‘An Indigenous Present’ surveys 100 years of Indigenous art in Boston exhibit

“An Indigenous Present,” a new thematic exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, surveys a century of contemporary Indigenous art through the lens of abstraction, bringing together new commissions and significant works by 15 artists from across generations.

The exhibit, open now, runs through March 8.

Co-organized by artist Jeffrey Gibson and independent curator Jenelle Porter, the exhibition examines how Indigenous artists have used abstraction to convey personal and collective histories, evoke real and imagined places, and extend cultural and aesthetic traditions. The presentation foregrounds abstraction not as a departure from narrative or identity, but as a flexible strategy capable of holding layered meanings and multiple histories.

The exhibition includes newly commissioned, site-specific works by Raven Chacon, Caroline Monnet, and Anna Tsouhlarakis, alongside works by elder artists and emerging practitioners. Together, the artists form a continuum that challenges fixed timelines and conventional categorizations within contemporary Indigenous art.

“An Indigenous Present” is a spinoff of Gibson and Porter’s 2023 publication of the same name, which brought together Native artists working across concept, form, and medium. The collaborative process of developing the book — shaped by sustained conversations with artists — directly informed the exhibition, translating its central ideas into a spatial and experiential context.

In addition to the gallery presentation, the ICA will host a series of public programs highlighting Native and Indigenous makers. These include an installation by artist, author, and poet Robert Peters in the ICA Bank of America Art Lab; performances of Raven Chacon’s scores and sound works; and a film series curated by artist Sky Hopinka in the ICA Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater.

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