Join us for a virtual closing conversation with co-curator Katherine Gressel and artists Jeremy Dennis, Dennis RedMoon Darkeem and Ella Mahoney from our contemporary art exhibition Land Markings. Land Markings brings together four New York-based artists of Indigenous heritage who have created site-specific work commenting on the past, present and future of land use in the areas surrounding the Old Stone House; and land use issues facing contemporary Indigenous and other BIPOC communities. The artists will discuss their original work created for this exhibition focusing on Brooklyn’s Indigenous past and visions for its decolonized future.

Shinnecock Nation-enrolled tribal member and artist Jeremy Dennis’ On This Site: Indigenous Long Island photos and interactive website call attention to Brooklyn’s culturally significant Native American sites and the continued presence of Native people today. Through his work, Dennis hopes to contribute to “communal awareness and cultural enlightenment, which leads to cultural critique, historical inquiry, and educational development”.

Several bodies of work by Yamasee Creek-Seminole and African American artist Dennis RedMoon Darkeem reflect on his experience of living as a mixed-race person in New York City, including “dispelling myths about Native Americans and what we look like.” His work transforms everyday objects that reflect on the historical understanding of the past and explore new ideas of future, questioning post-colonial ideas of value, ownership and exchange. His Land Keepers collages on historic New York land deeds “consider those who are responsible for taking care of land, and…allude to the idea of sovereignty over one’s body without the fear of being displaced.” Large flags, one with a land acknowledgment statement and one that proclaims, “NYC: Only the Strong Survive” address themes of “existence, survival and and taking ownership of historic narratives.”

Ella Mahoney draws from her Aquinnah Wampanoag background to imagine a decolonized future for the Gowanus, in light of its planned rezoning.  A series of new painted banners created for OSH, on view alongside older work about her own community’s ties to the natural environment, explore “what the space could be if we healed our relationship to the land and water.”

This will be a fully virtual event on Zoom. Register here for the link. 

Learn more about the exhibition and artist bios here and view a virtual tour here.