Frist Art Museum to showcase 100 years of Indigenous abstraction in summer exhibition

The Frist Art Museum in Nashville will open An Indigenous Present, an exhibition spanning a century of modern and contemporary Indigenous art, on June 26. Running through September 27, 2026, the show features 15 artists who use abstraction as a vehicle for liberated expression and is organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston.

The exhibition is co-curated by artist Jeffrey Gibson — a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent — and independent curator Jenelle Porter. It draws from their landmark 2023 publication of the same name, which brought together Native North American artists exploring diverse approaches to concept, form, and medium.

“Abstraction is this incredibly flexible tool that allows artists a liberated field in which to make and think and see and hear,” Porter said, noting that the exhibition also features artists who use abstraction in ways that push back against what is typically expected of contemporary Indigenous artists.

The show is organized into five thematic sections, anchored by the work of George Morrison and Mary Sully — two foundational figures in Indigenous art from the first half of the 20th century. Other featured artists include Teresa Baker, Raven Chacon, Kay WalkingStick, Dakota Mace, Caroline Monnet, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, among others. Works by emerging artists are placed in direct dialogue with those by more established names throughout the exhibition.

Visitors can also access an in-gallery podcast, produced by the ICA/Boston and WBUR, in which the co-curators and several participating artists discuss the exhibition and the broader landscape of contemporary Indigenous art.

An opening conversation with Gibson, Porter, and Frist senior curator Katie Delmez is scheduled for June 25 at 6:30 p.m. in the museum’s auditorium. Admission is free for members; gallery admission applies for non-members.

The Frist Art Museum is located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville. Gallery admission is $20 for adults and free for visitors 18 and younger and for members.