Articles by Andrea L Ferber
First American Art, 2024
A BIENNALE DI VENEZIA, or the Venice Biennale, is the oldest and most prestigious international a... more A BIENNALE DI VENEZIA, or the Venice Biennale, is the oldest and most prestigious international art exhibition anywhere. Established in 1895, this iteration titled Stranieri Ovunque (Foreigners Everywhere) was organized for the first time by a South American curator: Brazilian Adriano Pedrosa. The sprawling event centers around the Giardini, a 44-acre green space with a large exhibition hall and 30 smaller pavilions, and the Arsenale, a complex of shipyards built in 1104 CE. Like kudzu, the biennale takes over more spaces every year, testing the limits of even the most passionate art pilgrims. This year, 90 national pavilions are scattered throughout the city, including the Holy See and Venice itself, as well as 30 "collateral events. " It is an inaugural year for Ethiopia, Nicaragua, the Republic of Panama, Senegal, and Tanzania, and a milestone for Indigenous representation. Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee) represents the United States in a solo exhibition, the first Native American artist to do so. 1 Tracking down Indigenous artists proves to be challenging as not all identify as such, and Indigenous identity varies from nation to nation. Some artists prefer not to be pigeonholed. The overview of Native art in this year's Venice Biennale is in celebration of more inclusive and global snapshots of contemporary art, starting with the main exhibition (331 artists in two locations), followed by the national pavilions.
First American Art, 2023
STABLISHED NEAR THE CONFLUENCE of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, Cahokia was the largest me... more STABLISHED NEAR THE CONFLUENCE of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, Cahokia was the largest metropolis in what would become the United States in the 11th century. Residents of the celestially aligned city built hundreds of mounds for different purposes. The population dispersed by the 13th century, and by the 19th century, settler-colonists had razed most of the mounds. Today Cahokia is a protected UNESCO World Heritage site with an active archaeological research program and visitor's center. Cahokia sits on the east side of the Mississippi River in Illinois, across from the city of St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis has many points of pride: a professional baseball team, exceptional botanical gardens, and free museums. It is also the hometown of Maya Angelou, Josephine Baker, and Miles Davis. Yet like any other geographic location, it also has a shameful past: it was the primary staging site for the Indian Wars; the setting for Dred Scott v. Sandford (the 1857 US Supreme Court case that upheld slavery in US territories); effects of intense redlining are still visible today. The Arch, completed in 1965, became an icon of a mythical "Gateway to the West" to mark the beginning and end point of Lewis and Clark's exploration of occupied Indian land. Select events continue to be romanticized.
First American Art, 2019
Every collected object is tangled in a complex web of familial, historical, social, political, an... more Every collected object is tangled in a complex web of familial, historical, social, political, and legal roots.
Critical Matrix: The Princeton Journal of Women, Gender, and Culture, 2009
Interviews by Andrea L Ferber
Exhibition / Edition Essays by Andrea L Ferber
University of Colorado Boulder Art Museum, 2019
Museum Profiles by Andrea L Ferber
First American Art, 2023
HE NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA (NGC) sits on the south bank of the Ottawa River in Ontario. Before... more HE NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA (NGC) sits on the south bank of the Ottawa River in Ontario. Before Queen Victoria named Ottawa the nation's capital in 1855, this site of confluence was an important trading post. Ottawa derives from the Algonquin adawe: to trade. Established in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada outgrew three buildings before its current glass-andmarble cathedral opened in 1988. This architectural spectacle was designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie. Since 2005 Louise Bourgeois's monumental bronze spider Maman-one of seven in the world-has graced the entrance. Upon entry, visitors encounter one of the building's defining features: a ramp the length of a football field leading to a Great Hall. Several artists have accentuated this long, narrow space for site-specific works, including Shuvinai Ashoona (Inuk) and Joi T. Arcand (Muskeg Lake Cree).
First American Art , 2023
First American Art, 2022
The Indianapolis Museum of Art manages a collection of 54,000 works. 2. The museum was previously... more The Indianapolis Museum of Art manages a collection of 54,000 works. 2. The museum was previously named the Mathers Museum of World Cultures. The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IUMAA) manages a collection of 28,000 archaeological and ethnographic objects and 16,000 photographs. This collection is global in scope with a particular strength in items from Alaska Native cultures and an archive of 8,000 photographs depicting Native American subjects taken by Joseph Kossuth Dixon. The IUMAA is currently under renovation with plans to reopen in 2023.
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Articles by Andrea L Ferber
Interviews by Andrea L Ferber
Exhibition / Edition Essays by Andrea L Ferber
Museum Profiles by Andrea L Ferber