wolf Kachina Doll), late 19th century. Cottonwood, pigment, cotton, feather. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5596. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum) 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238 Unsubscribe View in browser